Blood in Pre-Islamic Poetry

This study addresses the issue of blood in pre-Islamic poetry whose importance is seen in the fact that it reveals aspects of the pre-Islamic human intellect which is part of the ancient and modern Arab man intellect. The research is divided into an introduction, three chapters and a conclusion. In the introduction, the researcher discussed the reasons behind choosing this topic. In the first chapter, the researcher provided two parts in the first of which she spoke about blood in human heritage and said that humans have always considered it as holy and sacred; blood in their view is the basis for life and the driving force of the human body, without it life cannot exist for humans. They also believed in an active force within blood itself, a thing which was clear in their rituals and practices. “Blood in the Pre-Islamic Heritage” In the second part of the chapter the researcher discussed the pre-Islamic Arabs’ view of blood which she did not find as different from the view by other nations. The researcher concluded that the Arabs believed, like other ancient people did, that blood is the source of life and the holiness of blood is clear through their rituals and practices. In the second chapter the researcher also provided two parts where in the first one she spoke about the linguistic definition of blood, blood designations, characteristics, its meanings and the poetic verses that speak about blood. In the second part the researcher described the places where blood was mentioned in pre-Islamic poetry, and explained that she has found that poets discussed blood in their poetry where they related it to strength, bravery, revenge, hunting, wine, grudges…etc. In addition to this, the researcher addressed the most significant situations in which the pre-Islamic poet dealt with blood and its link to the abovementioned ideas. In the third chapter, the researcher talked about the definition of poetic image and its dimensions. Then she moved to talk about the dimensions of the image of blood in pre-Islamic poetry. In this context the researcher found three dimensions for the image the first of which was the religious dimension through which the poet’s ability to draw his material from mythological, historical and religious origins; she also talked about the psychological dimension which describes the performance that blood stimulated in the pre-Islamic people such as fear, pessimism and optimism. In the social dimension, which was the third one, the researcher recorded some of the social traditions and values that emerged through blood. In the conclusion, the researcher presented the most significant results that she has achieved through the study and included a list of the references and resources ordered alphabetically.