[1] Imam Al-Kadhum College /English Department/Iraq, ORCID ID 0000-0003-3947-5612, email: dr.khalidsharhan@alkadhum-col.edu.iq
[2] Imam Al-Kadhum College /English Department/Iraq, 0000-0002-0151-253X ORCID ID email: mtameemi@alkadhum-col.edu.iq
[3] Universiti Sains Malaysia, ORCID ID: 0000-0002-1495-6340, email: malinik@usm.my
Abstract
The present paper investigates how literature in general and poetry in particular can reflect the social values of a society during a certain period of time. It aims through literary and linguistic analyses of selected modern English love poems to show how poets use their literary imagination and employ linguistic resources to present love not only as a universalistic human emotion, but also as a social value. Four poems are selected as the data of analysis in the paper. These poems are analyzed for their literary and linguistic aspects starting with the former and using the latter to supplement it. The results of the analysis have revealed that the poets adhere to the spiritual love which is infinite in terms of emotion and time as opposed to physical love. Such adherence can be clearly seen through the use of certain literary devices and linguistic resources.
Keywords: Modern poetry; love poetry; literary analysis; linguistic analysis; social value.
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