Abstract

Semiotic criticism pays particular attention to exploring the deep dimensions of literary texts across their multiple levels—icon, index, and symbol. This study adopts a semiotic approach to the poem “Stop Until We Cry” by the Palestinian poet Izz al-Din Manasrah, viewing it as a poetic text that draws on pre-Islamic literary heritage, particularly the openings of the Mu‘allaqat, while simultaneously weaving a contemporary discourse that reflects the tragedy of the Nakba and the experience of Palestinian exile.
The research is grounded in a critical reading that seeks to uncover the poem’s semiotic structure and to highlight its interaction with memory, heritage, and national experience. Using a descriptive-analytical method, the study identifies the semiotic network underlying the poem, in which ruins symbolize destruction and absence, spatial references signify exile and alienation, and religious and historical symbols function as cultural markers that affirm identity and belonging.
By tracing and analyzing semiotic units in accordance with Peircean semiotics—specifically the triad of representamen, object, and interpretant—the poem is shown to operate within an endless process of semiosis, whereby signs move from a limited visual or concrete dimension to an expansive symbolic space open to multiple interpretations. This transformation enables heritage to function as a source of resistance, positioning the poetic text as a mirror of Palestinian collective memory and its aspiration for survival and freedom.
The adopted methodology combines precision in describing poetic signs with depth in interpreting them, offering an effective framework for highlighting Izz al-Din Manasrah’s distinctive poetic experience and demonstrating the capacity of Peircean semiotics to enrich contemporary Arab literary criticism by revealing the latent layers of literary discourse.
 
Keywords: Semiotics; Peirce; Izz al-Din Manasrah; Stop Until We Cry; poetic sign
 

Introduction

Semiotic research is regarded as one of the major shifts in modern literary criticism. This approach has moved beyond the traditional boundaries of textual analysis toward broader domains concerned with signs, meaning, and signification at their multiple levels. Among the most influential theorists of semiotics is the American philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce, who laid the foundations for an integrated model of the relationship between the sign, its object, and its interpretant. This model operates within a rigorous framework that brings together logic, philosophy, and linguistics, granting literary texts expansive hermeneutic possibilities that reveal both their surface and underlying dimensions. Accordingly, applying this perspective to the reading of modern Arabic poetry opens new horizons for understanding poetic discourse in its interaction with heritage, reality, and history.
The poet Izz al-Din al-Manasrah (1946–2021) stands as one of the most prominent Palestinian poetic voices to have combined profound aesthetic sensitivity with a resistant national vision. He succeeded in transforming his personal experience of exile into a mirror reflecting the tragedy of the Palestinian collective, blending traditional authenticity with openness to modernity. His poem “Qifā Nabki” represents a striking example of the intersection between pre-Islamic (Jahili) references and contemporary context. By evoking the openings of the Mu‘allaqat, the poet draws upon them to construct a poetic discourse centered on ruins, alienation, and memory, forming an intertwined image that reflects the tragedy of the Palestinian Nakba and elevates it to both a human and national symbol.
The significance of this research lies in the fact that previous studies of al-Manasrah’s poetry have largely focused on historical, political, or general aesthetic dimensions, without giving sufficient attention to reading his texts through the lens of Peircean semiotics. Examining the specific poem “Qifā Nabki” through Peirce’s theoretical framework allows for uncovering its underlying semiotic structure and tracing the movement of the sign from its iconic level to its indexical and symbolic dimensions. This approach enables a deeper understanding of the poem’s specificity and contributes an important cognitive dimension to contemporary Arabic literary criticism.
 

Materials and Methods

This research adopts a descriptive-analytical method based on describing the components of the text, identifying its semiotic units, and then analyzing and interpreting them in light of Charles Sanders Peirce’s semiotic theory. This methodology allows for a balance between methodological precision in examining textual structures and interpretive depth in uncovering symbolic and cultural meanings, thereby achieving integration between objective description and critical analysis.
The primary materials of the study consist of the poem “Qifā Nabki” by Izz al-Din al-Manasrah as the main case study, and Peirce’s semiotic theory as the theoretical framework. The analysis focuses on Peirce’s fundamental triad: the representamen (the sign vehicle), the object (that which the sign refers to), and the interpretant (the meaning generated in the mind of the recipient).
The research is guided by several central questions, most notably:

How does Peirce’s triad (representamen, object, interpretant) manifest in the poem “Qifā Nabki”?
How do textual signs transform from sensory resemblance (icon) to realistic indices and subsequently to culturally charged symbols with a resistant dimension?
What roles do place, time, and historical and religious symbols play in shaping the poem’s semiotic structure?

The poem is approached through major semantic themes supported by textual evidence, with particular attention to the three levels of signs: iconic (based on resemblance), indexical (based on causality), and symbolic (based on convention).
 

Research Findings

A Peircean semiotic analysis of “Qifā Nabki” reveals an open and multi-layered semiotic space that integrates sensory, psychological, historical, and symbolic dimensions into a cohesive structure. Within the theme of place and ruins, visual and auditory icons—such as ruins, wind, and the calls of owls—function as sensory entry points that enable the reader to grasp psychological desolation and civilizational absence. These elements operate as representamens that point to the object of historical and political alienation, generating an interpretant rooted in shared cultural consciousness.
In the context of exile and estrangement, the poem’s signs function primarily as semiotic indices, establishing direct links to socio-political reality. Images of lost sovereignty, aimless wandering, and expressions of despair lend these signs a tangible existential weight, transforming the text into both an emotional document and a testimony to collective and individual exile.
Within the theme of wine and companionship, the dynamic interplay between icon and symbol becomes particularly significant. Sensory images such as the tavern, wine, and revelry gradually evolve into symbols of escape, defeat, and cultural-political alienation. This progression exemplifies Peirce’s concept of semiosis, whereby signs shift from sensory resemblance to culturally conventional symbolic meaning. Through this layered semiotic process, the poem constructs a rich and enduring discourse on memory and loss that remains open to multiple interpretations.
 

Discussion and Conclusion

The findings of the study demonstrate that the poem “Qifā Nabki” forms an integrated network of signs in which icons provide sensory, visual, and auditory dimensions; indices anchor the text in its realistic and political context; and symbols open expansive cultural horizons extending into history and myth.
The analysis reveals how signs within the poem evolve from sensory imitation (icon) to realistic indices and ultimately to culturally charged symbols imbued with a resistant dimension. This evolution confirms the capacity of modern Arabic poetry to assimilate contemporary critical approaches and to contribute meaningfully to their development. It also underscores the poet’s ability to transform personal exile into a reflection of collective Palestinian tragedy.
The study affirms the uniqueness of al-Manasrah’s poetic experience in shaping the poetic sign as a vessel for memory and resistance, and demonstrates how infinite semiosis expands the text’s interpretive horizons. Moreover, it shows that employing a Peircean semiotic framework enables a deeper engagement with poetic texts by approaching signs as dynamic entities that interact with readers on multiple levels.
Applying Peirce’s semiotic theory to modern Arabic poetry thus reveals its underlying semiotic structures and opens new critical perspectives for understanding the complex interplay between poetry, heritage, and lived reality.