A Corpus - Based Stylistic Analysis of Lexical and Grammatical Features in Rupi Kaur's Home Body

Abstract

This research aims to examine the lexical and grammatical features of Rupi Kaur’s poetry collection home body (2022) using Leech and Short’s (2007) stylistic checklist within a corpus-stylistic framework. A mixed-methods approach is employed, combining quantitative analysis through AntConc and TagAnt with qualitative stylistic interpretation. The study focuses on lexical categories such as pronouns, nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, alongside grammatical features including sentence type and complexity. The findings reveal a dominance of first-person singular pronouns, possessive constructions, and mental-process verbs, establishing a confessional and feminist voice. Frequent use of concrete nouns foregrounds embodied female experience. Grammatical simplicity, such as frequent use of simple, short declarative sentences, lowercase usage, and minimal punctuation, enhances accessibility.  The frequent use of coordination compared to the subordination construct paratactic structure. The study concludes that Kaur’s stylistic choices linguistically construct identity, emotional struggle, and feminist resistance.