The Symbol of the Phoenician Bird in Mahmoud Darwish's Poetry
Khaled A. Othman Al-Jabr, Department of Arabic, UOP, Jordan.
Abstract
The appearance of the Phoenician bird in Mahmoud Darwish's poetry is directly related with both the problem of Palestine and the poetic changes throughout his life. It appeared most strongly after he left Beirut, and the dream was broken. In 1972 the symbol of the Phoenician Bird first appeared in his book of poetry (I Love You or I don’t Love You), specifically in his poem (Sarhan Drinks Coffee in the Cafeteria).
In 1982 the symbol of the Phoenician Bird appeared in the book (Praise to the High Shadow), where he talks about the Phoenician in its death which equals real death in reality. In both (Less Roses) 1986 and (I See What I Want) 1990, Darwish declares his desire to take his poetry in another direction, where the Phoenician rises from his ashes rather from the ashes of his people. In his other book (Why Did You Leave the Horse Alone?) 1995, the Phoenician appears four times, in relation to himself, not with the people of Palestine. In his book (the wall) 1999, this transformation was emphasized after a very tiring illness, marking another appearance of the Phoenician, which also occurred four times. In his book (Don’t Apologize for What You Did) 2004, the Phoenician was described as green. In 2006, it appeared in his book (Like the Blossoms of Almonds or Further) 2006, portraying the feeling of being broken