The Quest for Immortality and Identity in Contemporary Iraqi Poetry: Insight From the Epic of Gilgamesh
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1603.25Keywords:
Gilgamesh, Babylon, Modern Iraqi Poetry, Contemporary Iraqi Poetry, EpicAbstract
This research examines the Gilgamesh epic in contemporary Iraqi poetry by the diaspora of poets, including Fadl Khalaf Jaber, Karim Shaalan, Hassan Al-Nassar and Zaher Al-Jizani. The epic is an important source, enriching people’s memory with diverse values. The relationship of art to the epic is not modern but ancient. How many epics have been a source of inspiration for poets, and how many poetic works are new formulations of an ancient epic that has crossed time, with its value and importance to people preserved. The epic is not just a primitive product but an essential and fundamental factor in human life in every era and within the framework of the most advanced civilisations. Within the framework of this civilisation, the epic is perhaps more effective and active than in past eras. Poetry has never been closer to the spirit of the epic than in the contemporary era.
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