Hijai - Journal on Arabic Language and Literature
Vol 8 No 2 (2025): Hijai - Journal on Arabic Language and Literature

THE POETICS OF RESISTANCE: MIRROR OF SOCIETY AND SOCIAL FUNCTIONS IN MAHMUD DARWISH’S QASIDAT AL-ARDH WITHIN IAN WATT’S SOCIOLOGY OF LITERATURE

Abdinda Firdausi Nuzula (Unknown)
Ma'rifatul Munjiah (Unknown)



Article Info

Publish Date
30 Nov 2025

Abstract

This study examines Mahmud Darwish’s poem “Qasidatu al-Ardh” (“The Poem of the Land”) through the lens of Ian Watt’s sociology of literature to understand how the text reflects and functions within the socio-political realities of Palestine. The study aims to (1) describe how the poem mirrors the social and political conditions of Palestinian life under occupation, (2) reveal the social values, nationalism, and ideological resistance expressed in the poem, and (3) explain the poem’s social functions as a medium of critique, collective consciousness, and ideological struggle. Using a qualitative-descriptive method, the analysis focuses on close reading of the Arabic text supported by secondary sources on Darwish, Palestinian history, and sociological literary theory. The findings show that Darwish constructs a poetic landscape in which land, identity, memory, and the body become symbolic sites of conflict and resistance. These results demonstrate that poetry, especially within contexts of oppression, serves as both a mirror and an agent of social transformation.

Copyrights © 2025






Journal Info

Abbrev

hijai

Publisher

Subject

Languange, Linguistic, Communication & Media

Description

Hijai Journal is managed by Arabic Department , State Islamic University of Sunan Gunung Djati and Asosiasi Prodi Bahasa dan Sastra Arab (AP-BSA). It publishes research reports on Arabic language and Literature such as linguistics, literary studies and criticism, translation, and multidisciplinary ...