Analysis Of "the Image Of The Prophet" In The Literary Works Of Kahlil Gibran

The immigrant writer Khalil Gibran was active at the early20thcentury of America, and he also wasthe founder of Arab American literature. In the modern society which is termed as “the loss of holiness”,his work, however, is dedicated to reconstruct the spirit of “holiness”. And the aim of his work was torebuild the belief of“holiness of life” and the religion whose essence is “love, beauty and life”.Not only inheriting the Arab cultural legacy but also adopting the western cultural spirit, Gibran’sliterary creation can be divided into three periods with distinctive features: the period of early Arabicliterature, Bilingual writing period and English writing period which indicates reaching the appexof hiswriting. The works of these three periods distinctively reflect the interaction between Arab culture andWestern culture, moreover,the images of “the prophet"in his works also show different characteristics inrespective stages. The images of “the prophet” experience the change from “national prophet” to“universal prophet”. Whatever choosing the dialogic genres such as prose poetry and dialogue poetry, oradopting the “Biblical style”, it refletcts the intention of Gibran establishing the sense of sacredthroughout his works.The image of “the prophet” is highly valued by eastern and western worlds for its outward styles, aswell as its unique philosophical connotations. Through reading his work, the soul of the audience can beinspired,enlightened,benefitedand purified. The Three images include the national prophet,the rebelliousprophet,and the universal prophet.The notion of “love, beauty, and life” is the philosophy and essencethat this genius poet dedicated to convey to the world. In Gibran’s work,“love, beauty, and life” isregarded as the evidence of the eternal power of the world. They form the basis of redemption, the supremepower of the mind, and the essence of life. The philosophical connotation makes sense and founds the soulsupporting theimage of the prophet in his works.