"The impact of poetic imagery in the poems of the poet Najat Abdullah"

Abstract

This study offers a profound critical reading of the poetry of the Iraqi poet Najah Abdullah, who has succeeded in establishing a distinctive presence in the contemporary Iraqi and Arab poetic scene. Through her exceptional ability to manipulate language and rhetorical imagery, she embodies both a humanistic and feminine vision of the world. Abdullah possesses all the essential elements of artistic and emotional expression; her poems combine the beauty of imagery, the precision of metaphor, and the richness of symbolism. In her poetic universe, language becomes a mirror of a self torn between nostalgia for the homeland, the pain of exile, and a constant search for balance between reality and dream. Through her refined sensitivity and sincere emotions, the poet creates a deep interaction with the reader, particularly in her motherhood poems, where the woman becomes a symbol of generosity, patience, and hope. In other texts, the bitterness of loss, the melancholy of alienation, and the agony of belonging to a war-torn homeland are powerfully expressed. By analyzing her collections such as Attempts in Spring, Dangling Endings, and other later works, the study reveals the uniqueness of her poetic voice, which expresses the feminine self within a turbulent social and political context. Here, her personal experiences intersect with collective concerns, and poetry becomes a symbolic act of resistance against marginalization and exclusion. The research adopts the analytical method to deconstruct the aesthetic and intellectual structures of her poems, uncovering the mechanisms by which poetic imagery functions as a tool for rebuilding awareness of the self and reality. The findings show that Najah Abdullah does not portray woman as a victim or follower, but as an active being engaged in an existential struggle with a harsh environment, transforming pain into a creative force that drives renewal and persistence. Thus, female resilience in her poetry emerges as a cultural and aesthetic act, restoring to the Iraqi woman her stolen voice and her right to express both self and homeland.