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c.
“Who died and made you king of anything”
There are so many versions of this metaphor. In this lyric, the metaphors are “died” and “king of anything”. The rest is common phrase that is people to show
sarcasm. This phrase is commonly used to show hatred towards someone. According to The Big Apple, this phrase is an old phrase, it has been used since at
least 1940. There are so many versions of this according to the site, but this is a live metaphor because there is no idiom dictionary or other source that has specific and
exact meaning of this phrase. In dictionary “died” mean no longer exist while “king
of anything ” means the ruler of anything. As the “king” and followed by “of” itself
means someone or something that people think is the most important or best of a particular type of person or thing according to Longman Dictionary of
Contemporary English. Lexically, the metaphor means who is replacing the ruler of anything.
In the context of the song, “who died and made you king of anything” means
person that is ruling someone’s life too much. In the song, the girl is tired of the
man that pushed her to do whatever his orders are. The context of the song supports the meaning of the metaphor. The line “so you dare tell me who to be” is supporting
that the man is ruling the girl too much. In addition, the literal meaning and transferred meaning are a bit different.
They both have same mean in terms of “a person who rules” but they has different
subject. The word “king” becomes the significant word that the girls must obey
since the man rules way too much in her life. In the daily context, everyone must PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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obey the rule from the king. The comparison conclude that they both used in informal situation and they both are sarcasm to show dislike to someone.
i. Table 4.16. Lexical Semantics of the Word King of Anything
ii. Metaphor
King of anything a ruler of everything
Someone that rules someone life too much
4. Metaphor in “Gravity”
Gravity is one of Sara Bareilles ’s most popular songs. This song was
released on February 3, 2009. This song is actually included in her very first album entitled
“Careful Confession”, but later on when she released her second album, she included this song and this song become her single to promote the album. This song
tells about the girl who wants to move on from her ex-lover but she cannot do that. She keeps remembering about her lover by the thing that she does. This song has
seven metaphors. Here are the metaphors: a.
“I stand so tall”
“Stand stall” is one of dead metaphors that is really common in use. This dead metaphor or idiom is in chorus of the song in the third line. According to
Cambridge Dictionary Online , “stand tall” means to act in confident way. In
addition, according to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English , “stand tall”
Lexical Semantic Signifier
King of anything Signified
a ruler of everything PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
41
means to be proud and feel ready to deal with anything. In comparison of both meaning from two dictionaries, this metaphor is used to show that the speaker is
confident about herself. In literal meaning, if the idiom is separated and defined in literal meaning,
“stand” itself is defined as to be support yourself on feet in upright position while “tall” means a a person, building, tree, etc., that has height than normal according
to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Consequently, if they are combined and translated into
literal meaning, they will be “to support body on feet in unusual height
”. The meaning in literal meaning is non-sense since they both have different direction.
As the “stand tall” is a metaphor, the meaning of this words is transferred into “to act in confident way”. In the context of the song, “stand stall” is used to
show that the author of the song is confident that she will be okay without the ex- lover.
It is supported by the lyrics which appeared before. The line “set me free, leave me be
” is the supported line to make the meaning of the metaphor in the context of song. This line support that the girl wants to be free without the ex-lover.
So, “I stand so tall” to act in very confident way according to the context of the lyric.
i. Table 4.17. Lexical Semantics of the Word Stand so Tall
Lexical Semantic Signifier
stand so tall Signified
to be on the feet in great high than normal PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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ii. Metaphor
Stand so tall to be on the feet in great high than normal
Someone that rules someone life too much b.
“You hold me without touch”
As the “touch” is classified as live metaphor, the meaning of this metaphor is transferred into “the feeling of presence”. In the context of the song, “touch”
shows that the author feels that the lover is still with her and she still can feel the presence of the lover even though the lover is not there.
The word “hold me” means that the lover is used to be in relationship with the author. In addition, touch is
classified as dead metaphor that has to be explained by the context to know about the appropriate meaning.
Lexically, “touch” means the sense that you use to discover what something feels like, by putting your hand or fingers on it according to Longman Dictionary
of Contemporary English. Sense that human being has is practically can be in many terms. In comparison, the literal meaning contribute to make the metaphor make
sense in its context. “hold me” in dictionary means to make something stay in its place according to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
. “Hold me” is supporting the word “touch” to have the transferred meaning.
Consequently , “you hold me without touch” means that even though the
lover was not there, the author can feel his presence. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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i. Table 4.18. Lexical Semantics of the Word Touch
ii. Metaphor
Touch the sense when someone put light hand or finger
The feeling of someone presence c.
“You keep me without chain”
Lexically, “chain” means a thing to hold something or to put something to prevent them for being stolen according to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary
English . “You keep me without chain” is one of metaphor that is classified as live
metaphor. The literal meaning and the context of the song support to create the transferred meaning. Chain is metal rings that is joined together. It is really strong
to tie something. In literal, it would be “to make someone do something without
metal rings”. In the song, the word “chain” comes after “keep me”. The word “keep me”
can have several meanings in general. In the context of the song, “keep me” is
supporting “chain” to have the transferred meaning. “Keep me” means to make someone does something. In addition
, the word “chain” become the things that is really strong that cannot be ignored, in this case, chains means “controlling” thus,
Lexical Semantic Signifier
touch Signified
the sense when someone put light hand or finger PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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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
