White as a Symbol of Death and Eternity in Darwish’s and Lorca’s Poetry: A Comparative Study

Abstract

This article investigates the symbolism of white color in the works of the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish and the Spanish Federico Garcia Lorca. The white color is exceptionally employed in their poetry, which is different from its normal symbolism in Arabic and Spanish cultures. In their poetry, the white color is used to symbolize a duality of opposites, death as an end to mortal life and eternity as an infinity phase of afterlife. This paradoxical use of the white color cannot be grasped by readers without considering the poetic context. This color is employed by the two poets to reflect their psychology, feelings, and emotions toward death and eternity. The color white symbolizes death in all forms; the self-death as shown in Darwish’s poem Mural, the death of the other as illustrated in Lament for the Death of a Bullfighter of Lorca, the divine death as in Lorca’s The Martyrdom of Saint Eulalia and the instant death of humans as in Remainder of a Life of Darwish. In addition, the white color is used to symbolize eternity as an afterlife phase. The two poets have exploited the white color to express their interrogation about man’s destiny after death being eternal or not.