“My Lady, Because you Are my Lady, I Have all of that Which Makes Life Worth Living”. Palestine: as Women and Mother in Resistance Poetry

Abstract

This article undertakes an analysis of the representation of the Palestinian nation as a woman within Palestinian resistance poetry. Our methodology centers on theexamination of a selection of emblematic poems embodying the personification of Palestine in the feminine gender during the zenith of resistance poetry in the 1960s. Primarily, this corpus comprises works by poets such as Maḥmūd Darwīsh, Tawfīq Zayyād, Salim Ŷubrān, and Fadwā Ṭūqān. The analytical framework employed herein is grounded in the theoretical constructs of personification and gendered constructs of the nation. Within these poetic compositions, we discern three distinct representations, cast in the female gender, of the Palestinian nation: the land, the beloved woman, and the mother. Notably, the figure of the mother assumes a dual role, being perceived both as the biological and cultural reproducer of the nation, as well as the mother of the martyr. The findings underscore thepotency of these representations, wherein Palestine, personified as a woman, serves as resolute symbols of the nation, steadfastly resisting the territorial fragmentation imposed by military occupation. Poetry becomes a form of cultural expression that evades censorship through the use of metaphors and personifications. These literary and gender representations play a fundamental role in the construction of Palestinian identity.