Status of symbol and myth of birds in the resistance literature: A case study of the lyrics of Samih al-Qasim

One of the prominent features of Resistance Literature is the use of symbolic elements. In this respect, natural symbols have had a great role in expressing the thoughts and ideas of the resistance poets. Birds are among those natural elements that such poets have employed symbolically in order to enrich their poems. As a leading poet in the resistance literature, Samih al-Qasim has utilized the symbol and myth of birds to express the defiant and liberal ideas and, as a pretext, to object to the poor conditions of Palestinians. In addition, by employing symbols with positive and negative connotations, the poet has depicted the cruelty of tyrants, the viciousness of their deeds, and the necessity of Palestinians’ struggle and resistance. Since people and their homeland are the main themes of his poems and the symbolic images of birds imply those themes, the present study seeks to analyze the bird symbols used in Qasim’s poems. To do so, a great part his poems are deciphered.