A Semiotic Analysis of the Resistance Poetry of Nader Qasim Muhammad Qawasmeh Based on Peirce’s Model, with Emphasis on the Collection Kāna ʿĀliyan wa-Yabqā

Abstract

Resistance literature has consistently served as a medium for representing collective identity and strengthening the spirit of resilience against domination. The poetry of Nader Qasim Muhammad Qawasmeh, a prominent poet of the resistance movement, constitutes a notable example of committed poetry because of its emphasis on such components as identity, myth, and homeland. Drawing on Charles Sanders Peirce’s triadic semiotic model, the present study seeks to identify, classify, and systematically analyze the signs employed in Qawasmeh’s resistance poetry and to explain the process through which meaning is produced. It specifically addresses the following question: Under which of the three categories of Peirce’s theory can the signs appearing in these poems be classified, and what functions do they perform in reproducing the discourse of resistance? The study employs a descriptive-analytical method informed by Peircean semiotics. All poems associated with the principal components of resistance were examined through complete enumeration, and their signs were analyzed according to Peirce’s triadic classification. The findings demonstrate that symbolic signs occur with greater frequency and play a central role in representing the abstract concepts of resistance. Through symbols such as Jerusalem, Palestine, and martyrdom, the poet legitimizes the ideals of resistance. Indexical signs, by referring to specific historical events such as occupation and displacement, evoke a sense of spatial and temporal belonging, while iconic signs, through the recreation of concrete images such as blood and destruction, facilitate the audience’s emotional identification with the represented experiences. Overall, Peirce’s theory, with its emphasis on the role of the interpretant and the situational context, provides an effective framework for analyzing committed poetry. Qawasmeh’s poems employ a complex network of signs that interact to construct a dynamic and multilayered discourse in defense of identity and homeland. Furthermore, the collection Kāna ʿĀliyan wa-Yabqā offers a rich example of the conscious and unconscious use of the three categories of signs to convey the concepts of resistance, love, homeland, faith, and immortality.