ambivalent attitudes towards nature in the early poetry of nāzik al-malā'ika

Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2007 Journal of Arabic Literature, XXXVIII,1Also available online www.brill.nl

1 I wish to thank Daniel Newman, Yasir Suleiman, and the Journal of Arabic Literaturesanonymous readers and editors for their constructive comments in earlier versions of thispaper.

2 Baghdad: n.p., 1947.3 Baghdad: n.p., 1949.4 Beirut: Dr al-db, 1957.5 Beirut: Dr al-Ilm li l-Malyn, 1968.6 Beirut: Dr al-Awda, 1970. The references in this article will be to the collected edition

of 1979-1981.7 For al-Malikas views on nationalism in her later collections of poetry, see Y. Suleiman

1995.8 Beirut: Dr al-Ilm li l-Malyn, 1978.

AMBIVALENT ATTITUDES TOWARDS NATURE IN THE EARLY POETRY OF NZIK AL-MALIKA1

RONAK HUSNIUniversity of Durham

Abstract

Nzik al-Malikas early collections of poetry are characterised by a love of nature.Like many English Romantic poets, she viewed the countryside as symbolic of inno-cence and beauty, while contrasting the purity and splendour of nature with theoppressiveness and artificiality of the city. The idea of nature as a moral guide oftenappears in her poetry; man can learn lessons of love, morality and forgiveness fromnature more easily than from his fellow man or from books. Yet, she, at times,rejected an idealised picture of nature.

Introduction

The purpose of this article is to examine Nzik al-Malikas (b. 1923)attitude towards nature in her early poetry, more specifically the followingcollections: Ashqat al-Layl (Lover of the Night),2 Shay wa Ramd (Shrapneland Ashes),3 Qarrat al-Mawja (Depth of the Wave),4 Shajarat al-Qamar (MoonTree)5 and Mast al-ayh, wa Ughnyatun li l-Insn (The Tragedy of Lifeand a Song for Man).6 The Romantic period in her work predates the morenationalist and religiously inspired poetry,7 the first examples of which canalready be found in Shajarat al-Qamar, but which is primarily associated withthe later collections Li l-alh wa al-Thawra (To Prayer and Revolution)8

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9 Baghdad: Wizrat al-Thaqfa wa l-Funn, 1977.10 See R. Husni and Y. Suleiman 1993.

and Yughayyiru Alwnahu al-Bar (The Sea Changes its Colours).9 Thispaper also aims to investigate her romantic vision of nature, especially thatinspired by the English Romantic poets whom she admired. However, themain focus of this paper is on al-Malikas contradictory attitudes towardsnature, in terms of positive and negative impact on her outlook on life. Thiswill be demonstrated by references to nighta major theme in her poetryand a unique example of her ambivalent approach to nature. In setting outal-Malikas treatment of this theme, I shall organise my discussion aroundtwo ideas which crystallise her views on the subject. The first of these isher fascination with nature and its moral benefit to man, the second, her dis-enchantment with nature and inability to appreciate its splendour.

Fascination with Nature

It is generally agreed that al-Malika is one of the most celebratedfemale Romantic poets of the Twentieth Century. Heavily influenced byArab Romantic poets such as Ily Ab Ma (d. 1957), Ab al-Qsim al-Shbb (d. 1934), Al Mamd ha (d. 1949) and Muammad Abd al-Mu al-Hamshar (d. 1938), she was also steeped in the works ofWilliam Wordsworth (d. 1850), Percy Bysshe Shelley (d. 1822), Lord Byron(d. 1824), Samuel Taylor Coleridge (d. 1834) and John Keats (d. 1821).Keats influence, in particular, is well documented, especially in her treat-ment of death.10 This admiration is clearly visible in her work, leading herto dedicate a poem to his Eternal Soul and quote lines from his Ode toa Nightingale. In her article al-Shir wa l-Mawt (Poetry and Death),in which she refers to Keats views on death, she claims that the earlydeaths of Keats, al-Shbb and al-Hamshar were almost propheticfulfilments of their preoccupation with this subject. Al-Malika even goesone step further in her admiration for these Romantic poets, predicting that,like these poets, she will also die in the prime of youth. She openly admitsto writing long odes in emulation of Keats, while she also translated partsof Byrons Childe Harolds Pilgrimage.

