Manifestations of Historical Memory in the Poetry of Al-Baradouni and Al-Maqaleh

Abstract

This study examines the manifestations of historical memory in the poetry of Al-Baradouni and Al-Maqaleh, focusing on its role in shaping the vision and aesthetics of the modernist poem in Yemen. The research argues that historical memory functions as a dynamic poetic resource that moves between remembrance and dream, allowing poets to engage critically and imaginatively with reality. Through selected poems and titles from both poets’ works, the study explores how memory extends across textual structures and becomes a central mechanism for producing meaning in Yemeni poetic modernism. The analysis reveals that the invocation of history serves multiple purposes: criticizing contemporary reality, reviving collective consciousness, and projecting fragments of the past into imagined future possibilities. The study further demonstrates that poetic memory draws upon diverse human and cultural references, reflecting the deep interconnection between modern poetry and inherited historical experience. Employing artistic analysis with insights from semiotic criticism, the research highlights the ways in which Al-Baradouni and Al-Maqaleh transform historical memory into a poetic strategy capable of transcending the limitations of present reality through the creation of symbolic and visionary spaces. The study concludes that memory occupies a foundational position in the construction of contemporary Yemeni poetic discourse and in articulating the poets’ intellectual and emotional engagement with their world.