Metaphor in “Gravity” Interpretation of Metaphors

44 it will be stay in its place. “Control” in here means doing anything to make someone happy or to please someone. The meaning of this metaphor is, the man can control the author without him even tries to. It is because the word “without”, this prove that even though the man does not do or order something to the girl, the girl feels being controlled or ruled by the man. So, the meaning of “You keep me without chain” is to follow the control of someone even the controller does not ask to. i. Table 4.19. Lexical Semantics of the Word Chain ii. Metaphor Chain a metal rings joined together Controlling d. “Drown in your love, not feel your rain” Lexically, someone cannot drown in “love”. “Love” in literal meaning, means an affection intense felling. Love cannot be seen, but it can be felt by a human. For that reason , in the literal meaning, “drown in your love” means drowning in affection feeling, according to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. In the literal meaning, the phrase is not going to happen in the real life, but in transferred meaning, it does have another meaning that is possible in the real life. Lexical Semantic Signifier  chain Signified  a metal rings that joined together PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 45 “Drown in your love” means that the author is deeply in love with the man. The word “drown” in general means covered in liquid, so it can be transferred as covered in love which means all over the lover. In addition, “not feel you rain” lexically means not feeling the present of the water fall from clouds in the sky. People will only feel the glimpse or the rain and soon enough, the part of the body of a human will be dry after getting soaked by rain. If those explanation is compared to the context of the song, the transferred meaning will be something that cannot stay for long or someone cannot have it for permanent. Thus, if both the transferred meaning is combined, the metaphorical expression of “Drown in your love, not feel your rain” means that the author is deeply in love with the men but, unfortunately, the author only have him not for long. It is supported by the line “I never wanted anything so much”. This show that the girl really wants to have him, but they cannot be together for a reason. i. Table 4.20. Lexical Semantics of the Word Love and Rain Lexical Semantic Signifier  Drown in your love Signified  covered in affection feeling Lexical Semantic Signifier  not feel your rain Signified  not feel the water fall from sky PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 46 ii. Metaphor Drown in your love Covered in affection feeling Deeply in love with someone Not feel your rain not feel the water fall from sky Cannot be with someone e. “I don’t wanna fall another moment into your gravity” According to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English , “Gravity” means the force that causes something to fall to the ground or to be attracted to another. It is naturally exist in daily basis life. The word “Gravity” is usually related with space and galaxy thing. It makes everything stay in ground and in its place. Literally, “I don’t wanna fall another moment into your gravity” means someone does not want to be attached of forces towards the center of the earth. In the context of the song, “gravity” means attractiveness love of a lover. It is supported by the context of the song itself. The word “fall” is a verb of being in a new or different situation, so “I don’t wanna fall another moment into your gravity ” means the author does not want to be attracted to love that the lover offers. It is supported by the first verse that tells about the author still thinking about the lover. The second verse also support the meaning of “gravity”, the first verse tells about what she wants, but in the second verse the author explains the opposite which she thinks that she does not want the lover at the same moment. Consequently, “Gravity” is representing as the man affection in the context of the song. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 47 i. Table 4.21. Lexical Semantics of the Word Gravity ii. Metaphor Gravity a force to be attached in the center of the earth Someone affection f. “All my fragile strength is gone” In literal meaning, “fragile and strength” cannot be together since they have opposite meaning one to another, but in this song, both words appear together as a metaphor. In Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English , “fragile” means something that is easily broken such as glass. The word “Fragile” is often used to show the condition of illness related to human. In the other hand, strength means the physical power that makes human becomes strong. If both words are combined, in literal meaning , they will mean “a broken strong”. In literal, they do not make sense since they are contrast in meaning. In the context of the song the “fragile strength” means a situation when someone feels they are strong, but in fact they are weak. This is supported by the first line of third verse which is “you loved me cause I’m fragile, when I thought that I was strong ”. It this clearly stated the situation of the girl. The author use the metaphor to shorten the phrase. It commonly happens to girl. This metaphor is followed by the word “gone”, which means the “fragile strength” is no longer there. Lexical Semantic Signifier  Gravity Signified  a force to be attached in the center of the earth PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 48 This phrase comes after “but you touch me for a little while” that support the meaning of the metaphor in the context. If they are combined, the metaphor will make sense, because according to the song, the man makes the “fragile strength” will go by his presence in the author’s life. So, “fragile strength” can be a girl weakness in terms of girl’s feeling. i. Table 4.22. Lexical Semantics of the Word Fragile Strength ii. Metaphor Fragile strength a broken of strong feeling A situation of feeling strong but actually weak g. “I live here on my knees” “On my knees” is one of example of dead meteaphor that is also commonly used in daily life. “On my knees” is used in song to express about the relationship. It is often misused with the idiom of “on your knees”. They both have contrast in meaning . “On your knees” simply means kneeling down to beg something according to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English , while “on my knees” has more complex meaning. They both are dead metaphor that is commonly used. “On my knees” means cannot move on from the past experience according to Urban Dictionary. In literal, on my knees means to stand on the knees according Lexical Semantic Signifier  fragile strength Signified  a broken of strong feeling PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 49 to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. If the literal meaning is applied to the song, it would not make sense. Thus, the meaning needs to be transferred. In the context of the song, “On my knees” is supporting the song that show, the author cannot move on from the lover, but she want to be free from him. Even though she cannot move one, she wants to the lover know that she will be fine without him. It is stated in the next line of the song, which is “I try to make you see that you’re everything I need here on the ground”. i. Table 4.23. Lexical Semantics of the Word On My Knees ii. Metaphor On my Knees stand on the knees Cannot move on