It is by virtue of al-Malikas love for, and fascination with, nature in herearly poetry, that many critics regard her as a Romantic poet. For example,al-amdn observes that the poems of this period (sc. the Romanticperiod) are all about nature; thus she can be considered as one of the Romantics(1985:313). The same view is adopted by al-Smarr who points out thatamong the romantic features present in al-Malikas poetry is her loveof nature and her longing for it (1975:61).

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Nature in all its aspects and moods was given pride of place in the poetryof English and Arab Romantic poets. For these poets, the countryside cameto represent simplicity, innocence, goodness and truth. In all these respects,it was regarded as the antithesis of the city with its crowds, noise and socialand economic problems which restrict the individuals freedom and trammelhis healthy instincts and aspirations. The beauty of nature was thought tohave a beneficial effect on man.

Al-Malika, herself, expressed this attitude towards nature:

I love nature madlyI love the palm trees; I love the mountains(1981:181)11

The yearning for life in the countryside, with shepherds and simple peo-ple, is a recurrent feature in al-Malikas poetry. The lives of country folkare presented as uncomplicated and natural, free from the complexities thatclutter the lives of the so-called sophisticated city dwellers.

Furthermore, al-Malika expresses the view that country folk are true tothemselves because they have the time to pursue their emotions and desires.Life in the countryside is infinitely richer than life in the city where noise,dust and dirt prevail:

The shade of the willow trees is more beautifulthan that of the palaces and balconies

The singing of the shepherds is purer in tunethan the din of the car horns and wheels

The fragrance of the orange is sweeter and fresherthan the accumulating dust of the city,

O, how I wish I had a poetic hut there,amidst the meadows

The life of the imaginative shepherdat the foot of the hills, where the delightful

Flock grazes near the banks of the streamis more pleasant than that of the rich man in his palaces

(ibid., 148-149)

The same views can be found in the works of English Romantic poets,who also considered the countryside an inexhaustible source of purethoughts, emotions and feelings. Unlike the city, the countryside wasthought to be free from all the demeaning chores that inhibit mans freedomand individuality. Wordsworth, for instance, railed against the urban turbu-lence and the industrial growth which was threatening to overrun his soci-ety, dispelling visions of rural peace:

11 Unless otherwise noted, this and further translations are mine.

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With deep devotion, Nature, did I feel,In that enormous citys turbulent worldOf men and things, what benefit I owedTo thee, and those domains of rural peaceWhere to the sense of beauty first my heartWas opened; tract more exquisitely fairThan that famed paradise of ten thousand trees(1904: 58)

Byron also expressed his love and admiration of nature, by celebratingthe happiness he found in a forest and the attraction the beauty of the seaheld for him. Indeed, his love of nature exceeded that of man:

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,There is a rapture on the lonely shore,There is a society where none intrudesBy the deep Sea; and music in its roar:love not Man the less, but Nature more. (1936: 201)

In addition, Byron contrasted the amorous countryside with the physicalpain afflicting man in the city in his Childe Harolds Pilgrimage, in whichhe likens life in the city to torture:

I live not in myself, but I becomePortion of that around me; and to me,high mountains are a feeling, but the humOf human cities torture: I can seeNothing to loath in nature, save to beA link reluctant in a fleshy chain,Classd among the sky, the peak, the heaving plainOf ocean, or the stars, mingle, and not in vain. (1936: 100-111)

Though less negative in his views of city life, Keats still called on thosewho were imprisoned in it to take the time to observe and enjoy nature:

To one who has been long in city pent,Tis very sweet to look into the fairAnd open face of heaven,-to breathe a prayerFull in the smile of the blue firmament. (1908: 38)

