Journal of Creative Practices in Language Learning and Teaching (CPLT)

Volume 10, Number 2, 2022

Critical Discourse Analysis of Symbolism in the Selected Poems by Shirley

Geok-lin Lim

Gloria Ajjulus
[email protected]
Academy of Language Studies
Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor,
Malaysia.

Mafarhanatul Akmal Ahmad Kamal*

[email protected]
Academy of Language Studies
Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor,
Malaysia.

Corresponding author*

Received: 18 August 2022

Accepted: 25 August 2022
Published: 29 November 2022

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.

Keywords: Figurative language; symbolism; poetry; critical discourse analysis; Shirley Lim
INTRODUCTION

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Literature consists of written works that combine intellectual content with artistic quality in order
to employ language creatively, including the use of figurative language. It is a crucial element in
poetry because it not only helps authors express their feelings and thoughts but also helps create a
medium that allows readers to feel the intended meaning of the poems and freely imagine the
setting based on the scenario of the poem. Consequently, the extensive use of figurative language
allows for a more vivid expression of emotion as well as a greater degree of originality in one's
interpretation of life events. This is because literary compositions are frequently influenced by the
authors' experiences and surroundings throughout various periods of their lives, contributing to
countless theories, histories, cultures, and traditions from ancient times to the present.

This study utilised the Critical Discourse Approach (CDA) to investigate the use of symbolism in
the poetry of Shirley Lim, a Malaysian poet, in order to establish a connection between language
and social context. According to Rogers (2011), critical discourse analysis describes the context
and explains the functions of discourse. According to Maharsi (2016), knowledge of literature aids
in gaining a deeper understanding of literary theory and history, as well as provides insight into
various cultures and traditions around the world. Research on poems typically focuses solely on
the profound meaning of the poem. The symbolism in some of Shirley Lim's poems can therefore
be examined using a critical discourse analysis to better understand how it is used and how it
affects the meaning of her poems in their social context.

Furthermore, studies on Malaysian literature collections are scarce. For instance, Muhammad
Syaukat (2013) explored The Poetry of A.Samad Said and Cecil Rajendra: A Comparative Study
in Ecocriticism. While Muhammad Amirudin (2015) investigated The Effectiveness of Illustration
in Conveying the Meaning of Usman Awang's Poems, Gui (2021) looked into Hyphenational
poetics in Omar Musa's Parang and Millefiori. Since Shirley Lim is an award-winning writer of
fiction, poetry, and criticism, as well as a renowned scholar in the field of literature not only in
Malaysia but also internationally, this research examined some of her poems, including Feeling
Sorry, A Woman Speaks of Grandchildren, The Gate, The Rebel, My Father’s Sadness, and
Pantoun for Chinese Women. In addition, despite the fact that she was born in Malacca in 1944
and has lived abroad since 1969, her writing continues to be influenced by her home country. As
a Malaysian Chinese and Asian-American, her writing demonstrates an intricate and ambivalent
imagination, and many of her well-known poems, like When, The Debt, and Reading, are
influenced by her childhood and life experiences (Quayum, 2003, 2014, 2019).

Most previous studies of Shirley Lim's poetry have focused on describing the themes and literary
devices used in her poems. However, critical discourse analysis of the figurative language used in
her poems is still scarce. For instance, Chin (2019) examined Shirley Lim's poetry's depiction of
the father figure and the idea of filial piety in the poem My Father's Daughter. Furthermore, Ng
(2007) emphasised the maternal imagination or figure in Shirley Lim's poetry. Thus, conducting a
critical discourse analysis on symbolism is worthwhile in order to delve deeper into the symbolism
used in her poems to depict the social context.

LITERATURE REVIEW

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Nordquist (2019) stated that figurative language is a discourse that uses figures of speech freely in
contrast with literal language. Thus, figures of speech are normally used outside of formal contexts,
such as in poetry, novels, prose, drama, and even daily life. In contrast to the literal dimension of
language use, which employs words in their usual and obvious sense without any additional
connotations, the figurative dimension is concerned with the suggestive or connotative use of
language and, consequently, implies extended or associative meanings (Yeibo, 2012). Figuratively
expressing meaning, the imaginative style of language therefore appeals to the emotions of the
reader or listener. According to Merriam-Webster’s Encyclopedia of Literature (1995), figurative
language in the European language is classified into five categories: figures of resemblance or
relationship; figures of emphasis or understatement; figures of sound; verbal games and
gymnastics; and errors. Literary devices like metonymy, metaphor, kenning, conceit, simile,
personification, synecdoche, parallelism, euphemism, and symbolism are used to show similarities
or connections.

Due to the fact that symbolism is one of the figurative languages that is frequently used in poetry
as opposed to other literary genres, it was chosen for analysis in this study (Raisa et al., 2017).
According to Nordquist (2019), symbolism is the practise of embedding things with significance
so that they can represent something other than themselves. Additionally, symbolism is the use of
words or images to represent particular ideas, characters, things, or events in order to make them
come to life in the reader's mind. Symbolisms are prevalent in all cultures, societies, and norms.
As an example of how it is used to convey information about a character, scene, or plot point, a
black cat might stand in for a character's misfortune. A rose, for instance, is frequently used as a
romantic or love symbol. As such, symbolism provides a clue as to the possible nature of the thing
or person alluded to in the text. This eventually sparks readers' imaginations and helps them better
understand the context by using symbolism to bridge the gap between the poem and the readers.

Language is a means of communication that is connected to the social construct. The way
individuals perceive things is shaped by their life experiences, which are heavily influenced by the
social context. According to Butler (2003), cited in Adekunle (2021), language is the primary
means by which people communicate in social, cultural, and psychological settings that represent
society as a whole. Fairclough (1995) affirms that language is essential to society. He asserts that
the manner in which people use language in society is more of a social practise than an individual
act. He then introduces a framework that discusses language, discourse, and society in order to
better understand the relationship between language and social context. Fairclough's critical
discourse analysis (CDA) seeks to systematically investigate vague relationships between
periphrastic practises, texts, and vast social and cultural events, structures, and processes (Al-
Thamery, 2017). According to Fairclough (1995), CDA covers three main dimensions: text and
the study of texture; discoursal practises and the concept of orders of discourse; and sociocultural
practises and the concept of culture. Fairclough (1995) developed three levels of critical discourse
analysis to correspond with the three dimensions: text analysis (description), processing analysis
(interpretation), and social analysis (explanation). Figure 1 depicts Fairclough's three-dimensional
framework for critical discourse analysis.

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Figure 1

Fairclough’s (1995) Three-Dimensional Framework for Critical Discourse Analysis

Fairclough (2001) contended that critical discourse analysis is a method "which is in a dialogical
relationship with other social theories and methods, which should engage with them in a
transdisciplinary rather than just interdisciplinary way" (p. 121). According to Fairclough, the
study of language usage in social and cultural contexts is dependent on a variety of critical
discourse analysis approaches. Hence, determining the use of figurative language elements in
Shirley Lim's poems requires the application of Fairclough's critical discourse analysis, which is
deemed the most appropriate technique for this study. This study includes the frequency of
figurative language expressions and index line analyses in its text analysis. The analysis of the
discourse practise includes the meanings and interpretations of figurative language expressions,
whereas the analysis of Shirley Lim's social ideologies is included in the sociocultural practise.

METHODOLOGY

Critical discourse analysis (CDA) is one of several types of qualitative research analysis methods.
It involves a theory of language as a form of social relations, and this type of analysis allows
researchers to gain a deeper understanding of the underlying meaning of a discourse, thereby
interpreting the relationship between language and society (Hussein, 2021). Hence, the
present research employs a descriptive qualitative research design to investigate the critical
discourse analysis of symbolism in selected poems by Shirley Lim. In order to analyse the data,
this research adopted the three-dimensional model proposed by Fairclough (1995). The first
section, which is the textual analysis, focuses on identifying instances of symbolism in Shirley
Lim's selected poems. The second section of this study, the processing analysis, investigates the
implied meanings of the figurative language used in the chosen poems. Finally, the third section

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of this study's textual analysis seeks to investigate Shirley Lim's underlying ideology through the
use of symbolism in her chosen poems.

The present study applies purposive sampling in which the poems such as Feeling Sorry, A Woman
Speaks of Grandchildren, The Gate, The Rebel, My Father’s Sadness, and Pantoun for Chinese
Women by Shirley Lim are selected to be analysed further due to their similarity in theme, which
is the restriction of freedom. Due to the prevalence of symbolism in poetry relative to other literary
genres (Raisa et al., 2017), symbolism serves as the research instrument for this descriptive study.
In addition, the data sheet, which was adapted from Inpok et al. (2019) in their study on An
Analytical Study of Figurative Language Used in Emily Dickinson's Selected Poems, is used as a
secondary tool for data analysis. Minor adjustments were made to the data sheet template, though,
to enable the use of a clearer data analysis visualisation in this study. The formatted data sheet is
presented in Table 1.

Table 1
Example of Data Sheet

Types of Poems TOTAL

Figurative
Language

Feeling A Woman The The My Pantoun

Sorry Speaks of Gate Rebel Father’s for
Grandchildren Sadness Chinese
Women

Symbolism

In the present study, data is collected primarily from websites and freely accessible online
documents. Using Fairclough's (1989) three-dimensional model for data analysis, the contents of
six selected poems by Shirley Lim are thoroughly analysed to determine how the use of symbolism
enhances the meaning of the poems and more effectively expresses the ideas. These procedures
were used to analyse the data for this study:

1. Text analysis
This step involves recording the frequency of symbolism occurrences in a table. The
phrases employing symbolism are then listed accordingly.

2. Processing analysis
In this step, the underlying significance of the symbolism instances is clarified and
elaborated.

3. Social analysis
In this step, the ideologies of Shirley Lim regarding sociocultural practise based on
instances of symbolism in the selected poems are explained.

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FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

In the analysis of Shirley Lim's chosen poems; Feeling Sorry, A Woman Speaks of Grandchildren,
The Gate, The Rebel, My Father's Sadness, and Pantoun for Chinese Women, symbolism is evident
throughout. Moreover, instances of symbolism are present in each poem, thereby fulfilling the
objective of this study. Table 2 provides an overview of the frequency of symbolism in selected
Shirley Lim poems. The data indicates that symbolism appears 12 times in the selected poems of
Shirley Lim. It can be seen that symbolism is used more than once in each poem, with the exception
of The Rebel, which has only one instance. Feeling Sorry (2), A Woman Speaks of Grandchildren
(3), The Gate (2), My Father's Sadness (2), and Pantoun for Chinese Women (2) all contain
multiple instances of symbolism.

Table 2
Frequency of Symbolism in Shirley Lim's Selected Poems

Types of Poems TOTAL

Figurative
Language

Feeling A Woman The The My Pantoun

Sorry Speaks of Gate Rebel Father’s for
Grandchildren Sadness Chinese
Women

Symbolism 2 3 1 2 2 2 12

Textual Analysis of Symbolism

Symbolism is the use of words or images to represent specific concepts, figures, objects, or events
that suggest a meaning other than their literal meaning in order to better connect the reader's
imagination to perspective. Table 3 presents the total of 12 instances of symbolism found in the
selected poems.

Table 3
Instances of Symbolism in Shirley Lim's Selected Poems
Poems Instances
Feeling Sorry “So, must you mutter for the fallen forest…”
“Must the young man with the revolver to be hanged tomorrow
noon have a claim on us?”
A Woman Speaks for “...to birds tumbling into the deadly arrogant ocean.”
Grandchildren
“It's terrible to be seduced by filthy books with high

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thoughts…”
“But a little bird I'll never be.”
The Gate “...scorpions in a city night.”
The Rebel “I will be reckless and roast opium balls over spirit lamps.”
“I will close my eyes in fox women harems…”
My Father’s Sadness “...so many men and women like dragons’ teeth rising in the
instance of his lifetime.”
“He is an oriental.”
Pantoun for Chinese “They say a child with two mouths is no good.”
Women
“She will not pluck the rooster nor serve its blood,”

Processing Analysis of Symbolism

On the basis of Fairclough's CDA framework (1995), the processing analysis is applied to the
textual analysis of selected poems, namely Feeling Sorry, A Woman Speaks of Grandchildren, The
Gate, The Rebel, My Father's Sadness, and Pantoun for Chinese Women, in order to interpret the
instances of symbolism. The following are examples of processing analysis results from Shirley
Lim's poems:

I. Tonight I will think of my uncles.

For once I will walk in their spirit.
Pile mahjong tiles in great walls
and crash them down with two big fists.
I will be reckless and roast opium
balls over spirit lamps. I will close
my eyes in fox women harems
and wake to male children,

The preceding instance is taken from Shirley Lim's The Rebel. This poem describes the persona's
desire to rebel and defy gender norms. There are two highlighted symbols above. First, ‘I will be
reckless and roast opium balls over spirit lamps’ represent the persona's act of defiance. The act
of women roasting, or smoking opium is frequently frowned upon by society, as it contradicts the
stereotypical portrayal of women as feminine. Second, ‘I will close my eyes in fox women
harems…’ symbolises how men frequently indulge in women's embraces. According to Chinese
culture, the fox represents cunning, mischief-making, and seduction. Therefore, the poem depicts
the social norm of men engaging in indecent behaviour, whereas it is strictly forbidden for women
to act similarly.

II. They say a child with two mouths is no good.

The aforementioned instance is taken from Shirley Lim's Pantoun for Chinese Women, which
depicts the ancient tradition of infanticide of female newborns in Chinese culture. Here, ‘…a child
with two mouths…’ represents a daughter as a burden to the family, as two mouths suggest the

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child has an additional mouth to feed; consequently, having a daughter is viewed as worthless in
ancient Chinese culture.
III. Through her two weak mouths his mother prays.
She will not pluck the rooster nor serve its blood,
For broken clay is never set in glaze:
Women are made of river sand and wood

This instance is also taken from Shirley Lim's Pantoun for Chinese Women, which exemplifies the
ancient custom of infanticide of female newborns in Chinese culture. As one of the Chinese zodiac
signs, the rooster represents a significant symbol. The rooster represents good luck, and its blood
is frequently used to ward off evil spirits. Therefore, ‘She will not pluck the rooster nor serve its
blood’ suggests that the persona's mother-in-law will not slaughter a chicken because no son has
been born and, consequently, there is nothing to celebrate in the household. This demonstrates that
discrimination against women has become deeply ingrained in the Chinese culture.

IV. I am tired of poetry —

this boring half-talking
to yourself half-asleep —
broken flight of women
turned unsuccessfully
to birds tumbling
into the deadly
arrogant ocean.

This instance is from A Woman Speaks of Grandchildren by Shirley Lim. This poem explores the
importance of education and how different people may view it, particularly from the perspective
of women. The question of whether education is important allows one to yield to the desire to seek
knowledge or to simply enjoy life regardless of the circumstances. In this context, ‘…the deadly
arrogant ocean’ symbolises desires and fears drowning in the limitless possibilities of acquiring
knowledge. Due to its physical characteristics, the ocean always symbolises vastness. However,
the phrase "broken flight of women" may also represent anarchy, as the depth of human emotions
is analogous to the depth of the ocean.

V. It's terrible to be
seduced by filthy books
with high thoughts which make you want
to delete the world.

This instance is also taken from Shirley Lim's A Woman Speaks of Grandchildren. As Shirley Lim
is concerned with academic life, which she sometimes embraces and sometimes views with
cynicism, the depiction of books as a source of knowledge is interpreted in this instance. Indulging
in reading and beginning to question many things as individuals consume new information would
be crucial for the development of knowledge and societal structure. Nonetheless, this incident
cynically demonstrated that curiosity and a thirst for information can be harmful. The stanza
concludes with the conventional role of a mother, or a woman, in society, which is to care for and

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nurture young children.

Social Analysis of Symbolism

As symbolism involves the act of representing ideas or concepts with greater meaning through the
use of a person, situation, word, or object to represent another thing, it is essential to relate it to
context. On the basis of Fairclough's CDA framework (1995), the social analysis of selected poems
reveals that Shirley Lim's views on society are influenced by gender discrimination. According to
Villiness (2021), gender discrimination is the practise of treating individuals differently based on
their genders as opposed to their individual talents or qualities. In all environments, women have
faced discrimination for centuries, including the present day. The Rebel depicts the discrimination
of women in society, who are expected to behave modestly to demonstrate their femininity, in
contrast to the reckless and defiant conduct of men. In addition, both The Rebel and Pantoun for
Chinese Women depict males as superior, resulting in unfair and discriminatory treatment of
female characters.

Moreover, Pantoun for Chinese Women represents the injustice of unborn female babies being
killed because they are portrayed as a burden in ancient Chinese culture. This poem also depicts
the ancient practise of killing newborn female infants, prevalent primarily in Chinese culture. Not
only in Chinese culture, Cartwright (2016) shows that there has been discrimination against
women in Europe since the beginning of capitalism. There was a constant and violent attack on
the sexual and productive autonomy of European women during this time, as hundreds of
thousands of women were tortured and killed during witch hunts. This included women who lived
in villages, worked as craftspeople, and had a strong sense of independence, as well as women
healers and midwives. Other than that, A Woman Speaks of Grandchildren also contains gender
stereotypes in the form of implicit bias toward women, as the poem stresses the value of education
while stereotyping women as natural caregivers for young children. Gender stereotypes exert
pressure on individuals of both sexes to conform to unreasonably high standards, which harms
society as a whole.

CONCLUSION

There are numerous reasons why symbolism is essential in poetry. One of them is to facilitate the
effective communication of the text's ideas to the audience. In addition, it contributes to the poem's
ideas being enhanced and made more vivid. Despite the fact that countless analyses of poems have
been conducted, the relationship between the use of symbolism in expressing the ideologies
underlying the poems requires further study. This resulted in the execution of a discourse analysis
of the use of symbolism in Shirley Lim's selected poems. Unquestionably, conducting a critical
discourse analysis necessitates not only a deeper understanding of symbolism usage, but also a
profound comprehension of the author's values and ideologies. Consequently, the use of
symbolism in selected poems by Shirley Geok-lin Lim has been analysed throughout this study
using Fairclough's model of CDA. Based on the data analysis, the results indicate that symbolism
occurs frequently in the six examined poems, a total of 12 times. In addition, the figurative
meaning of the expressions used in the poems is elaborated in accordance with Fairclough's CDA,

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highlighting how Shirley Lim's perspective on gender discrimination is portrayed through the use
of symbolism.

It is intriguing to observe how context influences the connotation and interpretation of symbols.
As poetry is primarily socially oriented, the use of a person, situation, word, or object to represent
another thing with broader understanding encourages readers to use their imaginations and be
creative while connecting with the underlying meanings of the poems. As research on critical
discourse analysis of symbolism in Shirley Lim's poems is still limited, this study provides insights
and knowledge to linguists, students, and those interested in gaining a deeper understanding of
Shirley Lim's poems. In addition, this study recommends that future research be conducted on
other Malaysian poets or writers in order to make their poetry accessible to a wider audience and
to increase knowledge and understanding of their ideologies, perspectives, and writing style.

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About the Authors

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GLORIA AJJULUS is a final-year student at University Teknologi MARA Shah Alam, Selangor,
pursuing a Bachelor of Applied Language Studies in English Language for Professional
Communication (Hons).

MAFARHANATUL AKMAL AHMAD KAMAL received her Master of Arts in Applied

Linguistics with TESOL from The University of Sheffield and is currently doing her PhD in
English Language Studies specialising in Applied Linguistics at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Her research interests include cognitive linguistics, psycholinguistics, bilingualism, and eye
tracking.

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