Postmodernism, Modernism & History in Mahmoud Darwish’s “Identity Card”

Postmodern Literature is post-World War II Literature and it is characterized by a heavy reliance on techniques like fragmentation, parody, indeterminacy, black humor and irony. Such literature came as a reaction against the enlightenment ideas which are implicit in modernist literature. Scholars and critics believe that postmodernism grew out of modernism. It is difficult to define Postmodernism and Postmodern Literature since this concept appears not only in literature, but also in architecture, communications, sociology, art, music, film, and technology without clear definitions across disciplines. However, as far as Postmodern Literature is concerned, in this paper, I shall try to cast light on three important aspects which I locate in Palestinian literature: the key difference between Modernist Literature and Postmodern Literature, the most important features and themes of postmodern literature; namely, Metafiction, Intertextuality, Parody and Black Humor, and Pastiche, and finally with reference to Mahmoud Darwish’s “Identity Card”, this paper shall examine how Postmodernism is employed in Palestinian literature and in the writings of the Palestinian poets and novelists. History is implicit in the poem and it flows with the tunes of Arab music which has been influenced modern instruments.