Points of Convergence and Divergence in the Contemporary Poetic Poem

A Comparative Critical Analysis between "García Lorca and Nazik al-Malaika"

Abstract

This study seeks to explore the points of convergence and divergence in contemporary poetry between the works of the Iraqi poet Nazik al-Malaika and the Spanish poet García Lorca; where the two poets converge on aesthetic and functional levels manifested in their rebellion against classical forms, their use of tragic elements and existential melancholy, their preoccupation with themes of death and alienation, as well as the personification of nature and the invocation of symbolism and mythology to express the anxieties of modern humanity.

The study focuses on the points of convergence that reflect the unity of human consciousness during moments of cultural transformation, while the differences reveal the impact of adherence to identity and linguistic reference in shaping the contours of the poetic experience. The significance of this study lies in uncovering the shared human and universal dimensions between the two experiences despite differences in environment and language, while highlighting how Arab consciousness perceives the Western experience through a poet connected to Al-Andalus Lorca and testing the limits of translation in conveying rhythm and symbolism across cultures.

The comparative study of the poetics of Nazik al-Malaika and those of García Lorca raises a series of critical, methodological, and epistemological issues both theoretical and practical due to the differences in their respective environments, cultures, and languages, despite the existence of profound human and artistic intersections between the two experiences. Among the most important questions underpinning these issues are the following: How was the existential vision of death and tragedy manifested in Nazik’s work between self-anxiety and emotional alienation and in Lorca’s work through a fateful and symbolic confrontation?