Iraqi Statues as Iconic of Iraqi Cultural Identity in Adnan al- Sayegh’s Selected Poems: A Semiotic Study

Abstract

The function of statues has been interpreted in various ways, either at an academic or artistic level. Because of the different functions and meanings that they reflect, they are still a matter of some debate in various fields. Hence, examining the depiction of national monuments, historical scripts, and statues, is a worthy way to understand their material and the moral value at their roots. However, throughout this study another aspect of statue‟s function has been suggested, that of National statues as an iconic of Iraqi cultural identity, from a semiotic theoretical perspective. The aim of this paper is to delineate the identity of national statues depending on the text and the context that they come with; the focus is to define the importance of national statues by reconstructing the cultural identity of their roots and to present national statues as a bridge that help to transfer Iraqi culture and history to others who are not native. Semiotic theory, which was developed by Charles Sanders Peirce, can be applied to this discussion.