The Impact of Mahmoud Darwish's Diasporic Identity on His Poetry: A Post-colonial Study of Selected Poems

Abstract The paper aims to examine the reflection of diasporic identity on Mahmoud Darwish's poetry. The study attempts to explore the echo of Mahmoud Darwish's poetry on Palestinians and their suffering in the homeland. As many are aware, immigration to another country and feeling sad due to being far from home can have an impact on a person’s life. Mahmoud Darwish, who was exiled from Palestine, continued to resist through his poetry without ever stopping. Despite leaving his homeland, he maintained his Palestinian identity. This is evident in his poems, where his resistance through poetry gained strength even while he was far away. The theoretical framework in this study mainly based on Post-colonialism perspective. In fact, Post-colonial theory in the analysis of Darwish's poems can help provide insights into the ways in which colonial histories continue to shape and influence the Palestinians' identities. In addition, shed lights on how Darwish reflected his own experience as a Palestinian in the diaspora and how his experience as a diasporic individual shaped his poetic works. Finally, the analysis concludes that diasporic identity was portrayed in Darwish's poetry and showed the impact of exile and displacement on the construction of identity in his work. Keywords: diasporic identity, homeland, Mahmoud Darwish, poetry, post-colonialism