Likewise, al-Malika is aware of the human degradation in the city.Living in the city is like living in a state of siege. Its false civilisation isbased on materialistic relationships that are of no value to humanity; rather,it is a symbol of cruelty and injustice. The city is reduced to its multifari-ous material trappingshigh walls, grand palaces and industrial machinery.These elements not only characterise the modern city, but are also factorsdetermining peoples behaviour and feelings. Al-Malika tends to see city-dwellers as devoid of kindness or pity. In al-Nima fi l-Shri (The

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Sleeper in the Street) and Marthya li Imraa l Qma lah (Elegy for aWorthless Woman) al-Malika levels a broadside at urban society and citypeople because of their pursuit of pleasure and illusory dreams. She clearlyaccuses the so-called civilised city for being deprived of any compassionand sympathy; the word humanity exists only in the dictionary, not in theminds and souls of people:

Whom should she complain to? No one listensor cares, humanity is a word without meaning,

People wear a deceitful mask, their gentle manner hiding a burningsense of hatredThe human race is slain by dreams and wine cups, and mercy remainsas a word which one looks up in the dictionary,

They sleep in the street, without a refuge, neither their fever nor theirsuffering can intercede with people,

This savage oppression in the name of the city,in the name of feeling. Shame on Humanity!(1979: 272)

Nature, in contrast to the cruelty and harshness of the city, exemplifies kind-ness and tolerance. Natures humane and noble qualities are a lesson in compas-sion, gentleness and forgiveness, while it exercises a beneficial moral influence.

The English Romantic poets articulated this notion most vividly. Forexample, in the famous lines in The Table Turned, Wordsworth declaredthat man can learn more from nature regarding evil and good than he couldever learn from his fellow men:

One impulse from a vernal woodMay teach you more of manOf moral evil and of goodThan all the sages can.(1904: 377)

Shelley also accepted that nature had an objective existence, which wasseparate from that of man. Nature could impart many lessons to man which,according to Shelley, only the wise, great and good could understand(1907: 530). Al-Malika, who was fascinated by these English Romanticpoets, refers to the noble feature of nature and its ability to forgive, in con-tradistinction with human beings who are unable to forgive and forget. InShajarat al-Dhikr (The Tree of Memory), al-Malika describes howshe is reminded of her lover by the sight of a tree she passes. Stopping, sherecalls her painful memories, and cries over her past love. Depressed andsad, she leans against the tree and inadvertently breaks off one of thebranches, causing its flowers to fall to the ground. The poet regrets the inci-dent; she feels that by wounding the tree, she has wounded the whole world.

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However, when she returns to the same place after a few years, still filledwith vivid and painful memories of the incident, she is elated to find thatthe tree has produced fresh branches and that the old wound has left noscars. The tree is a symbol of forgiveness and conveys a lesson that manwould do well to learn from nature:

I returned to it, as though the years andTheir destinies have not passed me by,My heart was still captivated,And the fire of my soul still blazingIts shade covering me afresh,And its flowers gently embracing my soul,O, how noble it is! It has forgiven me,although vengeance against my hand is still due to it.

I went round inquiring about its wounds,Havent the hands of Fate healed it?I have seen nothing but the freshness of life,For the wound has left no trace.As for the wounds of my sad heartThey still complain about the enduring misgivingsO, how amazingly transgressing time isWhen will it ask forgiveness for its transgression.(1981: 595-596)

In this poem, as in many others, al-Malika uses nature to convey a mes-sage to her readers. In Shajarat al-Qamar, which is inspired by an Englishchildrens story she read in 1949, she recounts the story of a youth who,fascinated by the moon, contemplates the idea of stealing it and hiding it inhis hut. Once his dream comes true, however, he realises that everyone isfrantically looking for his beloved moon. The youth comes up with the inge-nious idea of planting it in order to grow other moons which, in turn, willmultiply, thus spreading happiness and beauty across the universe. He thenreturns the moon to the peasants, shepherds and village people. The poem,thus, advocates universal ownership.

This is how al-Malika describes the boys reaction when he first dis-covers that his moon has multiplied into many moons:

The young boy rose from sleep, refreshed, intoxicatedWhat did he see? O, dew! O, fragrance! O, sky!

