Studies on Arabic Language and Literature

Abstract Khaled Hussain builds up the text of his Novel “The Kite Runner” on the borders of the biography and novel imagination and chronicles the changes of the consciousness in this active and reactive self about what happens with it and what goes around it, and with the other characters that direct the events of narration, its development and its interaction with openness to the future, as it was opened to its present and past. He also targets the role of the narrator, whose self-vision dominates everything, thus he criticizes him and his surroundings, and looks at his disability in the face of many events, and his attempts to overpass his weakness towards the issues that constitute the social, cultural, and historical realities in which he lives, to be able at the end to pass the test in working for liberation from its torments towards a promising future.

Abstract Contrastive dualities are linguistic structures with both overlaps and contrasts in meaning and pronunciation. This difference brings about creativity and beauty in the poems. Because of the poetic structure of the poem, it is a translation of the psychological state of the poet and his internal feelings. Duality is the term which refers to the connection between separate phenomena. These dualities result from dual feelings awakened in the poet, which include: feelings toward self and feelings toward the dominance of others over the poets’ self. The poet expresses these two types of feelings in this poetry in the form of images. These images form the basis of this study. The most important include: immortality/destruction, connection /separation, return/departure, light/darkness, and life/death. These contrasts may complement each other but one is not important without the other member of pair. This research is a new investigation dealing with poetic examples of some of the poets of long poems. It analyzes and interprets them by going to the depth of poetic structures. This is done by tracing the contradictory dualities in texts which in turn, is done by revealing symbols, and sings for these dualities in the light of their psychological dimensions.

Abstract In Arabic poetry, the device of repetition functions at two levels: form and meaning. In form, repetition makes for musical richness, and in meaning, it makes for emphasis. The present article is a study of repetition in “An Address from the Market of Idleness” by Palestinian poet Samīh Al-Qāsim. The poem depicts actual and possible Palestinian sufferings inflicted by Israelis and stresses that the poet’s resistance against the enemy will not be affected. In this article, the device of repetition is studied by considering repeated words, phrases and similar verb forms, and the poet’s intention in using repetition.

Abstract Emily Nasrallah, with her tender feelings and profound thoughts, has directed our attention, in her works, towards social issues such as war, immigration and women affairs. The fact that modern man no longer holds to his spiritual values such as faith and love demonstrates how significant these social issues are. Emily Nasrallah emphasizes patriotism and resistance, because she believes these to be still important. In her novel "Flight against the Time", she discusses the merits and demerits of immigration and constantly compares homeland with Diaspora. These comparisons are based on human nature and conscience. It is natural that at the time of war any country needs its militants and soldiers. In Lebanon, however, large numbers of people migrated to other countries at the time of war which had unfortunate consequences including loss of identity. This Lebanese novelist has addressed these consequences. The present research aims at investigating the theme of "Flight against Time" with reference to women and immigration which are the two dominant themes of the novel. Moreover, it examines the life and character of the author. This paper utilizes a technical and psychological method as well as criticism and comparison.

Abstract This study fouses on the transformation of a genius to a narcissist. Narcissism removes man from the normal situation and puts him in an atmosphere of arrogance and conceit.
Psychologists have found that genius tend to become narcissists and be afflicted with conceit. This article investigated the Personality of Ibn-al-Asir. This figure in Arabic literature took a creative step in reviving Arabic literature and literature in 6th and 7th centuries, when Arabic literature was in decline. But, he was not immune to narcissism arising from his genius. In this investigation, having surveyed Ibn-al-Asir’s life and literary context, we elaborate on such concepts as genius and narcissism and their interrelationship. Then we consider some of the manifestations of this genius and his superiority and examples of his narcissism as found in his well-known book, Al-Masal Al-Saer.

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to review the principles of teaching Arabic according to contemporary approaches of teaching second and foreign languages in the West. It explores the possibility of benefitting from these approaches to enrich Arabic teaching practice. The paper follows the evolution of language teaching approaches from basing instruction on syntactic knowledge up to acquiring the ability to use the language collaboratively, interactively, and communicatively. It closely examines the communicative approach, particularly one of its components, the interaction perspective. This perspective focuses on using authentic language, not only within the confines of the classroom, but also in social settings.

Abstract Lamyat-ol-Arab is a Poem which has been widely acclaimed and considered superior to other odes by many scholars and literary figures due to its high quality. But, in spite of this acclaim, it seems that this should not be case and if the work is investigated deeply and accurately, many cases of exaggeration will be revealed. This article aims to modify these exaggerations and fill up the gaps by comparing this ode with other important odes such as the odes by Amr-ol-Ghays and Nabeghah Zobyani, criticizing and analyzing both their form and their content. One conclusion is that the name of the ode under investigation is not given to it because of its superiority but mainly because of prejudices of Arabs against Shoubiah movement. So, this ode can be just one of the pagan odes, not the best ode.

Abstract Nostalgia is a term frequently used in recent years by poetry critics. Though recently gaining momentum in Arabic criticism, it had existed since per-Islamic era and is motivated by personal, political, social, and emotional factors. A poet living in exile or suffering from the socio-political situation may resort to nostalgia. Taking the above-mentioned factors into consideration, we can categorize this technique into personal and social types. At present, nostalgia originates in political, social, and personal concerns and AL-Siab, the pioneer of blank poetry, is a one of the most popular poets whose poems reflect his desire and enthusiasm for his childhood, country and homeland.
The findings of the present research indicate that Badr Al-Shaker often took refuge in his happy, cheerful past to forget the sorrows engulfing his life. This article studies nostalgia ,types, and reasons in Al-Siabs poetry.

Abstract Arabic language is similar to other languages in linguistic phenomena such as mutual comprehension and conversation.
The main aim is conveying meaning because ambiguity and generalization is given up in the interest of clear communication. This article shows that some cases of ambiguity are syntactic and some are lexical. It explains how syntax and lexical similarity play their roles in clarifying the meaning of different syntactic structures. This article also emphasizes that respecting spelling conventions contributes to communication.