The Personification of Nature in the Poetry of Ibn Zaydun from an Ecocritical Perspective: A Study of Salawtum wa Baqina Nahnu 'Ushshaqan

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the manifestations of nature personification in the poetry of Ibn Zaydun through the lens of ecocriticism, focusing on his poem Salawtum wa Baqina Nahnu 'Ushshaqan as a representative model of the relationship between humans and nature in Andalusian poetry. The significance of this study lies in addressing a research gap, as previous studies have predominantly examined nature from aesthetic and rhetorical perspectives or applied ecocritical approaches to modern Arabic poetry. In contrast, classical Andalusian poetry has received limited attention within this approach. The study employed a qualitative descriptive-analytical method based on Lawrence Buell’s ecocritical theory. Data were collected through close reading and textual analysis of verses that personify natural elements. The findings revealed that Ibn Zaydun did not portray nature as a static decorative backdrop; rather, he endowed it with human characteristics such as smiling, compassion, illness, weeping, radiance, and conscious movement. Consequently, nature emerges as an active emotional partner that shares and reflects the poet’s feelings of longing, nostalgia, and separation. The analysis further demonstrated that these representations reflect an ecocentric vision that transcends anthropocentric assumptions, portraying nature as a living entity that participates in the construction of poetic meaning. The study concluded that nature personification is not exclusive to modern Arabic poetry but has deep roots in classical Andalusian literature. This finding contributes to the expansion of ecocritical studies in Arabic literary heritage and encourages further environmental readings of classical Arabic texts.