Language as Revolt: A Discursive Inquiry into Gendered Deliberation in the Confessional Writings of Plath and Das

Authors

  • Seema Ghangale

    Symbiosis Institute of Operations Management, Nashik, Affiliated to Symbiosis International (Deemed) University, Pune 422008, India
  • Madan Jagtap

    Symbiosis Institute of Operations Management, Nashik, Affiliated to Symbiosis International (Deemed) University, Pune 422008, India
  • Atul Bansilal Patil

    MIT School of Humanities, MIT Art, Design and Technology University, Pune 412201, India
  • Kishor Dalve

    Institute of Management and Research (IOM&R), MGM University, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar 431003, India
  • Sushil Paliwal

    Delight Management Studies and Research Institute, Bhorwadi, Manchar, Affiliated to Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune 410503, India
  • Harshal Tare

    OPC Private Limited, Jalgaon 425001, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i10.10856
Received: 2 July 2025 | Revised: 24 July 2025 | Accepted: 6 August 2025 | Published Online: 23 September 2025

Abstract

The confessional poetry of Sylvia Plath and Kamala Das is compared discursively in this research, with an emphasis on how their language use subverts patriarchal narratives and reclaims agency. Both poets write in intimate, self-revealing ways that defy gendered, psychological, and social norms. While Das bravely defies patriarchal standards through her voyaging of desire, passion, and female liberation, Plath's confessional style dives into her battles with mental illness, relationships, and societal expectations of women. This study examines how the poets employ confessional dialogue to regain control over their identities and narratives as women through a comparative analysis of their works. From a linguistic perspective, both poets use unique stylistic markers that express psychological disintegration and socio-political opposition, such as abrupt enjambments, metaphorical density, and shifting pronouns. From a practical standpoint and a pragmatic perspective, their poems function as performative speech acts that involve, confrontation, and confession, where language serves as a weapon also a shield. Through Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and profound textual analysis of both poets' select poems, the paper thoroughly examines the confessional narrative structure and the employment of language as a counter-narrative against oppression. This study reveals the linguistic techniques that influence the confessional voice of a few chosen poems by analyzing their structure, tone, and rhetorical choices. The study concludes by arguing that Das and Plath's confession is not only expressive but also an act of linguistic revolt that is both stylistically stimulating and pragmatically powerful, establishing them as radical voices in gendered poetic discourse.

Keywords:

Confessional Writing; Gender Discourse; Poetic Discourse; Feminine Suppressions; Sexual Exploitation; Self-Explorations

References

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How to Cite

Ghangale, S., Jagtap, M., Patil, A. B., Dalve, K., Paliwal, S., & Tare, H. (2025). Language as Revolt: A Discursive Inquiry into Gendered Deliberation in the Confessional Writings of Plath and Das. Forum for Linguistic Studies, 7(10), 85–98. https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i10.10856

Issue

Vol. 7 , Iss. 10 (October 2025): In progress

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Article

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Copyright © 2025 Seema Ghangale, Madan Jagtap, Atul Bansilal Patil, Kishor Dalve, Sushil Paliwal, Harshal Tare

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This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.