Semantic Shifts in Urdu Poetry: A Historical Linguistic Analysis

Abstract

This study explores the semantic evolution of key terms, metaphors, and poetic symbols within Urdu poetry across four major literary eras: the Classical Tradition, the Reformist Period, the Progressive Movement, and the Contemporary Postmodern era. Utilizing historical linguistics, metaphor theory, and corpus-based analysis, the research highlights how socio-political transformations, cultural interactions, and linguistic borrowing from Persian, Arabic, and English have reshaped poetic expression. Terms such as ishq (love), watan (nation), khudi (selfhood), and azaadi (freedom) reveal significant semantic shifts that mirror changing ideological currents in South Asian society. This study argues that Urdu poetic semantics remain dynamic and continually reinterpreted in response to evolving cultural identities.