METAPHOR AS A STYLISTIC DEVICE FOR CONSTRUCTING FEMALE IDENTITY IN SYLVIA PLATH’S SELECTED POEMS

This thesis examines the stylistic functions of metaphor in constructing female identity in Sylvia Plath’s poems Mirror, The Applicant, and Tulips. Drawing upon cognitive stylistics and feminist literary criticism, the study explores how metaphor functions as a linguistic mechanism rather than merely a poetic ornament. Through comparative textual analysis, the paper demonstrates that Plath employs conceptual metaphor, reification, personification, and lexical contrast to represent feminine identity as socially constructed, psychologically unstable, and continually reconstructed. The findings indicate that metaphor serves as the principal stylistic device through which Plath challenges conventional representations of womanhood and exposes the influence of patriarchal discourse on female subjectivity.