| Summary: | This stylistics analysis of Margaret Atwood’s poem examines the persona as a paradoxical
element whose interpretation was derived by applying the deictic shift theory. The use of the
theory demonstrates how meaning was derived from the literary work that allows anchorpoints
in time and space to position the reader. While Atwood’s poem has always been
interpreted along the sphere of feminism whereby women are perceived as being
marginalized and relegated to the domestic fold and are unworthy to express their identity
and rise above the surface of a sea of domestic responsibilities, by using a more formalist
approach, the process enabled an analysis of the theme, effects and meaning based on the
language of the poem as evidentiary support. Deixis, as a linguistic feature, was employed as
a tool of analysis, deriving meaning from verb tense and aspect, personal pronouns, and
adverbs of time and place. These linguistic features were viewed and interpreted on the
context of their utterance. Additionally, the concurrent use of the text-world theory facilitates
the reader’s capacity to build the world of the text. Hence, the formalist approach employed
in the analysis enabled recourse to the language of the poem that allowed the persona to be
revealed.
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