SEMANTIC AND LEXICAL PARALLELISM IN FROM SOIL TO SOUL: A STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF OPPRESSION AND RESILIENCE

Abstract

This study examines the use of semantic and lexical parallelism in Farzana Aqib’s (2021) poem From Soil to Soul, focusing on how linguistic structures reinforce themes of oppression, resilience, and hope. Through a stylistic analysis, the paper explores the repetition of key lexical items (e.g., "me," "will still") and contrasting semantic fields (destruction vs. endurance). The findings reveal that parallelism serves as a foregrounding device, intensifying emotional engagement and socio-political commentary. The study draws on theories from Leech & Short (2007), Wales (2014), and Halliday & Matthiessen (2014) to argue that grammatical and lexical choices shape the poem’s ideological stance.