ABSTRACT
Cinematography has contributed to the development of modern Arabic poetry far beyond simply thematic approaches, bringing about a radical transformation, not just in the development of the poetic image and its mechanisms, but also in revolutionizing the mechanisms of imagination and imaginative capacity for both poets and readers. This study argues that the impact of cinema goes beyond such a change and leads to a radical transformation of the philosophy of imagery in general, and poetic imagery in particular. Traditional painting theories regarded reality as the reference for mimesis. As cinematography has had a profound effect on poetry, cinema itself has evolved into a visual representation of simulation rather than reality. Therefore, the focus of this study is the transformation of the poetic imagery in modern Arabic poetry and the redefining philosophy and dynamics established by the art of cinema. Through the study of how the poetic image is formed in contemporary Arabic poetry, it is being transformed from the long tradition of Arabic rhetoric, where majāz (metaphor) is believed to be the essence of imagery, to a modern pictorial philosophy which has its roots in cinematography. The trajectory of image transformations and their mechanism of formation is discussed through an examination of poems written over a period of more than half a century. The development of modern Arabic poetry is traced back to the first poetry collection of Ṣalāḥ ʿAbd al-Ṣabūr (1931–1981) published in 1956, and up until the poets of the 1990s, who are often referred to as the most recent phase of the advance of modern Arabic poetry through their contribution in the prose poem. In between, we will also discuss poems by Aḥmad ʿAbd al-Muʿṭī Ḥijāzī (1935–), Amal Dunqul (1940–1983), and others.
