Comparative Analysis of Imagery in Sylvia Plath's “Medallion” and Warsan Shire's “Backwards”: Cultural and Thematic Perspectives
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This study explores the comparative use of imagery in Sylvia Plath’s “Medallion” and Warsan Shire’s “Backwards,” focusing on how each poet’s cultural background influences thematic expression. Employing a qualitative-descriptive method, the study uses an expressive approach to analyze how Plath’s mid-20th-century American context and Shire’s Somali-British identity shape their poetic devices. Results show that both poets utilize vivid imagery—visual, kinesthetic, and organic—to explore identity, trauma, and transformation. While Plath reflects on death and existential tension using decaying yet beautiful imagery, Shire reconstructs past trauma through reversed, dynamic images rooted in diaspora experience. These findings suggest that imagery in poetry not only enhances emotion and depth but also serves as a mirror to cultural memory and personal history. The study contributes to comparative literature by demonstrating how poets from distinct contexts can converge on similar human concerns using imagery in distinct ways.
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