Textual Thresholds in the Poetry of Mishal Al-Bayati: A Case Study of the Diwan (Peace Be Upon You, Distant Homeland)

Abstract

Addressing the topic of textual thresholds in the poetry collection (Peace Be Upon You, Distant Homeland) by the poet Mishal Al-Bayati is a modern critical approach that seeks to transcend the traditional reading of the poetic text and reconsider the boundaries of the literary text. It does not merely analyze its internal structure, but rather opens up to its textual and paratextual surroundings by moving to explore the parallel elements surrounding the text that contribute to the production of meaning and guide the act of reception. This coincides with the trends of modern contemporary studies—especially those influenced by the theses of Gérard Genette—which place great importance on what are known as thresholds or parallel texts, as textual spaces that perform an essential function in shaping the meaning of the text and building its horizon of expectation. This research starts from the premise that the thresholds in this collection do not represent secondary formal elements, but rather are active semantic components that are involved in building the poetic experience and revealing its psychological, emotional, and intellectual dimensions. It explores the surrounding signs and symbols that contribute to the production of its meaning, leading to a richer understanding of the poetic experience and revealing the text's interaction with itself, its reader, and its context simultaneously. The study is structured around two main sections. The first section examines the concept of "external thresholds," exploring several key aspects: the title, the cover, the title as a central threshold, the poet's name, visual elements, the choice of the cover's enclosed space (such as the drawer, the suitcase, the color blue, the phrase "Peace be upon you" in green), the artwork, the author's name, and so on. The second section focuses on "internal thresholds," analyzing dedications, epigraphs, and internal titles within poems in depth.