Representing Humanity in the Poem '`an al-Insan' by Mahmoud Darwish: A Roland Barthesian Semiotic Analysis

Representasi Kemanusiaan Dalam Syair “`an al-Insan” Karya Mahmoud Darwish: Kajian Semiotika Roland Barthes

Abstract

This study examines the representation of humanity in Mahmoud Darwish's poem "عن إنسان" through Roland Barthes' semiotic perspective, with the aim of uncovering multi-level meanings at the levels of denotation, connotation, and myth. Mahmoud Darwish's poem is understood as a text of resistance that records the experiences of the Palestinian people under the pressure of colonialism. This study uses a qualitative approach with a descriptive-analytical method, and data collection techniques in the form of observation and note-taking based on literature studies. The results of the analysis show that at the denotation level, the poem presents a literal depiction of humans who are chained, isolated, and labeled through. At the connotation level, signs such as chains in the mouth, death stones, expulsion and drying wheat represent silencing, shackles, exile, threats and hopes for human survival. Meanwhile, at the myth level, the text constructs a critique of the naturalization of violence through a discourse that reverses the victim as the guilty party, so that oppression appears legitimized and normal. This finding confirms that the poem “عن إنسان” not only functions aesthetically, but also as a medium for dismantling the myth of dehumanization, as well as an ethical call to restore human dignity as an autonomous and dignified subject.