5. Metaphor in “Manhattan”

Manhattan is the second single from her album entitled “The Blessed Unrest”. It was released on 16 th July, 2013. This song tells about the leaving of the girl because she thinks that is the best for their relationship. She tells the memories of ups and downs when they are both together and also hopes for the lover in the Lexical Semantic Signifier  on my knees Signified  stand on the knees 50 future. Even though she is sad to break up, but she is sure that break up is the best way. This song has six metaphors. Here are the metaphors: a. “You can have Manhattan” According to NYC the Official Guide, Manhattan is one of big city in New York, North America. Manhattan is well-known for its fascination, because Manhattan is the location of famous Times Square, Central Park, Empire State Building, high class museum, restaurants and concert halls. According to the dictionary, Manhattan is an island and borough in the New York Bay between the Hudson River and East river. In the literal meaning, “You can have Manhattan” means someone can own the “Manhattan”. This impossible since an island cannot be owned by a person. An island belongs to a country and Manhattan belongs to the United States of America. In the song, Manhattan is stated six times. Some of them come up with different lines and words. Since Manhattan is a big city and glamour, it could give good future for those who is seeking. In this song, with comparison of the literal meaning, “Manhattan” means a good future. It is supported by the next line in first verse which is “I know it’s for the best”. This means that she wants her ex-lover has a good future after breaking up with her. It is also supported by third verse. “You can have Manhattan, the one we used to share”. As a couple, it is common to share and talk about the future the sake of the relationship. Consequently, the Manhattan in the context of the song does not mean a specific plce in the world, but about the bright future that the lover might have after they break up. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 51 i. Table 4.24. Lexical Semantics of the Word Manhattan ii. Metaphor On my Knees an island in the US A good future b. “I’ll gather up the avenues and leave them on your doorstep” Since the song uses the “Manhattan” as the title, the writer finds some of “Manhattan” elements in it such as avenue, bustle, building and beach. Lexically, “avenue” means a broad road in a city that have trees along its sides. Avenue is a way to enter the approaching a placed. Another meaning of “avenue” is a way to gain something according to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. In literal meaning, the lyrics means someone will gather up the broad road of a city, and le ave it in someone’s front door. It is not possible in the real life, since road is really big. In the context of the song, “avenues” means possibilities. It is supported by the first and the second line. The previous metaphor 5.a states that the author wants to gather the strength to surrender the possibilities of the relationship into the lover’s decision and see the lover has a good future because she know it is the best for him. With the intention of the author will give him some opportunity to make Lexical Semantic Signifier  Manhattan Signified  an island in the US 52 the lover futures good. The next line after the “avenue” is supporting that she want to give up to the relationship. i. Table 4.25. Lexical Semantics of the Word Avenue ii. Metaphor Avenues a way to enter the approaching a placed Possibilities c. “When I was one half of two” In literal meaning, “one half of two” means one of two equal parts of something. This is usually used in terms of mathematics to divide a number. In the mathematic, half of two is one 2:1= 1. “One half of two” is not an idiom, but it is a live metaphor, so it needs to be compared with the literal meaning. According to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English , “half of” means the largest part of something. It can be also exactly 50 of an amount, time, or etc. In literal meaning, it means someone is one half a largest part of two. Obviously, this is not possible, since two is just a number. In addition, in the context of the song, “one half of two” means the time that the author is the half part of the lover. It is supported by the previous verse and chorus. In the very first verse, the author states, that the lover and her used to be Lexical Semantic Signifier  Avenue Signified  a way to enter the approaching a placed PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 53 together, the author decides to break up with the lover. Consequently , “When I was one half of two” means when the author used to be together and being of the lover’s life in the past i. Table 4.26. Lexical Semantics of the Word One Half of Two ii. Metaphor One half of two An equal part of two Being the part of someone’s life

C. Metaphor Contribution to the Theme of the Song

After finding, classifying, discussing the meaning of each metaphor, this study continues to determine the theme of the song by seeing the meaning of the metaphor.

1. Theme in “Brave”

The theme of this song is “Be Brave to speak up the truth” because this song tells people not to just in silent because someone is in low position. The metaphor “Bow down to the mighty” proves that people are afraid to speak about the truth because they are afraid with someone that they thought in the higher position. The phrase “you can turn a phrase into weapon or a drug” reminds people, to be wise to speak because it might insult or make peace. The chorus is an obvious Lexical Semantic Signifier  one half of two Signified  an equal part of two