نشریه نقد ادب معاصر عربی
پیاپی 8 (بهار و تابستان 1394)

Due to the uniqueness of its structure and characteristics، the Noble Quran has always had a significant and influential presence in the writings of poets and literary scholars in different ages. Moreover، the Quranic verses and concepts have always been used in literary works. As the Holey Quran has always been a source of inspiration for literary writers، there are frequent examples of divine verses، rhetorical patterns، and concepts taken from this holy book in their works. Salah Abd Al-Sabur is among the contemporary Arab poets who are inspired by the Noble Quran by including the lexical as well as syntactic features of the divine verses in their works. This poet is also frequently influenced by the Quranic themes and contents. The choice of form، lexis، and structure in his poetry reflects the poet''s strong influence by the holy book. Actually، his poetry reminds the reader of the special form and content of the Noble Quran. Inspired by the divine verses، Abd Al-Sabur speaks about the transitory nature of the world، man’s mortality، and death. The poet tries to depict the implied facts of the Quranic verses in his works. In addition، he attempts to combine divine concepts with his words to compose his verse. In some poems، with a delicate change in the structure of the Quranic verses، the poet tries to recreate the same simile or metaphor. In such cases، the elements which are employed to make the comparison in both of these two literary techniques are actually taken from the divine verses. In some other poems، however، the poet borrows Quranic words to create new similes and metaphors. The present study is an attempt to investigate semantic deviations in the Quranic rhetorical samples of Abd-Al-Sabur''s poetry along with both the syntagmatic and paradigmatic dimensions. The results of the study of paradigmatic relations in the samples revealed that metaphor is more frequent than irony. Concerning the syntagmatic relations، on the other hand، it was found that simile is more frequent than figure and figurative language. Finally، based on the results of the study of the paradigmatic and syntagmatic dimensions of Quranic rhetorical samples، attempt was made to evaluate the way the poet reflects the aesthetic aspects of the Holy Quran in his poetry.

Working within a descriptive-analytical framework, the present study examines the structure of "Al-Haraam" novel by Yusuf Idris. Structuralist theorists have always tried to establish a set of comprehensive rules which are generalizeable enough to be applied for all story types and can offer a framework for analyzing literary works specially novels. These theories began from Vladimir Prop and then developed by other theorists like Grimas, Teodorov, and Philip Hamon. Due to the fact that Yusuf Idris used to put special emphasis on the structure of the story, he had a beautiful style in his works. The most prominent structural features of his works are imagery, flashback, and interference story. Moreover, the author employs modern techniques in composing his novels. The major themes of his stories are the social problems of contemporary Arab world, particularly Egypt. Following the methods suggested by fiction theorists, the present research is an attempt to explore the content of "Al-Haraam" novel by Yusuf Idris through an investigation of the elements of structure in the story. The findings of the study show that the structure of the novel serves its realistic content. In other words, every structural element of the novel including plot, atmosphere, tone, and place, present its realistic content to the reader. Moreover, the novelist has paid special attention to structure throughout the story so that he has been able to employ all story elements in a coherent and consistent manner.

Climate literature refers to a branch of literature which includes explanations of natural as well as human geographical parameters of a particular region. This literary category enjoys a special status in the literature of many countries including the Arab world. Maroun Abboud is a well-known Lebanese figure in the field of climate literature. Relying on the native and geographical atmosphere of his birthplace, he raised climate literature to a prominent status. Following a descriptive-analytical method, the present study attempts to investigate the elements of climate literature in his short stories. The results of the study show that as the author has been loyal to region of Jobail and its surrounding villages, the elements of his short stories are mainly related to his native environment where he has already grown up. The author employs socio-cultural elements in order to criticize the Christian religious feudality as well as the political feudalism dominating over the society. Moreover, the findings of the study reveal that Maroun Abboud calls for a return to original and native cultures in order to counteract the negative influence of the western cultural invasion and the negligence of native and traditional values.

