Reimagining the Romantic Hero in Al-Sayyab’s “A Stranger By the Gulf”

Authors

  • Arwa Hussein Aldoory Tikrit University/ College of Education for Women

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25130/Lang.9.2.7

Keywords:

Shelly’s Romantic hero, Al-Sayyab, Iraqi modern poetry, Exile, Romanticism

Abstract

This study investigates the traits of Shelley’s Romantic hero in Badr Shakir Al-Sayyab's poem "A Stranger by the Gulf". The research looks at the primary qualities of this character, including isolation, rebellion, internal turmoil, individuality, and deep connection with Nature, showing their portrayal within the context of modern Iraqi poetry and the socio-political Iraqi landscape. Al- Sayyab's employs a Shellean model of heroism to address the complexities of isolation, exile and political oppression. Adopting an analytical approach of criticism, the study Draws on the differences of the Iraqi context, and contends that the speaker in this poem, who experiences loss, nostalgia, and estrangement, is an Iraqi model of the Romantic hero confronted with the agonies of Iraq's sociopolitical reality. The Study focuses on Al-Sayyab's interaction with Western literature, emphasizing the universality and flexibility of the Romantic hero and its adaptability in modern Arabic poetry.

References

Abrams, A. H. (1975) English Romantic Poets,10th edition, Oxford University Press, USA.

Al-Musawi, Muhsin (2006). Arabic Poetry: Trajectories of Modernity and Tradition, Routledge, Taylor Francis Group, London.

Colla, E (2012). “The Poetry of Revolt”, The Dawn of the Arab Uprisings: End of the Old Order?, B.Haddad, R. Bsheer and Z. Abu Rish (eds.), London, pp.77-82.

Denham, Robert D. (1974). Frye and the Social context of Criticism. South Atlantic Bulletin, vol. 39, No. 4, pp. 63-72, https://www.jstor.org/stable/3198232

Hassan, Wail (2002). “Postcolonial Theory and Horizons of Application”, Journal of Arabic Literature, vol.33, No.1, pp.45-64, Brill, https://www.jstor.org/stable/4183446

Leavis, F.R. (1975). “Shelley”, English Romantic Poets, Abrams (edit.), Oxford University Press, USA.

Taleghani, Shareah (2003). “A Stranger by the Gulf” (trans.), checkpoints Literature, https://wordswithoutboarders.org.

Stewart, Miriam J. (2009). “Poverty, Sense of Belonging and Experiences of Social Isolation”. Journal of Social Sciences, 13(2), 173-195.

Downloads

Published

2025-06-30

How to Cite

Aldoory, A. H. (2025). Reimagining the Romantic Hero in Al-Sayyab’s “A Stranger By the Gulf”. JOURNAL OF LANGUAGE STUDIES, 9(2), 116–124. https://doi.org/10.25130/Lang.9.2.7