A Modernization and Modernity in the Poetic Text

Abstract

This study investigates the conceptual distinction between modernization and modernity in modern Arabic poetry, arguing that the two notions represent successive yet fundamentally different stages in the evolution of the Arabic poetic discourse. Adopting a historical and analytical approach, the paper traces the emergence of poetic modernization during the Arab cultural renaissance, emphasizing its association with intellectual reform, translation movements, and the gradual transformation of poetic language and form. It then examines the rise of poetic modernity as a comprehensive aesthetic and epistemological project characterized by innovation, rebellion against inherited conventions, and the reconstruction of poetic vision. The study demonstrates that modernization primarily introduced technical and structural changes that prepared the ground for modernity, whereas modernity transcended formal experimentation to establish a new conception of poetic creativity grounded in symbolic expression, linguistic innovation, intertextuality, myth, and existential consciousness. Furthermore, the paper analyzes the major phases of Arabic poetic modernity and highlights its linguistic, stylistic, and thematic characteristics through the poetic experience of Abd al-Wahhab al-Bayati, whose works illustrate the transition from imitation of Western literary models to the production of an authentic modern poetic discourse rooted in Arab socio-political realities. The study concludes that modernization should be understood as a preparatory historical process, while modernity represents an intellectual and artistic transformation that reshaped the structure, language, and vision of contemporary Arabic poetry, enabling it to express the complexities of modern human experience through innovative aesthetic strategies.