There in the mossy yard, where the morninggot accustomed to see nothing but grassgrazed by the wind.

There, where the tree used to stand, extendinginto the air with plaits clothed in green, rich incolour and luxuriant.(1979: 436-439)

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12 For more details on Shelleys influence on Arab Romantic poets, see M. Abdel-Hai,1971.

In this poem, the young man may be said to symbolise the poet who, bythe very nature of his profession, cannot but share his thoughts and ideaswith other people, or the pleasure attendant upon these thoughts and ideas.Al-Malika regards herself as the bearer of a message for her fellow humanbeings. It is only the poet who can overcome all the contradictions in natureand reality, the contrast between the individual and community or betweenthe self and the subject. The tree is the tree of art in general and poetry inparticular. Al-Malika falls in with the romantic tradition, in that aspects ofnature are used as a means of expressing her view concerning the role ofthe artist and the latters vision of a new world.

In this context, one may draw a parallel with the English Romantic poetswho use aspects of nature as a means of expressing their views concerningsocial and political reform. This is particularly clear in the poetry of Shelleyand Wordsworth.

In his poem entitled To Toussaint LOuverture, Wordsworth celebratedthe death of Francis Dominique Toussaint who led a rebellion against theFrench in his capacity as Chief of the African slaves. Wordsworth statedthat Toussaints legacy continued after his death, through Mother Nature:

Thou hast left behindPowers that will work for thee; air earth, and skiesTheres not a breathing of the common wind.That will forget thee; thou hast great allies;Try friends are exaltations, agonies,And love, and mans unconquerable mind. (1904: 243)

In his poem Ode to the West Wind, which was well known by al-Malika and her contemporaries,12 Shelley asks the wind to make him itslyre so that he could spread his revolutionary thoughts and ideas amongmankind in an attempt to generate new ideas, which will herald a newbirth for humanity:

Make me thy lyre, even as the forest is:What if my leaves are falling like its own!The tumult of the mighty harmonies

Will take from both a deep, autumnal tone,Sweet though in sadness. Be thou, Spirit fierce,My spirit! Be thou me, impetuous one!

Drive my dead thoughts over the universeLike withered leaves to quicken a new birth!

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Scatter, as from an unextinguished hearthAshes and sparks, my words among mankind!Be through my lips to unawakened earth

The trumpet of a prophecy! O, Wind,If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind? (1907: 574)

Al-Malikas love for nature embraces natural phenomena in general,and the night in particular. The night occupies a prominent position in herearly poetry; she even called her first collection of poetry Ashqat al-Layl(The Lover of the Night). She often refers to it as al-layl al-adq (night,the friend), in whom she confides, a friend who eases her sadness andunderstands her feelings. When describing an evening she spent with herlover, whom she frequently refers to as shir (my poet), she paints a pic-ture full of emotional ecstasy, which she calls the tenderness of darkness.It is here that the poet feels free from social constraints, marking a shiftaway from the destructive nature of time that was a recurrent feature in herearly poetry. In addressing her lover, al-Malika refers to the magnificentstar-lit sky that enfolds them. Upon looking at the moon, she imagines thatshe and her lover are ascending the mountains on its surface, to escape fromall inhibitions:

Come! Let us dream that the beautiful evening is near,And that the tenderness of darkness and the cheeks of

the stars call to us,

We will dream that we have ascendedto roam its moon,

And that we are playing happily away from people and freefrom the destruction of time.

(1979: 234-235)

Evening is presented in its oneiric quality. This is clear from the preced-ing poem which describes the beauty of the stars, moon and the peacefulatmosphere of the night, so loved and cherished by the poet. In anotherpoem, al-Malika refers to the night as the echo of inspiration and thevision of a hopeful person:

O, you lover of the night and its luxuriant wadiThe night is similar to the echo of inspiration andthe visions of one in hopeLife bursts out in laughter, but you are onlya sigh of sadnessSo lift the lute off the grass, embrace it and sing,And describe the magic and beauty in the sky.(1981: 547-548)

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At this juncture, it is useful to consider the views of the EnglishRomantic poets Shelley, Wordsworth and Coleridge towards the night, in anattempt to show the differences in their treatment of this time.

