Subject Displacement Types of Syntactic Deviations in the Collected Poems of Langston Hughes

He sings the song also as it captures his problems at that time. He keeps repeating that song for several times until he falls asleep. Since the noun phrase in the datum supposes to be functioned as object, it should be put after the main clause. Here, the noun phrase gives more explanation about the activity doing by the subject. Thus, the sentence supposed to be: He played that sad raggy tune like a musical fool, Main Clause swaying to and fro on his rickety stool Noun phrase In the correct order, the sentence means that the persona heard a song sung by a Negro. He sang in a weak beats and the theme was rather melancholic. Another noun phrase displacement is found in the poem entitled “Free Man” which describes about how the man feels about being free as presented in the following datum. But you cant, pretty mama, Ever catch me. ln 3 But youll never, pretty mama, Keep me caged up here. ln 6 Noun phrase Correct sentence: But you can’t ever catch me, pretty mama Sub clause Noun Phrase Datum No.32 The persona in this poem challenges someone on catching him and even keeping him around. The persona states that someone may be able to do something difficult that he frames as “catch the wind, catch the sea, tame a rabbit, tame a bear ” but then at the end he says that he can never be caught or even caged. A noun phrase is either a pronoun or any group of words that can be replaced by a pronoun Thoms, G. 2012. The noun phrase above, pretty mama, comes between the auxiliary and the verb. However, the noun phrase functioned as an object and therefore should be put at the back. Since the persona challenges someone, that someone should be put at the back as the object of the sentence. The same case also happens in the sentence, But youll never, pretty mama, keep me caged up here. noun phrase . The next examples datum is taken from a poem whichen titled “Pay Day”. The example is presented in the following datum. Nor them two diamond rings ln 8 And take back all them things we had ln 12 Datum No.27 This poem narrates a man‟s feeling towards paying check by himself, without any contribution from his wife. He is so upset because he needs to pay all the checks by himself, and the woman does not want to pay even one cent. He wanted to sell all the furniture and took back the installment plan. He did not need any furniture to live, and even diamond rings. At the end of the poem, he cursed his wife as the best woman yet the worst. The pronouns used in datum No.27 are misplaced. They should be put at the end of the sentence. Thus, The standard English for ln 8 and 12 are: Nor the two diamond rings for them and take back all things we had with them The pronouns are functioned as the object pronouns, thus they are put at the back of the sentence to complete the object of the sentence. Noun phrases are very simple ideas in themselves, but they can be extremely complex in how they manifest themselves in actual language. It can be infinite in length, but they will sound absurd if they got too long. Moreover, the displacement may occur when it is not put as its function. As shown in the previous examples when the noun phrase should function as object but then it put between the auxiliary and the verb, it is displaced.

e. Preposition Phrase Displacement

Traditional grammars define prepositions as words that “link to other words, phrases, and clauses” and that “express spatial or temporal relations.” Prepositional phrases are phrases that consist of a preposition plus another word, phrase, or clause functioning as a prepositional complement. Preposition phrases have a relatively wide distribution in English. It can appear within noun phrases as in adjective phrases Thoms,G., 2010. Although it is not found as many as the multiple negations, the writer figures out seven preposition phrases. With his ebony hands on each ivory key , Preposition Phrase He made that poor piano moan with melody. Main clause ln 9-10 In a deep song voice with a melancholy tone , Preposition Phrase I heard that Negro sing, that old piano moan Main Clause ln 17-18 Datum No.18 As stated in this datum No.18, preposition phrase PP displacement may occur along with a noun phrase and adjective phrase. Thus, in the poem entitled “The Weary Blues”, the writer figures out not only noun phrase displacement but also preposition displacement. The writer categorizes those two sentences as preposition phrases because the place where preposition phrases are found is commonly after the main clause within the main verb. However, in those sentences, PP comes before the main clause, and change S-V-PP configuration becoming PP-S-V configuration. This PP displacement occurs in many other configurations in poetic texts Thoms, G., 2010. The co rrect order of the first sentence is “He made that poor piano moan with melody, with his ebony hands on each ivory key ”. Here, the persona explains that someone is playing piano beautifully, by tickling the piano toots. On the other hand, the second senten ce‟s correct order is “I heard that Negro sing, that old piano moan, in a deep song voice with a melancholy tone ”. The persona does not only hear the sound of piano but also the voice of someone‟s singing. The preposition phrases are put at the back to give further description on the situation and also the way the melody is playing to strengthen the image drawn by the persona. The last example of preposition phrase displacement is explained as follows. With silver rain, Preposition Phrase ln 2 One almost ln 3 could be good again . ln 4 Main Clause Datum No.22 As presented in this datum, the preposition phrase displacement is found in the poem entitled “When Young Spring Comes”. It tells about the beginning of year as a chance to be a better man, but when summer comes, some distractions