Darwish's Mural
The Echo of an Epic Hymn
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3482939 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ferial J Ghazoul (0009-0006-5326-1919, American University in Cairo, corresponding author), Ferial Ghazoul |
| Year | 2012 |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 37-54 |
| Publication date | 2012-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Interventions (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1369-801X • E-ISSN: 1469-929X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/1369801x.2012.656932 |
| OpenAlex | W1484354591 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 6 |
Jidariyya (Mural) by Mahmoud Darwish was intended as his last poetic work, following a brush with death during heart surgery in 1999. Mural combines many strands of Darwish's poetry and is in a sense his testament. The entire collection is one long poem with many movements. It wavers between the lyrical impulse and the epical grandeur of a national classic. This essay analyses the verse genres of epic and lyric in terms of content, form and reception, and the fluidity of literary genres where artistic transgression of conventions is valued. Then it explains how and why Mural, while aspiring to be an epic, stops short of one, mixing lyrical reflections with a discontinuous verse narrative. This poetic strategy is not only a poetic choice of a hybrid form, but also the state of mind of the ailing poet caught between life and death. It further reflects the state of Darwish's homeland where Palestine paradoxically is and is not, caught between being and non-being. Epics celebrate national achievements, but as nationhood in the case of Palestine is work in progress, the poetic expression reflects this indeterminacy by mixing lyrical meditations on existence and exile with recollections of personal and collective history
Apotheosis · Art · Art history · EPIC · Homeland · Literature · Mural · Narrative · Painting · Poetics · Poetry · Politics · History · Islamic Studies and History · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Law · Middle East Politics and Society · Philosophy
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,4 |
| Citation span | 2016 - 2020 (5) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |