Critical Discourse Analysis of Symbolism in the Selected Poems by Shirley Geok-lin Lim

Abstract

Symbolism is vital to literature because it leaves resonant expressions that capture the attention of the reader. Understanding the underlying meaning of the figurative language of symbolism allows the reader to comprehend the poetry's implicit messages. As symbolism is a common figurative language in poetry, this study examines its usage in Shirley Lim's selected poems, Feeling Sorry, A Woman Speaks of Grandchildren, The Gate, The Rebel, My Father's Sadness, and Pantoun for Chinese Women. The implicit meaning of the symbolism expressions is analysed using a qualitative descriptive research design using the three-dimensional model proposed by Fairclough (1995) to analyse the data in order to gain a deeper understanding of the ideologies underlying the poems. Moreover, this study employs Fairclough's critical discourse analysis (CDA) to investigate the connections between periphrastic texts, practises, and events and broader social and cultural structures. The results indicate that symbolism is frequently employed, with 12 instances in the selected poems, elaborating on the use of symbolism to enhance the meaning and expression of the ideas of the social and cultural backgrounds. It is determined that the symbolism contributes significantly to the poem's underlying meaning and ideology, which is gender discrimination. It is hoped that this study provides a more comprehensive understanding of how symbolism is employed in a few of Shirley Lim's poems in relation to social and cultural structures.