Home in the Poetry of Saudi Arabia Poets: Abdus-Salam Hafeth an Example of a Distinguished Arab (5)

Abstract

The term "homeland" refers to the place and things that a poet associates with his humanity, including his dreams, suffering, and singing of his triumphs. This study seeks to illuminate some literary traits of contemporary Saudi Arabic poetry, with a focus on the Saudi poet Abdus-Salam Hashem Hafeth and one of his poems. It emphasizes the idea of "homeland" in particular as an instance of the position of contemporary Saudi Arabic poetry. One may say that among Arab writers, critics, and poets, Saudi poetry is currently in a favorable situation. The researcher aims to highlight, on the one hand, the poet's wisdom by utilizing his beautiful city – Al Madinah – as a sign of his love for his vast country, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, by using it as a depiction of the poet's adoration. On the other hand, the researcher endeavors to explore the brilliance of the poet in exploiting the classical Arabic language in his poem.

The research begins with an introduction before analyzing the subtitle, Arabic Poetry: The Tongue of the Arabs. An overview of eternal Saudi poetry and the Saudi Poets' Conceptions of Homeland follows. Then the study tracks a concise outline of Al-Madinah Al Monawarah as a Landmark of Thought as well as Abdus-Salam Hafeth as a Man and a Poet. The main body of the study uses a critical-analytical approach to assess the poem 'Nostalgia, Oh My Home' (الشوق يا وطني) with a special reference to some verse lines of the poem, which focuses on the notion of "homeland" as the poem's main theme and the Arabic poetic language as the classical tongue. The research concludes briefly with a few observations and a conclusion.