Crow in Pre-Islamic Poetry

This study addresses the issue of crow in pre-Islamic poetry where its importance lies in the fact that it reveals the aspects of pre-Islamic intellect which is considered part of the ancient man's intellect. The research is divided into an introduction, a preface, three chapters and a conclusion. In the introduction the researcher talked about the reasons behind choosing the subject of this study and its purpose. In the preface, the researcher mentioned the names of the crow, the reason for each name, in addition to explaining some of its characteristics. The first chapter consisted of two parts where in the first one the researcher discussed the issue of the crow in the ancient man's intellect and the interest that this bird received from the Sumerians, Babylonians, the Semites, the Chinese, the Greek and the Romanian. Those people had considered this bird as sacred and looked at it as the assistant of God in creation and the predictor of storms that tells the coming of rain. The Jewish considered it a dirty bird. In the second part the researcher presented the issue of the crow in ancient Arab intellect where the Arabs view of the crow was pessimistic and dark. In the second chapter the researcher addressed the mentioning of the crow in the pre-Islamic poetry and divided it into four parts in the first of which he talked about the crow and separation; he considered it a symbol of separation among most of pre-Islamic poets. In the second part he discussed the relationship between the crow and concepts like being pessimistic, tracking and superstition because it was among the most important birds to be related to this area. In the third part the researcher discussed one of the characteristics of the crow which is the fact that it is a scavenger. Some poets have employed this feature in their poetry, while in the last part the researcher talked about the mentioning of the crow in subjects such as satire, color, gray hair and others. In the third chapter the researcher addressed the image of the crow in pre-Islamic poetry in two parts in the first of which the researcher talked about the crow and its role in forming the elements of the art image in pre-Islamic poetry, in addition to discussing the element of color, sound, and movement. In the second part the researcher talked about the crow in pre-Islamic poetry with respect to the religious, social and psychological dimensions. The image of the crow had a major role in impacting the psychology of the pre-Islamic poet. The researcher concluded the study with a conclusion in which he presented the most prominent results.