Spatial Space and Its Representations in Abu Ishaq al-Khuraymi’s Poem “Baghdad”: A Reading of the Presence–Absence Duality

Abstract

Space holds an essential value in the minds of many, as it transcends the geographical framework to encompass cultural, social, and human values that contribute to the expression of the self. The disappearance or destruction of a place creates a sense of disorder within the soul, while longing for it continually draws one back to the past and allows the imagination to wander far away in an attempt to reconstruct it anew. With an imagination burdened by concerns, one seeks to compare it with the present place. For Abu Ishaq al-Khuraymi, yearning for that place and lamenting its loss assumed an idealized form through his exaggerated descriptions, to the extent that he portrayed it as a paradise from which he had been forcibly expelled, where life resembled that of kings, marked by comfort, prosperity, and happiness. Spatial space constitutes an effective element in poetic discourse, particularly in the poem “Baghdad”. It served as a source of inspiration for the poet in creating noteworthy images that seek to evoke and find solace in the past, describe and mourn the present, and aspire to explore and contemplate the image of the future