Antithetical binaries in the poetry of Ibn Shahid al- Andalusia

Abstract

The binary oppositions are widely dealt with by the Linguistic and literary studies. Andalusian bin- Shahids anthology consists of a big bulk of these oppositions by and through which he portrays beautiful poetic images. These images are laden with rich signifiers throughout the whole anthology.

The antithetical dualities that created dissonance between two adjacent images in Ibn Shaheed’s poetry were of great importance through which he expressed his feelings and the conflicts and suffering he was exposed to, which the poet could not express in a direct manner. In addition to what the antithetical binaries constituted as an element of excitement and attraction for the recipient who sees the contradictions in one verse for one poetic purpose, even if it was different, the collection was full of antithetical binaries such as night and day, sun and moon, gray hair and youth, distance and closeness, east and west... etc. and employing these binaries at this high level proves to us the poetic quality of Ibn Shaheed and his mastery of his texts and his ability to manipulate words and add movement and stillness to his verses at the time he sees fit for his poetic purpose, and this is only for a distinguished and accomplished poet. At the end of the study, it becomes clear to us how the poet employed a number of antithetical binaries (such as death and life / night and day / gray hair and youth / closeness and distance / east and west) in his poetry and what these beautiful binaries represented in terms of unique images that gave the text beauty and additional dimension, so the poet combined these many binaries between the thing and its opposite, which gave the texts a deeper impact and more beautiful poetic images, as the creative poet exploited what is between the thing and its opposite to highlight the beauty of his texts.