Mapping Meaning in the Poetry for Children: A Corpus-Assisted Thematic Analysis of Lexical Choices in Pakistani English Textbooks

Abstract

This study examines the linguistic and ideological construction of childhood in selected English poems for children incorporated in Pakistani school curricula for grades 6 to 8. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, it combines corpus linguistics and thematic analysis to investigate how linguistic selections particularly adjectives, adverbs, and nouns impact the emotional, moral, and aesthetic representation of childhood. Using a corpus tool, the study analyzed a corpus of 209 poems (19,706 words) to find out frequency patterns and evaluative language. Quantitative analysis indicated the prevalence of positive evaluative adjectives, adverbs and nouns which served as prescriptive indicators. The qualitative analysis determined five principal themes through thematic analysis. These findings illustrate that children's poetry in the Pakistani curriculum romanticizes childhood as emotionally dynamic, morally educational, and creatively abundant while concurrently embodying educational orientations.