Approach of the Study

morning. ‘Dew’ is also related to something pure. Due to the comparison that tears are described as dewdrops fall into the heart of Dawn, it means that the sadness or sorrow from the word ‘tears’ brings a new hope for ‘We’. The second is comparison between ‘mocking laugher’ and ‘viper’s venom’. It is obvious that this comparison tells about the mocking laugher which is as hurtful as viper’s venom. Therefore, this comparison means the happiness of some people− because they embarrass other people by mocking them− can be painful for other people. b. ... you croak and clamour merrily Like the frogs of the water. And when we Conquer you and subdue you for an Age, we Remain as silent giants. Gibran, 1947, stanza 24, line 4-7 There are also two similes in this stanza. The first is comparison between ‘You’ and ‘frogsof water’. By using the word ‘like’, this simile describes the same characteristic between ‘You’ and ‘frogs’. The sound of ’You’ croak and clamour is described as loud as the sound of frog in the water. The second is comparison between ‘We’ and ‘silent giants’. Different from the first one, this simile uses the word ‘as’ to show the comparison. The way ‘We’ remain is compared as if they were the ‘silent giants’. These two similes, actually, have the same form in comparing ‘We’ and ‘You’ as human beings with other non-human, ‘frogs’ and ‘giants’. Here, ‘You’ are similar with ‘frogs’ and ‘We’ are similar with ‘giants’. These similes prove that ‘You’ and ‘We’ are characteristically conflicted. The simile ‘We remain as silent giants’ imply the awareness of ‘We’ in having such a power even they do not speak their mind up, while the simile ‘you croak and clamour merrily like frogs of the water’ shows the expression of ‘We’ in mocking their rival ‘You’ and seeing them as the group of trifling people. It has to be remembered that this poem uses first-person point of view in which the whole story of the poem is based on ‘We’ perspective. In other words, generally, these similes try to show the contrast attribute between ‘You’ and ‘We’. c. … you live in the memory of man like Corpses upon the face of the earth Gibran, 1947, stanza 27, line 1-2 The comparison between ‘the memories of man’ and ‘corpses upon the face of earth’ is stated in those two lines. ‘The memories of man’ are portrayed like corpses or dead bodies lay on the ground. When it comes to be compared as corpses, it means that ‘the memories of man’ have the similarity feature with something that attaches to ‘corpses’. ‘Corpse’ is associated with ‘death’ and when a corpse lies upon the face of earth; it would be forgotten as time goes by. Hence, it can be interpreted that this simile describes ‘the memories of man’ as dead and forgotten things just like corpses. In the relation with ‘You’, the stanza states that ‘memory of man’ as the place where ‘You’ live in. ‘Memory of man’ can be seen as a history of man. This simile describes about how ‘You’ as the people who have power and domination havealready attached to the history. However, the poet compares the ‘memory of man’− or it is understood as the history− with ‘corpses’. This comparison can be interpreted as the way ‘We’ to express their hatred for what ‘You’ have done in the past.