The semiotic Study of the Poem "Al-hikayat al-valad Al_filistiniya" by Ahmad Dahbour Based on Peirce’s theory

The semiotic Study of the Poem "Al-hikayat al-valad Al_filistiniya" by Ahmad Dahbour Based on Peirce’s theory



Purpose and Introduction

The purpose of this study is to find and understand the implicit concepts of the poem “the Tale of a Palestinian Child” which is known as one of the most famous and effective poems of Ahmad Dahbour in the field of Resistance Poetry, and depicts the roles and conditions

of Palestinian children. This ode is one of Ahmad Dahbour’s most prominent and important poems with the theme of the pains and sufferings the Palestinians encounter. This research attempts to analyze the codes of the poem and its implications from the perspective of

Peirce’s semiotic theory. It seems that the semiotic study of the poem reveals most of its deepest concepts and implications. In other words, this study aims to find clear answers for the following questions:

1. How the codes of resistance, hope for future and victory are manifested in the poem based on Peirce’s Theory?

2. How are Ahmad Dahbour’s purposes and intends in the poem explained in light of semantic triangle of “representation”, “Subject” and “interpretation” in Peirce’s Theory?

Methodology

This study has been carried out in a descriptive- analytic and library method. In this way, the mentioned ode was first studied by the authors. Next, the issues and discussions related to Resistance Literature and the roles and conditions of children while the resistance coped with enemies were extracted. Then, they were examined by means of one of the most important schools of semiotics, namely, Peirce’s Theory.

Findings

One of the most important findings of the research is that the concepts related to the resistance and the pains and sufferings of the people, especially the Palestinian children and their encounter with problems are well reflected in the poem. Such findings can be best understood in the mentioned poem with the help of the semiotics knowledge.

Discussion and Results

The results of studying Ahmad Dahbour’s poem “the Tale of a Palestinian Child” based on Peirce’s Theory are as follows: The presence of signs related to the concepts of resistance in Dahbour’s poem based on Peirce’s semiotic model is the result of a semantic relationship between representation, subject and interpretation. The concepts of the signs, which are related to resistance, can be well explained through these three components. The components of resistance are widely reflected in the poem, and the poet’s use of modern linguistic mechanisms have made such themes to be highlighted in a proper way. The purpose of the poem “The Tale of a Palestinian Child” along with its implied meanings and codes has reflected the innocence of the Palestinian children who suffer from oppression and displacement. As the creator of the poem, Ahmad Dahbour had witnessed the pains and sufferings of displacement since his childhood. Therefore, he has created worthy images of the concepts of resistance by the Palestinian children and has narrated the bitter realities dominating the Palestinian society from his perspective. Besides, investigating the arithmetic codlings of the poem revealed that the semantic relationships of vocabulary are of semantic contrast type, and it implies the contrast between Palestinians’ resistance front and that of the Zionist occupying regime. Some of the signs related to place are: Palestine (the symbol of the motherland), the plain of straw and flowers (a symbol of an afflicted country) and the camp (the symbol of pains and sufferings which Palestinians deal with). Some of the codes related roe time are: “night” which represents the politically suffocated society and "day" which is the symbol of hope and victory. In the section of the codes related to intertextuality, the poet has recreated a verse by “Amr Ibn Kulthum” and through which he has expressed his ideal. In addition, he has condemned the crimes of the Zionist regime through some verses of the Holy Quran and encouraged his people to resist and stand up against the usurpers.

Conclusion

The purpose of the poem has been explained with the help of implicit meanings; and the codes of the title of the poem “the Tale of a Palestinian Child" depict the oppressed face of Palestinian children suffering from oppression, displacement, asylum and other problems. They also present a full image of Palestinian children who are refugees, orphans martyred, anti-oppression, resistant and jihadist and are the victims of the Zionist regime’s aggression, cruelty and slaughter. It is also has reflected the innocence of the palestinian children who suffer from oppressions and displacement.



Keywords: Semiotics, Peirce’s Theory, Resistance Poetry, Ahmad Dahbour, The ode “the Tale of a Palestinian Child.