Abstract:

Colors are vital to human life and are often used as a silent communication tool to express feelings and thoughts. In the early stages of life, colors are employed to describe phenomena. However, over time they become elements actively associated with positive and negative connotations attributed to them and hence convey varied meanings for discrete purposes in all areas of life. This study explores how Arabic poetry treats colors such as black, white, red, blue, green, and yellow. Initially, the paper provides general information about the social and psychological significations of colors. It subsequently discusses the effects of Arabic culture and Islam on the meaning of colors in Arabic literature, reinforcing the argumentation through examples from poetry that employs only the first names or forms of colors, not their alternatives. The cited poetry samples aim to demonstrate the use of colors in poetry from a historical perspective. The exemplars are thus selected from poets ranging from the past to the present who have skillfully used colors in their work and have been restricted to poems about people as much as possible. 

Keywords: