Shirley Geok-lin Lim: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Symbolism in a Selection of Poems

Abstract

Because it leaves resonating statements that grab the reader's attention, symbolism is essential to literature. The reader may understand the poetry's subliminal meanings by grasping the meaning behind symbolism's figurative language. This research looks at how symbolism is used in a few poems by Shirley Lim, including Feeling Sorry, A Woman Speaks of Grandchildren, The Gate, The Rebel, My Father's Sadness, and Pantoun for Chinese Women. Symbolism is a frequent figurative language in poetry. In order to better comprehend the ideologies driving the poetry, the latent meaning of the symbols expressions is analyzed utilizing a qualitative descriptive study approach and the three-dimensional model put forward by Fairclough (1995). Furthermore, the critical discourse analysis (CDA) developed by Fairclough is used in this work to explore the relationships between periphrastic texts, practices, and occurrences and more general social and cultural systems. The findings show that symbolism is often used, with 12 examples in the chosen poems explaining how symbolism is used to improve the meaning and presentation of the concepts of the social and cultural contexts. It is concluded that the poem's philosophy and underlying meaning—gender discrimination—are greatly influenced by the symbols. With regard to social and cultural systems, it is anticipated that this research will provide a more thorough understanding of the symbolism used in a number of Shirley Lim's poetry.