Lexical Emotionality and Aesthetic Vision in Selected Poems of Ghani Khan: A Critical Discourse Linguistic Analysis

Abstract

This study explores the construction of emotional and aesthetic meanings in a selected set of poems by Abdul Ghani Khan, using a Critical Discourse Linguistics framework. Although the poetry of Ghani Khan has been widely discussed through the thematic and philosophical lenses, there is a lack of literature in relation to the discourse-level processes that embody emotionality and aesthetic vision in Pashto poetry. To fill this methodological-linguistic gap, the research design adopted in the study is a qualitative research, which examines thirty purposively selected poems. The analytic process combines the study of emotional expression, aesthetic devices, and evaluative discourse, which are based on the appraisal theory. The findings suggest that emotional meaning in Ghani Khan’s poetry is not a by-product of poetic narration, but it is organized systematically using recurrent discourse patterns. The mediation of emotional experience is always through the use of metaphor, symbolism, imagery, and personification, and these language elements are often concealed in the naturalistic descriptions. Further appraisal analysis shows that there is more affective and aesthetic appreciation, and philosophical judgment is selective, which adds evaluative richness to the textual interpretation. All these tendencies combine to create a unified poetic worldview that favors imagination, beauty and emotional intensity, thus demonstrating the relevance of Critical Discourse Linguistics to the analysis of Pashto poetry.

Keywords: Critical Discourse Linguistics, emotional discourse, aesthetic vision, Pashto poetry, Ghani Khan.