Jerusalem in Poetry: A Comparative Study of the Palestinian Mahmoud Darwish, the Israeli Yehuda Amichai and the English William Blake القدس في الشعر: دراسة مقارنة بين الفلسطيني محمود درويش، والإسرائيلي يهودا عميحاي، والإنجليزي وليام بليك

صالح, أميرة عبدالحكيم (2018) Jerusalem in Poetry: A Comparative Study of the Palestinian Mahmoud Darwish, the Israeli Yehuda Amichai and the English William Blake القدس في الشعر: دراسة مقارنة بين الفلسطيني محمود درويش، والإسرائيلي يهودا عميحاي، والإنجليزي وليام بليك. Masters thesis, جامعة الشرق الاوسط.

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Abstract

This thesis is hopefully going to contribute to the topic of representing Jerusalem in literature, especially poetry. This study is intended to trace back the most salient historical stops of Jerusalem, in addition to highlighting its religious importance among the three Abrahamite Religions. In addition to highlighting concepts related to the topic under inquiry including books and references for both the theoretical and empirical approaches. The thesis is based on the analytical and comparative approaches, and since poetry is depicted as one of the most appealing aspects of literature, three poems were selected for this study, “Jerusalem” by Blake, Darwish’s “In Jerusalem” and Amichai’s “Jerusalem is a Port City”. The image of the city is emphasized thoroughly among these poets, because each one has his own background, socio-political, cultural and historical views that influenced his poem. For Blake, Jerusalem is the perfect place for sacredness and peace. Thus, he desires to build a New Jerusalem in England after the Industrial Revolution and its consequences. Being an orthodox Christian, the Bible played a major role in Blake's life thus his poem; therefore, he uses many references and allusions to build New Jerusalem in England. Darwish presents Jerusalem as a wounded city longing for peace; he employs references from the Abrahamite Religions to emphasize inclusivity. He also accentuates the profound relation and connection between the Palestinian and his homeland. On the other hand, Amichai’s poem is all about the Temple Mount and the Wailing Wall especially after the Six-Day War. Amichai was a displaced poet who wanted to make Jerusalem as his own home through participating in wars, trying to swap the city's identity. Nevertheless, the three poets seek to glorify Jerusalem’s holiness and its magnificent impact among the world. Keywords: Jerusalem, Poetry, Comparative Study

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