Myth, in its theoretical sense, constitutes a symbolic expression of human experiences within the framework of a transhistorical narrative. Employing a qualitative approach and a structural-semantic analysis grounded in Jung’s archetypal theory, this study seeks to demonstrate how linguistic mechanisms and lexical networks in the poetry of Jabra Ibrahim Jabra organize the process of Icarus’s individuation. To this end, the figure of Icarus is examined through five dimensions: actantial, spatial, corporeal, existential, and social. In each dimension, the focus is placed on the ways these aspects are represented at the level of poetic language.

The ascent from the “cellar” toward the “sun” functions narratively as a “call to adventure,” while linguistically, the repetition of the phrase “you rose from the cellars” together with the prominence of the motion verb emphasizes the intentional nature of the act. The expression “rebellious leap,” through the collocation of the words “leap” and “rebellious,” transforms the hero’s movement from a merely physical act into an act of protest, revealing how the poet embeds the ideological dimension of movement within the lexical structure itself. The opposition between the “space of bewilderment” and the “sea” in the poem’s spatial-semantic organization creates a form of discursive polarization that represents the transition from a repressive unconscious toward the openness of the self. The negation of chains, guns, prisons, and gallows in the depiction of the sea, through the accumulation of violent vocabulary, establishes a negative semantic network that linguistically foregrounds the concept of liberation. The representation of the suffering body through expressions such as “soft limbs” and “wounds” corresponds both to the archetype of the “wounded hero” and to the tension between vulnerability and resistance at the levels of imagery and diction. In the existential dimension, the statement “I did not strive for immortality,” through its negative structure and declarative tone, generates a sense of certainty that highlights the acceptance of “symbolic death” within the process of individuation. The study concludes that the death of Icarus, contrary to the classical narrative, does not signify the end of the hero’s journey; rather, it marks the beginning of the proliferation of a collective cry within the “crowded villages” and the “distorted streets.” Thus, through the use of spatial oppositions, lexical fields, and repetitive patterns, the language of Jabra’s poetry transforms Icarus from a mythological figure into a self-aware, responsible, and historical subject.