Manifestations of the Saudi Identity and its Implications in Selected Contemporary Saudi Poems

Abstract

        In their ingenuities, Saudi poets presented a vision of the concept of identity, looked into its geographical, historical, religious and cultural components, explained its dimensions, and excelled in presenting it in various contexts that determine their belonging to Saudi Arabia. Therefore, the research was in the dimensions of the Saudi identity and looking into its manifestations in models of contemporary Saudi poetry, to reveal the set of moral and religious values that formed it throughout history and geography in a way that does not accept accountability or severability. At the same time, it indicates the ability of the innovator to form an identity mixed with self, and encumbered by belonging. Therefore, the poetry in the studied models was transformed into a message in which they expressed: “Who are we?” defining the dimensions of their collective identity, its components, and its background, in a way that shows its peculiarity. 

The research raises the problem of how to manifest the Saudi identity in Saudi poetry? In order to solve this problem, the following questions must be answered:

   What are the determinants of Saudi identity?

   What are the manifestations of expression of identity in Saudi poetry?

   What are the dimensions of identity in Saudi poetry and what are its components?

The research aims to track the manifestations of the Saudi identity, and to look into its dimensions in models of contemporary Saudi poetry in its various contexts, and to identify how to express it in order to reach the concept of the comprehensive Saudi identity with all its components. The nature of the subject requires reliance on the analytical method, to analyze a selected sample of Saudi poetry in order to understand the indications of identity, its starting points, its components, and how to express it.

The research concluded that the poetry in the studied models embodied the collective identity of the Saudis in connection with the holy place, history and geographical extension, and brought to light its steadiness and overcoming the problem of existential anxiety and its openness to the other. The research recommended studies that track the manifestations of identity in Saudi literature in general to show its peculiarity in the era of globalization, which seeks to dissolve identities.