A Comparative Study of the Aligned and Inverse Evocation of Traditional Figures and Themes in the Poetry of Tahereh Saffarzadeh and Fadwa Tuqan

Abstract

The evocation of traditional figures and themes is one of the most important techniques in contemporary poetry for establishing a connection between cultural heritage and socio-political realities. Since Tahereh Saffarzadeh and Fadwa Tuqan entered the field of contemporary poetry with certain shared characteristics, the present study, adopting a comparative approach and employing a descriptive-analytical method, seeks to examine the evocation of figures in the poetry of these two poets. In doing so, it aims to answer the question of how and for what purpose traditional figures and themes are evoked in their poetry. The findings indicate that, in the poetry of both poets, such evocations are carried out through two modes of aligned and inverse recreation, often with the aim of articulating their social, national, and human concerns. The results of the study also show that, despite differences in historical, social, and territorial conditions—which have led to different thematic orientations in their use of traditional elements—both poets, through a symbolic approach and by disrupting the conventional structure of the evoked themes, employ these elements to express their intended purposes. As a result, they create new themes within the intellectual framework of their poetry.