Exploring Voices of Symbolism in Najwa Zebian’s The Nectar of Pain

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the symbols used in Najwa Zebian’s book of poetry called “The Nectar of Pain” to uncover themes of human’s feelings and emotions. The poetess is a Lebanese who wrote her poetry after she was betrayed by her lover. She was in trauma due to her lover’s disloyalty. She wrote her poetry to express her feelings of pain, hope, revenge and love. Therefore, her poetry expresses her post-traumatic condition through figures of speech and symbols. This study analyzed symbols through close reading technique. After the analysis, this study shows that the poetess has expressed many themes through the use of symbols. This analysis revealed dominant themes of her poetry are revenge, self-identity, betrayal, hope and hypocrisy and double standards of her lover. Key symbols used are “rose,” “heart,” “flower,” “darkness,” “sky,” “pearls,” “home” and “bird.” To address the emotional turmoil reflected in her work, readers could explore therapeutic practices like journaling or poetry workshops that healing through creative expression.