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CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
A. The Employment of Figurative Language in “A Valediction: Forbidding
Mourning” and “The Sun Rising”
Objective theory regards that poetry deserves to be analyzed on its own because it consists of some intrinsic elements that are interrelated to one another
in constructing its meaning. One of the main intrinsic elements that play the most significant role in constructing the poem is figurative language. This element is
the deviation of language that is aimed to achieve intense effects in the poem. Thus, this research emphasizes the judgement solely on the figurative language
employment in John Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “The Sun Rising”. In these two poems, the researcher identifies seven types of
figurative language, which are metaphor, simile, personification, metonymy, synecdoche, apostrophe, and hyperbole.
1. Metaphor
Metaphor is one of the principal elements in “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “The Sun Rising”. The researcher identifies eleven occurrences of
figurative language: three in “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and eight in “The Sun Rising”. This figurative language presents unique, outstanding, and
unpredictable comparison between two objects, which nobody ever tries to compare. By comparing the two objects, metaphor transfers the quality of a
particular object to another one to make the expression become more intense and remarkable in the readers’ mind. The complicated metaphor in these poems makes
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the readers become curious and eager to contemplate what the comparison actually suggests. Therefore, it rem
ains longer in the readers’ memory. One of the occurrences of metaphor lies in line 5 of “A Valediction:
Forbidding Mourning”. In that line, the speaker of the poem says, “So let us melt, and make no noise,
” to his lover, who is crying hard for sending him off. The word “melt”, denotatively, is usually used to describe the liquefying of solid
objects through heating. However, the use of “melt” in this expression deviates from its denotative meaning. The speaker is impossible to invite his lover to unify
with him as how two big chunks of ice get melted and unify into one puddle of water. What he actually intends to melt in this expression is their love. He wants
himself and his lover to be united in the same love so that they always feel close by each other. Therefore, the use of this word is categorized as metaphor because
its real meaning is transferred to its intended connotative meaning. The use of that metaphor is effective to calm his miserable lover. By stating
that expression, the speaker invites his lover to feel his affection and ensures her that they always stay together. Even though he has to leave her for now, she does
not need to cry that much for they feel the same love. Their love always unifies them, no matter how far and how long they live apart.
To ensure his lover about their inseparable love, the speaker strengthens his expressions by giving more metaphorical illustrations as the example below:
If they be two, they are two so As stiff twin compasses are two;
Thy soul, the fixed foot, makes no show To move, but doth, if the’ other do.
Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning”, line 25-28
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In that quotation, the speaker presents a twin compasses that illustrate him with his lover. Then, he compares his l
over, described as “Thy soul”, to the stationary leg of the twin compasses, “the fixed foot”. These two objects definitely have
nothing in common for t he soul is someone’s inner psyche while the foot, which
is meant in this poem, is the stand of compasses. However, the speaker points out one quality that both of them share, i.e. faith. The stationary leg of compasses
always patiently stays in its sit while its pair is moving around to make a circle. By making this metaphor, the speaker transfers the faith of the stationary leg of
twin compasses to his lover. The speaker purposely compares his lover to the stationary leg of the compasses to make the description of her faith become more
vivid. Therefore, the lover, whom the speaker assumes to be as faithful as the stationary leg, needs not to worry about their temporary parting and only needs to
wait for his coming home patiently. The same kind of metaphor also occurs in “The Sun Rising”. Even, the
researcher identifies more occurrences of unique metaphor in this poem. Similar to “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning”, the speaker of “The Sun Rising” also
employs metaphor to reinforce his love for his lover. Through metaphor, the speaker presents more vivid portrait that makes his love expression become
deeper and more intense. One of the examples of metaphor that occurs in this poem lies in line
21: “She is all states, and all princes I,
” John Donne, “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning”, line 21. In this quotation, the researcher identifies two occurrence of
metaphor. The first metaphor occurs when he compares his lover with all states.
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His lover evidently does not look like the states at all. His aim to compare his lover with all states is to describe how precious his lover is. He assumes that she
is worthier than the wealth of all states. The second metaphor occurs when he claims himself as equal as all princes. The whole poem does not show that the
speaker is a prince or a descent of princes, but he confidently compares himself to all princes. His reason to employ this comparison is to emphasize that he is the
most powerful person because he possesses such a precious wealth, which is his lover.
In short, metaphor is one of the leading types of figurative language that construct the whole meaning in “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “The
Sun Rising”. This figurative language not only presents comparison between two objects but also provokes the readers’ awareness toward the quality of the
compared objects. It invites the readers to participate in each comparison so that they understand why the speaker makes such comparison and what quality the
speaker transfers from the second object to the first one. Therefore, metaphor is assumed to be an effective way to construct the meaning of the poems as well as
to allow the readers to grasp the understanding of that meaning.
2. Simile
Kategori