Shelley presents two contrasting views of night. To him, night may be asource of joy as well as a symbol of fear and terror, as in his poem ToNight:

Swiftly walk over the western wave,Spirit of Night!Out of the misty eastern cave,Where, all the long and lone daylight,Thou wovest dreams of joy and fear,Which make thee terrible and dear,Swift be thy flight! (1907: 630)

Wordsworth extols the beauty of the night, but does not endow it withthe same significance as do al-Malika or Shelley. Wordsworth believesthat one can appreciate the beauty of the sky, clouds, birds, stars and moonmost clearly at night. This view may be illustrated by his poem The Sunhas long been set:

The sun has long been set,The stars are out by twos and threesThe little birds are piping yetAmong the bushes and trees:Theres a cuckoo, and one or two thrushes,And a far-off water that gushes,And the cuckoos sovereign cryFill all the hollow of the sky,Who would go paradingIn London, and masqueradingOn such a night of JuneWith that beautiful soft half-moon,And all these innocent blisses?On such a night as this is! (1904: 359):

Wordsworth returns to the theme of night in, for example, An EveningWalk, A Night Piece, I Love Upon A Stormy Night and It Is A beau-tiful Evening Calm And Free. In the last poem, the beauty of the eveningis said to enrich the poets imagination and to make him see nature in anaesthetically pleasing way:

It is a beautiful evening, calm and free,The holy time is quiet as a Nun Breathless with adoration;The broad sun in sinking down in its tranquillity;The gentleness, of heaven broods over the Sea:Listen! the mighty Being is awake

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13 For more details on al-Malikas views regarding the position of women in Arab soci-eties, see S. Jayys, 1985.

And Both with his eternal motion makeA sound like thunder-everlastingly (1904: 205)

As for daytime, this is regarded by al-Malika and many other Romanticsas the antithesis of night in many respects. While Shelley describes thedawn as lingering like an unloved guest, al-Malika in Thawra Al l-Shams (A Revolution Against the Sun) asks the sun not to shine on herworld. She also considers the day an unwelcome visitor who fails to exciteher feelings, which can so easily be aroused by the sight of the stars glit-tering in the sky:

Do not spread lights over my thicket:If you shine, this is not for my poetic heart,Your lights no longer excite my emotions,It is sufficient for me that the stars of night inspiremy mindThey are my friends who stay up in the darknessWho understand my soul and the explosion of my feelings and gently extend the silvery rays in my eyelidsIn the magical evening.(1981: 488)

Al-Malikas attachment to night may be related to her position as awoman in a male-dominated society that controls her freedom and inhibitsher spontaneous self-expression. Al-Malika regards the day as the worldof men, in which their male-inspired values dominate and take precedenceover those of women. Daytime resembles a jail to al-Malika, with men asher jailers. Conversely, the night symbolises freedom; it hides al-Malika,the woman, from the offensive gaze of men and shields her from their tyran-nical and corrupt values.

An aspect of al-Malikas early youth relevant to her perception of thestatus of women was her familys exempting her household chores to enableher to concentrate on her studies. Later, she would refer to the fact that soci-ety does not set any store by womens hard work in the home.13

She feels she can divulge her innermost feelings to the night without anylet or hindrance. In other words, al-Malika feels at one with herself dur-ing the night, as she explains:

Night is the tune of life and its poetryThe soul rushes to it freely(ibid., 489)

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This feature of al-Malikas poetry is discussed by the contemporaryIraqi critic, al-Bar, who points out she does not welcome sunrise becauseit destroys her beautiful dream world, and because it opens the door to theworld of housework in the service of men. (1971:19)

In her fascination with night, she thinks and talks about herself in refer-ence to the night. Thus, she is as calm and serene as the night; her innerthoughts and feelings resemble its hidden, deep and anxious secrets as wellas its rebellious silence:

