A Contemporary Critical Reading of “The Eighth Journey” by Jabra Ibrahim Jabra in Light of the Theory of Affect Anxiety

Abstract

The encyclopedic critic and writer Jabra Ibrahim Jabra distinguished from other critics in that he collected criticism of arts and literature in one book entitled (The Eighth Journey), which is a comprehensive work that touches upon various arts in his criticism. Jabra intended to advance artistic criticism - at that time - to reach the level of creativity that had made great strides in renewal and modernization at all levels and in various artistic and literary fields. The book, as a distinguished critical achievement, brought with it the admiration of creators and critics alike since the late sixties of the last century until today. We decided that our reading of this critical masterpiece should be in light of the theory of anxiety of influence, so our research was titled (A contemporary critical reading of “The Eighth Journey” by Jabra Ibrahim Jabra in light of the theory of anxiety of influence). This research aims at the field of critical studies as a fertile field for readings and criticism of criticism, and within its folds the obsession of anxiety has grown and the structures of influence have floated over it. Therefore, the guidance of the theory of anxiety of influence and its main premises in Harold Bloom’s proposals was a methodological framework for this research paper to address critical readings in the book The Eighth Journey and demonstrate its effectiveness in application in fields other than poetry, especially the spaces of various arts.