Personal Mythin Tarafah Ibn Al-Abd's Poetry: Analytical Reading in Light of Psychocriticism

Abstract

This study attempts to provide a new reading of the poetry of Tarafah Ibn Al-Abd in light of thestructural dimensionsof psycho criticism, particularly within Charles Mauron’s approach. The novelty of this study lies in the applied model it provides to study the personal myth in Arabic literature, which is not found in previous studies. Some of these studies only mention Mauron’s approach, while others deal with the general psychological information in Tarafah Ibn Al-Abd's poetry without using Mauron's approach.

The study focuses on two main themes: First, a theoretical theme which identifiesthe effectiveness of psychological criticismintroduced by Mauron in the study of personal myth, and its impact on the study of the literary language of the text. It also reveals thelinks and relationships in this language that are connected to the unconscious, and its role in enriching literary criticism and widening its scope. Second, a procedural theme which attempts to use procedural tools derived from modern criticism approaches and some psychoanalytic techniques in order to reach the personal myth in Tarafah Ibn Al-Abd's poetry, through the study of literary image and what it includes of figures and implied connotations, forming together a cohesive network of connotations related to and based on the unconscious.

The study finds that there is a network of connotations related to funeral images and the problem of fate, which is appreciablyrepeated in Tarafah's poetry. The study relates this to what he encountered in his childhood including his father's death as well as subsequent situations and events, and to his turbulent ideological background towards death and life issues.