Third, the researcher started to analyze the lyrics of the song “M.I.A.” in
order to find the literal meaning. Also, the researcher used the theory of poetry to clarify the system in writing the lyrics e.g. type of poetry and stanza. Having done
with the literal meaning, the researcher stepped forward to answer the second formulated problem which reveals the hidden
meaning of “M.I.A.”. The researcher applied deconstructive reading strategy using the steps proposed by Barry 2009
and Bressler 1999. Those two experts provide easy steps to follow. Besides, the researcher also employed the theory of ambiguity from Empson 1955 to support
the findings. The theory of ambiguity was used to bridge the literal meaning and the hidden meaning by clarifying that they contradict each other. Finally, the
researcher made conclusion based on the result of the analysis.
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CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS
This chapter is mainly divided into two parts. The first part focuses on the literal m
eaning of “M.I.A.”. The second part discusses the hidden meaning of “M.I.A.”.
A. The Literal Meaning of “M.I.A.”
“M.I.A.” is the song composed by the American heavy metal band, Avenged Sevenfold. The lyrics are written by the vocalist, Matthew Sanders or Matt Shadows
as his stage name. Talking about th e structure, “M.I.A” consists of nine stanzas.
The length of each stanza varies from four lines to eight lines, except the seven-line stanza. As in poetic term provided by Kennedy and Gioia 2002, four-line stanza
is called quatrain, five-line stanza is called quintain, six-line stanza is called sestet, and eight-line stanza is called an octave. The nine stanzas form a complete poem
which is also the lyrics of the song “M.I.A.”. The poem “M.I.A.” has one character which is the soldier. It uses the point of view of the soldier himself. The interesting
about “M.I.A.” is that Matthew Sanders has never served in the military. Based on the statements above, “M.I.A.” is classified as a lyric poem. It fulfills the
requirements that a lyric poem “expresses the thought and feelings of a single s
peaker, “describe an object or recall an experience without the speaker’s ever bringing himself or herself into it” Kennedy Gioia, 2002, p. 10.
