The substitution in Al-Ma'ari's poetry is a textual approach

Abstract

The study aimed at a textual approach that reveals the role of substitution in the poetry of Abū al-ʿAlāʾ al-Maʿarrī as a cohesive mechanism that highlights the internal relations of the text and its coherence. It sought to analyze the linguistic, semantic, and structural levels of Maʿarrī’s texts in order to uncover how substitution is employed to connect ideas and construct meanings. It also highlighted the suggestive energies and expressive potentials that this technique carries, which embody the poet’s vision and deepen his artistic dimensions. The study adopted the descriptive-analytical method to examine the patterns of substitution and their effect on building the poetic text.

The results clarify that substitution is one of the most prominent means that achieve the coherence and internal unity of the text in Maʿarrī’s poetry. It also reveals the poet’s awareness of stylistic structure, which grants him the ability to reshape meaning through alternative words with effective significance. The study proves that substitution was not merely a linguistic technique, but an aesthetic tool that contributes to revealing al-Maʿarrī’s philosophy and intellectual vision. It concludes by emphasizing the importance of this phenomenon in understanding and analyzing the deep structure of literary texts.

Substitution is a form of cohesion, giving the text its textual character. It achieves continuity, prevents repetition, and contributes to diversifying and renewing vocabulary, thus adding an aesthetic touch to the text. Substitution has three types: nominal substitution, verbal substitution, and verbal substitution. The elements of substitution are broader than those limited to the vocabulary found in linguistic studies, as discussed in this study.