International Journal of Language & Literature

Arabic and English Literary Modernisms: Points of Convergence and Divergence
Mohammed A. A. Hizabr Alhusami

Abstract
This comparative study presents a new perspective on discussing the relationship between Arabic and English modernist poetry. Most of the previous Arabic studies in the field of comparative literature focused on the issue of the “influence” rather than Inter textulaity and acculturation between the two literatures, Arabic and English. Similarly, the scholarships available in English on the topic either apply Western theories on Arabic literature or study the topic from Western perspective. The study argues that though the similarity between Arabic and English modernisms, Arabic modernism remains in its own right draws on Arabic cultural heritage. The similarity between Arabic and English modernisms is due the factors of acculturation and hybridity between Arabs and the Westerners. The study concludes that Arabic modernism is an Arabic offspring and enjoys its own cultural identity. In this sense, this study rejects the Eurocentric hegemony which always westernizes “modernism”.

Full Text: PDF      DOI: 10.15640/ijll.v4n1a17