Beyond the things: Stylistic Insights into Rafat’s 'Kitchens'

Abstract

This study has examined the poem “Kitchens” by Taufiq Rafat from his collection “Arrival of the monsoon” in order to analyze the linguistics resources used by poet to explore the theme of nostalgia manifested in his symbolic usage of ‘things’. The Poem had been examined from different theoretical and methodological perspectives; however, it still required an in-depth linguistic examination which this paper aims to provide. For said reasons, study has used stylistics analysis since a through and in-depth analysis helps in uncovering the hidden meanings at the same time bringing about appreciations for the author's creativity and style. Therefore, for such an informed analysis, the poem was analyzed in terms of level model of language i.e. from Phonological, Graphological, Morphological, Semantics and obviously syntactic perspective. The close reading method has been used with things theory given by Bill Brown to carry out an informed stylistics analysis of the poem. The detailed stylistic examination of the poem Kitchens noted that Rafat has utilized linguistics resources and symbolic significance in order state the dominant theme of nostalgia. Such a theme is highlighted via juxtaposition of old and modern life or village and city life with the help of things that are/were present in kitchens. Therefore, the use of things theory further enhanced the claims build around subsisting ideas that Rafat conveys. This research highlights the importance of Rafat as a poet representing indigenous culture thereby longing for it. Apart from it, study adds to available literature and critical scholarship in the field of Pakistani literature. Moreover, it is suggested for future research to carry a corpus-oriented in-depth stylistics analysis of Rafat’s collection in order to discover his poetic ingenuity.