I am like the night : tranquillity, depth andopen horizons (ibid., 100)

or

The Night asks who I am!I am its deep, black and anxious secret, I am its insubordinate silence,I have masked my true nature with tranquillityAnd enveloped my heart with suspicion.(ibid., 114)

Al-Malika ridicules people who blame her for loving the night. Suchpeople are themselves open to criticism because they are, to their loss,unaware of the purifying and inspiring effect night has on men and women:

If I am indeed the lover of the night,My cup is shining with light and budding love,The beauty of the night has purified my soul,With darkness, whispering and deep silence,Always filling my illusions and feelings,With spiritual matters and fine poetry,So leave me the night of my dreams and despair,And keep to yourselves the first rays of sunrise.(1981: 483-484)

Al-Malikas affinity with the night stems from her belief that it is heronly refuge from the trials and tribulations of life, and from the sadness andmelancholy that afflict man from time to time. The night is the poets secretcompanion who listens to the outpourings of her soul. As the Algerian criticIbn al-Abd points out: Nothing less than throwing herself into the armsof her friend, the night, can relieve the poet from her loneliness, sadness anddepression (1980: 53).

However, this love for nature, and night in particular, is only one side ofthe coin, the other is her fear and despondency when she is in the midst ofnature. The darkness of evening reminds her of the darkness of life. Nightevokes an intense feeling of fear and loneliness, and reflects her profoundmelancholy and unsettled attitude towards life.

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14 al-Malika 1981: 542, 627, 644.15 ibid., 180.

In al-Fayan (The Flood), for instance, the night is awe-inspiring inits darkness, when dreadful events occur. Her former love of the night whichshe called her only friend (1981-539) is transformed into hatred and dis-illusionment when she sees a drowned corpse cast on the shore by thewaves and left to lie there beyond mercy,

O, my guitar! What calamities:I hate the lights and darkness

of the night.O, fisherman! Stop, and put down your anchor,For there is a shrinking corpse covered by

the night. (1981: 510)

Elsewhere, al-Malika likens life to darkness that hangs over a desolateand depressed place:

Life appeared to me as though it was similar tothis evening: dark, desolate and depressing.

Its sons dream of lights,but they live in a terrifying pitch-dark night. (ibid., 568)

Similarly, the poet refers to the night in numerous poems as al-layl al-rahb (the dreadful night),14 or al-layl al-kab (the sad night).15

The references to night in al-Malikas poetry may be interpreted inmany ways. For example, the critic Jbir Ufr (1985:534) relates the treat-ment of night in her work to the poets overwhelming melancholy. Al-Smarr (1970:122), for his part, associates night in al-Malikas poetrywith her desire to love the world, an unrequited love that turns into sadnessand melancholy.

Despite its beauty and noble qualities, nature appears indifferent to manssuffering. In his poem Lara, Byron also refers to natures indifference tomans destiny; when mans time on this earth comes to an end, neither theearth nor the sky will yield a single tear over him. (1914:301). Likewise,al-Malika refers to natures inability to respond to her sorrows when shecalls upon it. Furthermore, she often dwells on the powerful elements ofnature, such as floods and winds that expose mans weakness and inabilityto control his destiny. It is in the heart of this inability and weakness of manbefore nature that her fear and disenchantment with nature becomes clear.

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Disenchantment with Nature

In her poem F Jibl al-Shaml (In the Mountains of the North), al-Malika explains how the beauty of the mountains in the north of Iraq failsto enchant her. She expresses her fear of staying in the area for any lengthof time and imagines the ferocious and frightening sound of the howlingwolves and savage winds:

Take us back, O trainDarkness is awesome here; the stillness is heavyTake us back! The distance is greatand the nights are short.Take us back, for the winds are wailingbehind the shadowsand the wolves are crying behind the mountains; its criesResemble the cries of despair in the hearts of men.(1979: 126)

This poem, with its location that evokes sadness, fear and boredom in thepoet, is remarkable in light of her own description of the northern moun-tains of Iraq elsewhere: In my lifetime, I have visited many mountains inTurkey, Italy, Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan. But I have never seen anymountains whose beauty comes close to that of the magical and wondrousbeauty of the mountains in northern Iraq: their beauty takes my breath awayand makes me feel faint . . . (ibid., 412-413).

