Abstract

This paper examines the concept of national identity in the poetry of Mohammad Hajji Salleh, who left his homeland to live most of his life abroad in the Western world to begin a long quest for his national identity. In his poetry, Salleh described his exile, his remoteness from his homeland, his national identity, and the idea of his return. This paper critically analyses the poet’s vision of his quest to construct his identity throughout various phases: roots and ancestors, traditions, values, culture, nature, language and literary heritage. That is to say, this paper aims to examine Salleh’s poetry in the context of post-colonial literature, particularly his search for identity, the heritage of Malay literature, and his struggle to safeguard the Malay language.

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