The Nostalgia of Camels and Poets in Ancient Arabic Poetry

Abstract

This research explores the presence of nostalgia in ancient Arabic poetry, focusing on the connection between the poets' emotions and the female camel's expressions of longing. Poets often used the female camel as a metaphor to articulate their own nostalgia, linking the two states for various poetic purposes. The study employs a psychological approach to uncover the underlying motives behind this nostalgia in poetic imagery across different themes. The research was divided into an introduction, a preface, and three sections, which are, in order: First: Camel and Poets' Nostalgia in Language; Second: Camel and Loved Ones Nostalgia; Third: Camel, Homeland, and country Nostalgia. The findings reveal that poets differed in how they utilized camel nostalgia to express longing for loved ones and homelands. They employed diverse artistic techniques, including association, resemblance, comparison, and contrast, to depict their emotions. While longing for loved ones often involved shared and comparative imagery, the expression of homeland nostalgia relied more heavily on resemblance. Furthermore, a contrast emerged between the poet's perspective and the camel's: poets sometimes showed indifference to their homeland, whereas the camel exhibited a deep attachment to it.