Rocks and Stones as a Symbols in Umru’u Al-Qais Poetry

Abstract

Pre-Islamic poetry is open to multiple readings and interpretations. It is full of symbols that inspire astonishment and surprise. As a valuable product of ancient human thought, it has occupied a great position among modern Western and Arab critics alike.
Since the pre-Islamic poet lives in a desert environment and nature is a fertile source and resource from which the poet draws his poetic material, he resorted to employing the symbol of rocks and stones, which are a symbol of strength, hardness and will. This is what we noticed in the poetry of Umru’u Al-Qais through revealing its hidden aspects in his poetry, which is saturated with multiple connotations and different images, and diving into its depths and folds.