Nature is, thus, a projection of al-Malikas moods and the inner destruc-tive turmoil that she experienced in this period of her life. Her obsessionwith death and a strong feeling of uncertainty and fatalism created thatnature which she perceived and from which she wished to be distant. Herinability to see the beauty that took her breath away and to be receptiveto the splendour of nature echoes Coleridges Dejection:

O Lady! We receive but what we giveAnd in our life alone does nature live(1907: 323)

Coleridge portrays nature as a giver, but in order to receive natures gifts,a reciprocal act of giving on the part of man is also required. Man must beprepared to listen and understand. Similarly, for Wordsworth, nature neverbetrays (1904-165) one who genuinely seeks to learn from her. In as muchas al-Malika lacks the will to appreciate the beauty of nature, it becomesfor her an embodiment of her sadness and bewilderment at life and its mysteries.

The simple nature of the countryside can be deceitful. Al-Malika ini-tially holds that happiness exists in the beauty and simplicity of the coun-tryside, an idea she expresses in her long poem Mast al-ayh (TheTragedy of Life). She soon realises, however, that life in the countryside is

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far from idyllic. Drought and insecurity bedevil the life of the shepherd, whomay fall victim to wolves, which represent the threatening and destructivepower of nature:

Brilliance and beauty?! O, how confused theshepherd is! How painful is the loss ofbrilliance and beauty!Shortly, the wind will attackthe willow trees and the flowers on the mountain sides(1981: 103)

Al-Malika further refers to natures power over man and how at timesit acts as a force to reveal mans vulnerability and weakness. There arenumerous references to the sea and rivers in al-Malikas poetry which arefraught with symbolism, often revealing the poets own insecurity and vul-nerability. Thus, she sometimes describes herself as someone who is lost ina remote and deep sea. She also talks about forces that wreak havoc on herlife and compares them to the surging waves of the sea that claim humanlives everyday. In her poem Marthyat Gharq (Elegy for A DrownedMan) she writes about the body of a drowned person being tossed aboutby the waves:

O, my poetess, this is a drowned personFeel sad for the rotten dismembered corpse,lying, in the dark, unable to wake up,And the high terrain surrounding itlike a sleepless eye.(ibid., 508-510)

This theme also occurs in al-Maqbara al-Gharqa (The SubmergedGraveyard) and al-Fayan, especially in the section entitled awt al-Tashum (The Voice of Pessimism). In al-Maqbara al-Gharqa, al-Malika describes an isolated grave on top of a hill, next to numerous othergraves containing the bodies of ordinary people. This is evident from thefact that the bodies are covered in layers of dust. In Marthyat Gharq, al-Malika asks a fisherman to remove the body of a drowned man from thewater. The symbolism is clear: the fisherman acts as a predator, but he him-self will end up being a victim of the forces of time,

What is it you are fishing for in the sea of timeMighty destiny will catch you tomorrow.We, O fisherman, the sons of anxietyIn whose faces eternal wretchedness had dried up.(ibid., 511)

Al-Malika dwells on the theme of mans weakness in the face ofnatures powerful forces. Mans position is likened to the body of a drowned

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man completely at the mercy of waves of the sea or currents of a river. Shecompares man to a corpse which is violently tossed about by the waves orirretrievably swept along by the river. This theme of human weaknessbefore the forces of nature represented by the sea and the river is repeatedin al-Malikas poem al-Fayan, in which the Pessimistic Voice addressesthe darkness and reveals the poets problems. It describes how she stoodnear the bank of river and listened to the heaving sound of its waters. Sherelates how she is overwhelmed by the forces of nature and compares her-self to a waterlogged field following a river flood. Human helplessness inthe face of the destruction and carnage unleashed by the flood is described:

The abyss of death came to them at night,so they became the victims of the powerful void of the sky