In the human life, there might be occasions when problems highly increase. Such situations influence the individual's soul as well as his mind. They may also result in pessimism. Poets, compared to other people, have a more gentle soul and a stronger emotion; therefore, they tend to show more reaction against the problems. It is possibly this distinction that increases the probability of pessimism among poets. In different historical periods, there are poets who suffer from pessimism. Compared to the past, this phenomenon has been vastly increased in contemporary age, especially among the Romanticists. Elias Abu-Shabake was a follower of Romanticism. His poems are full of grief and sorrow, and frequently in his poems, he shows his pessimism. The present study is an attempt to investigate pessimism in his poetry. The study also tries to examine the influential factors on Elias Abu-Shabake's pessimism, and identify the matters toward which this poet is pessimistic. There are various reasons for him to be pessimistic, for example his sickness and his father`s assassination. In addition, his pessimistic perspective is really wide. The signs of pessimism can be found in his worldview as well as his views on homeland and love. The present study follows a descriptive-analytical method for an investigation of pessimism in his poems.

Nostalgia, as a psychological notion has always been a characteristic of literature and art. It has been a matter of consideration throughout the literature history. Not only it does not fade away in any of the ages in the history of literature, but also it can be observed in the works of those poets who had to live far from their homeland due to their disagreement whether with the community or the ruling government. Therefore, the history of nostalgia dates back to the early stages of the history of mankind as it has always been one of his concerns in life. Perhaps, the main reason behind a preference of alienation among some poets is that generally, poets posses a delicate sense that makes them more competent in their analytical ability than the other members of the society. This capability enables such poets to take position against the harsh behaviors of the government and society, and thus, they prefer to migrate. This is the very issue that the present descriptive-analytical study tries to examine in the poetry of Boland Al-Heydari, a contemporary Iraqi poet. The current study also identifies different aspects of nostalgia in his poetry and investigates the factors which contributed to the development of such different nostalgic feelings. The findings of the study reveal that the poet's familial problems and his mental status, as well as his contemporary temporal and situational conditions are the major factors that resulted in a sense of mental alienation in his poetry.

After achieving many innovative developments, human beings left the villages and inhabited in cities. In every period in the history of mankind, cities have been the center of human evolutions and almost all cities have had similar features. After the Renaissance, cities, more than the past, took men into their gears. This issue hurt poets more than others. The dominance of certain socio-political conditions over the cities led to the spiritual and social alienation of poets. In Arab countries, too, after experiencing the socio- political changes, the same situation occurred for poets. The contemporary Arabic literature influenced by the Western literature, criticized city and its effects on people's lives. In contemporary Arabic poetry, Abdolvahhab Al-Bayati has dealt with this issue more than his counterparts. In the present research, after reviewing some points about city, the most important topics related to this word such as utopia and the appearance of city portrayed as prostitute are reviewed. Then, relying on Al-Bayati's political perspective, Baghdad, Babel, Neishabour, Paris and Shiraz, which in his poetries, have significance and high-frequency, have been studied. The findings of the study show that except Shiraz, the main characteristics of these cities are corruption, destruction, and darkness; and that only Shiraz is full of beauty and light and is the opposite point of those cities.

Character is one of the most important elements in fictional literature through which the author reflects his/her thoughts and feelings. The "Asl va Fasl" (The Origin and The Separation) novel by Sahar Khalife is among the novels in which the presence of characters is very prominent. The novelist employs both direct and indirect characterization patterns for presenting the characters. In so doing, the author uses two main techniques for direct characterization: the major characters are described and presented by the author herself; the minor characters, on the other hand, are presented through the other major and minor character's perspectives. This characterization method provides a more real picture of the characters and hence, is more effective. Regarding the indirect characterization pattern, the novelist employs various techniques for presenting the characters. She tries to familiarize the readers with the characters via describing their behaviors and their mental and psychological status, explaining their environment, using nomination techniques, and developing dialogs and monologs in the novel. The results of this descriptive-analytical study show that the novelist employs different characterization techniques in order to strengthen the structure of the literary work and a better transference of meaning. Moreover, the findings reveal that the author tends to use indirect rather than direct characterization strategies. The most frequent indirect techniques were found to be dialoging, describing the character's inner feelings and emotions, and nominating the characters.