LINGUOPRAGMATIC AND NATIONAL-CULTURAL FEATURES OF LEXICAL UNITS EXPRESSING GRIEF AND SUFFERING IN THE POETRY OF LOUISE GLÜCK
Abstract
This study investigates the linguopragmatic and linguocultural characteristics of lexical units expressing grief and suffering in the poetry of Louise Glück. Using a qualitative analytical approach, selected poems from Glück’s major collections (The Triumph of Achilles, Ararat, Meadowlands, Averno, and Faithful and Virtuous Night) were examined. Lexical units related to loss, absence, emotional restraint, existential suffering, psychological trauma, and mythological or religious symbolism were identified and analyzed in terms of their semantic, pragmatic, and cultural functions. The findings reveal that Glück employs indirect and restrained lexical strategies to convey profound emotional experiences, relying on contextual inference, understatement, and cultural coding. Mythological and biblical references serve to universalize personal grief and connect individual suffering to broader cultural frameworks. The study contributes to the understanding of how language, culture, and emotion interact in poetic discourse and provides new insights into the verbalization of grief in contemporary American poetry.Keywords
Louise Glück; grief; suffering; lexical units; linguopragmatics; linguoculture; poetry analysis; semantic and pragmatic functions; American literature
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