And they proceeded to roam about in the darkness of the nightbut there was no one to rescue them from the tragedy

Cries ascended in the darkness,carried by the winds to the tree

It is the voice of the living, held in the clutches of death,slain by the waves and destinies.(ibid., 947-948)

Conclusion

Nature in all its aspects and moods is a prominent topic in the earlypoetry of Nzik al-Malika. Her love and admiration of nature is a recur-rent feature of her poetry. However, at the same time she deplores naturesindifference to human suffering. In this respect, her descriptions of naturecoincide with her own melancholic moods and a feeling of the uselessnessof life. While this in part constitutes a typically romantic approach to naturein the tradition of both Arab and English Romantic poets, it is clear that al-Malikas view of nature is also original, as it reflects her indecisiveness inthis period of her life.

Al-Malika does not display a uniform or fixed attitude towards nature.For instance, her attitude towards evening varies with her moods and repre-sents at once melancholy and sadness, and the epitome of beauty and peace.

In view of the multiple descriptions of the night in al-Malikas poetry,it would be unwise to give a rigid interpretation of its place in her poetry.It seems, however, safe to speculate that al-Malikas attitude towards thenight and the numerous meanings which emerge from it, reflect the poetsstate of mind. To put it differently, night in al-Malikas poetry is notmerely a physical phenomenon, but the externalisation of the poets thoughtsand moods at different times in her poetic career. Night in general acts asa mirror that reflects the different degrees of the poets empathy. As such,

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it is created in the image of the poets inner self. This personification ofnature in general and night in particular is one of the most pervasive fea-tures of al-Malikas poetry.

References

Abdel-Hai, Muhammad (1971): Shelley and the Arabs: An Essay in ComparativeLiterature, Journal of Arabic Literature, 3, pp. 72-95.

al-Bar, Abd al-Jabbr (1971): Nzik al-Malika (al-Shir wa l-Naariyya),Baghdad: Dr al-urriyya li l-iba.

Byron (1914): The Poetical Works of Lord Byron, Oxford University Press.Coleridge, Samuel Taylor (1907): The Poems of Coleridge, London.Coleridge, S.T. (1936): Childe Harolds Pilgrimage And Other Romantic Poems, Samuel

C. Chew ed., New York: The Odyssey Press.al-amdn, Salm (1985): hirat al-Taful f Shir Nzik al-Malika in A. Muanna

(ed.), Nzik al-Malika: Dirsat f l-Shir wa al-Shira, Kuwait, pp. 298-338.Husni, Ronak and Suleiman, Yasir (1993): Death in the Early Poetry of Nzik

al-Malika, in British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 20, pp. 214-225.Ibn al-Abd, al-Nw (1980): al-Tajriba al-Nafsiyya f Shir Nzik al-Malika,

Unpubl. M.A. thesis, University of Constantine.Jayys, Salm (1985): al-Mara wa rat al-Mara inda Nzik al-Malika, in

A. Muann (ed.), Nzik al-Malika, Dirsat fi l-Shir wa al-Shira, Kuwait,pp. 233-271.

Keats, John (1908): The Poetical Works of John Keats, Oxford University Press.al-Malika, Nzik (1979, 1981): Dwn, Beirut : Dr al-Awda.Perkins, David (1959): The Quest for Permanence: The Symbolism of Wordsworth,

Shelley, and Keats. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.al-Smarr, Mjid (1975): Nzik al-Malika: al-Mawja al-Qaliqa: Baghdad : Dr

al-urriyya li l-iba.Shelley, Percy Bysshe (1907): Poetical Works, Oxford University Press.Suleiman, Yasir (1995): Nationalistic Concerns in The Poetry of Nzik al-

Malika, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 22, pp. 93-113.Ufr, Jbir (1985): Ramziyyat al-Layl: Qira f Shir Nzik al-Malika in

A. Muann (ed.), Nzik al-Malika: Dirsat fi l-Shir wa al-Shira, Kuwait,pp. 511-594.

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ambivalent attitudes towards nature in the early poetry of nāzik al-malā'ika

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