The Negative and Positive Aspects of Black Color in Antarah Ibn Shaddad's Poems

The present paper investigates the semantic dimensions of black color and its positive and negative functions in the poems of 'Antarah Ibn Shaddad, a pre-Islamic virtuous poet. It shows that the positive dimension of black color sometimes appears in a simile like likening it to musk and ambergris, sometimes as blackness of lover's hair or eyes and sometimes in the dark and tense atmosphere of battlefield.in all these portrayals, however, the poet tries to alleviate his hurtful soul, though passing. In negative dimension, the black color often appears as a defect which is used as a pretext by 'Antarah's relatives and friends to excommunicate him. However, using logical methods such as suggesting that blackness is blameworthy when describing bad acts or that whiteness of act cleanses bodily blackness, the poet appears as a social reformist who tries to reform wrong and meaningless beliefs of the society and replace color and gender-based discrimination with the rule of moral values. A descriptive-analytical method is used to elaborate on two contradictory dimensions of black color in this poet's Diwan (complete poetic works).