Manifestations of Youth and Old Age in the Poetry of Di‘bil al-Khuza‘i (d. 235 AH)

Abstract

Abstracter:

Poets, both ancient and modern, have mentioned the concepts of youth and old age in their poetry because they represent two opposing poles in their lives. Their view of them is influenced by their personal experiences and their feelings about the rapid passage of time.

Poets in the Abbasid era dealt with these two concepts in their poems. Di’bal Al-Khuza’i  was one of the poets who used these two concepts in his poetry, especially the word “grey hair,” which had a prominent appearance in it. When he spoke about them, he was preaching or mourning youth and regretting it, because of its effect on his soul. Sometimes he considered gray hair to be dignity, reason, and prestige, and sometimes he sees it as a calamity of calamities, with what it carries of weakness and helplessness, which makes the young women turn away from it. As for youth, he sees in it strength, vitality, work, and freshness, and he may see in it recklessness and madness. The poet lived a long life, so he expressed his anxiety and suffering in gray hair, with its great effect on him. He mentioned gray hair and the effects of weakness, wrinkles, and old age it leaves on the person, whether in the outward appearance of white hair or what he feels inside of physical or mental weakness.

In this research, we shed light on youth and gray hair in the poetry of Di'bal al-Khuza'i, as they constitute an important aspect related to the poet's emotions, feelings, and philosophy of life. The transformations in his life, his regret for the return of youth, his justifications for gray hair, and its effect on his poetry. We mentioned the concept of youth and gray hair, and after that a brief summary of the poet’s life. We divided the research into two sections. In the first section, we studied the manifestations of youth, and the poet’s description of his feelings and emotions towards it. and its effects on his heart and mind. The second section discusses the manifestations of gray hair, expressing his various feelings and emotions toward it, with a conclusion that included the most important findings of the research.