This paper presents a critical analysis of Naseem Shafaie’s poem “I Could Not Understand”, examining its exploration of linguistic violence, internalised control, and existential disorientation. Through close textual reading, the study argues that the poem constructs a fragmented subjectivity shaped by social conditioning and psychological suppression. The repeated refrain “I could not understand” becomes a central device that reflects both the breakdown of meaning and the speaker’s subtle resistance to imposed structures. By analysing imagery, repetition, and symbolic language, the paper demonstrates how Naseem Shafaie transforms silence and confusion into a powerful articulation of feminine experience and constrained identity. This study contends that the perceived lack of understanding is not to be taken in a literal sense, but rather as a symbolic representation. It arises from a context where language is altered, expression is constrained, and meaning loses its stability.
Bisma Shafi (Mon,) studied this question.