A Semiotic Study of Patriotic Poems in Shawqiat

Introduction

In semiotics, it is attempted to analyze texts and search for hidden meanings. Structuralist semioticians place great emphasis on the relationship between elements and semiotic studies and focus on the role of the semiotic texture in meaning and content formation. Semiotics was used by Saussure as “a science that deals with the examination of signs within social life”. Semiotics refer to the study of symbolic systems such as languages, symbols, codes, and signals. Language is an independent concept among symbolic systems; “… and contents and meanings are constructed exclusively through an active process of interpretation. In the area of structuralism, connections should inevitably be made between signs and codes where they become meaningful”. The reflection of patriotism is a fundamental aspect manifested in Shawqi’s poetry, having become an influential element at the content and language level of his poems. Given their semantic extensiveness, his poems can be examined through a variety of dimensions. His images and poetic meanings can be achieved using the science of semiotics.

Theoretical Framework:

Semioticians pay attention to the recognition of mechanisms that shape discourse such as metaphors, symbols, and other rhetorical techniques. In addition to their explicit meanings, each word may bear an implicit meaning as well which involves social, cultural, personal, ideological, and emotional associations. Shawqi’s patriotic poems were selected among his other works as the subtlety of his emotions and affections are manifested in these poems to a higher extent than his other works. The poet uses these affections to produce highly influential pieces. As a vital part of poetry, affection brings about certain spiritual beauties to the reader. Examination into poetry through such means offers a different, new perspective towards texts. The entire selected poems in this study were discussed in terms of aesthetic symbols, symbols of time and space, symbols related to syntactic norm deviation, and text analysis through vertical and horizontal views. In his 2005 dissertation, Hamid Valizadeh examined Shawqi’s thoughts, expressions, meanings, and how they are employed to create imageries and literary devices. In another study in 2000, Navazallah Farhadi investigated aspects of poetic relationships and similarities between Malek al-Shoara Bahar and Ahmed Shawqi in subjects including praising national heroes, addressing social situations, fighting against tyranny, calling for solidarity, and remembering former prominent figures. In their 2012 study, Sakinah Malmir and Firouz Harirchi conducted a comparative examination of the views of these two poets and attempted to express points of similarities and differences between the poets’ opinions regarding the love of the East.

Using the descriptive-analytical method, the present study is an attempt to examine manifestations of the poet’s sense of patriotism in four subjects including aesthetic symbols, symbols of time and space, symbols related to syntactic norm deviation, and text analysis through vertical and horizontal views. The study was conducted to provide answers to the following questions: What symbols are employed in the poet’s patriotic poems in order to present new readings? What are the aesthetic aspects of Shawqi’s patriotic poems? What are the concepts within hidden meanings in patriotic poems?

In his poetry, Shawqi has employed numerous symbols such as semiotics of title and text as well as semiotics related to intertextuality and aesthetic symbols, symbols of time and space, symbols related to syntactic norm deviation, and text analysis through vertical and horizontal views. In the area of semiotics, the poet expresses symbols such as metaphors, metonymy, simile, hyperbole, etc. His symbols related to time and space such as al-layl, al-Fajr, al-qad, al-sabah, and khatir are majorly used to reflect his longing for his home country. Certain instances of syntactic norm deviations in Shawqi’s poems involve delays and dedications, redundancies, omissions, and briefness. Syntactic norm deviations or evading the rules governing language is normal in poetry; Shawqi does not disrupt language combinations considerably and attempts to connect to the audience mostly in a friendly, ordinary manner. As for text analysis in terms of vertical and horizontal aspects, the choice of signifier out of a set of alternative element depends on factors such as codes, contracts, denotations, rhetorical intentions, personal limitations, etc. The analysis of replacement relationships demonstrates the value of a particular notion in a literary text; replacement analysis involves conducting comparison between each present signifier in a chain of words or hidden signifier that could have been chosen instead of the existing signifier. Therefore, given the employed signifiers, it can be inferred that Shawqi’s work shines best in the semantic area in which aesthetic elements are used to offer beauty and a special literary level to his poetry.

These four symbols were used not only to the purpose of literary showcasing and poetic imagery creation, but also in line with producing meanings and highlighting the poet’s spiritual, emotional thoughts and experiences. The use of these semantic symbols has resulted in increasing emotions, image creation, manifestation of words and provoking a sense of nostalgia and numerous readings in the minds of the audience. Rhetorical techniques such as metaphor, metonymy, simile, hyperbole, etc. as well as substitution, companionship, and norm deviations are symbols that play an influential role in recording the poet’s emotional experiences. Using these symbols, the poet seeks to present concepts such as sense of patriotism and nostalgia and express his thoughts and emotions. Shawqi employs these symbols-meanings and create literary imagery in order to offer dynamism to the symbols used in poems, setting them free of his explicit implications. Denotations used in these poems are mostly dependent on personal, emotional, and social aspects of a single signified, while each symbol has helped increase the emotional load and beauty of Shawqi’s poetry.