AN ANALYSIS OF LOVE EXPRESSION DIFFERENCES BETWEEN COMMON PEOPLE AND THE SPEAKERS THROUGH FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE IN JOHN DONNE’S “A VALEDICTION: FORBIDDING MOURNING” AND “THE SUN RISING”.

A THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Attainment of the Sarjana Sastra Degree in English Language and Literature

By

Wahyu Panca Handayani 10211141014

ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE STUDY PROGRAM ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND ARTS YOGYAKARTA STATE UNIVERSITY

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“

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I

–

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the differences.”

Frost-vi

I dedicate this thesis to every person who has

blessed me with love, especially my one and only mom.

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miracle, I am able to finish writing this thesis. This thesis writing would have never been completed without some help from many people. Thus, I would like to express my deep and sincere gratitude to:

1. Bapak Sugi Iswalono, M.A., as my first consultant, and Ibu Nandy Intan Kurnia, M.Hum, as my second consultant, for their patience, support, guidance, knowledge, and support;

2. all lecturers of English Literature study program for their valuable and priceless knowledge in their lectures and also the staff for their support and valuable help;

3. my beloved parents for their endless love, prayer, and support;

4. Mbak Sari, Mas Yusni, Mas Uwik, Mbak Mila, Mas Adek, Mbak Eva, Hafsi, Akbar, Danil, Fatika, and Inaz for being my ‘home’;

5. Takumi Fujisaki for arousing my courage and inspiring me to move; 6. my dearest best friends: Hilya, Munir, Sabar, Arif, Fazri, Dani, and Astri

for the boundless friendship we make;

7. my precious classmates in Sasing A 2010: Budi, Amir, Tony, Galant, Juani, Fifin, Aci, Sasan, Riska, Erys, Ninda, Tion, Siska, and Tsasa for every impressive moment we share together, and in Literature Class 2010: Dita, Agung, Winda, Tria, Puput, Catur, and others for every interesting discussion we have;

8. all members of SAFEL UNY, especially Heni, Roni, Tika, Roro, Astika, Marlin, Zidni, Sapta, Endah, and Atia, for every experience, laughter, tear, and lesson we get through together;

9. all people whom I cannot mention one by one and who have been there in my past or in my present for entering my life and helping me find a way to my future.

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Yogyakarta, October 6th, 2016

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TITLE... i

APPROVAL... ii

RATIFICATION... iii

PERNYATAAN... iv

MOTTO... v

DEDICATION... vi

ACKNOWLEDGMENT... vii

TABLE OF CONTENT... ix

LIST OF FIGURES... xii

LIST OF APPENDICES... xiii

ABSTRACT... xiv

CHAPTER I : INTRODUCTION... 1

A. Background of the Study... 1

B. Focus of the Research... 4

C. Formulation of the Research ... 6

D. Objective of the Research... 6

E. Significance of the Research... 7

CHAPTER II : LITERATURE REVIEW... 8

A.Theoritical Background... 8

1. Literature Definition and Abram’s Critical Theory... 8

2. Objective Theory... 11

3. Poetry ... 15 a. Diction ... b. Imagery ... c. Figurative Language ...

16 17 22 B. Previous Study ... C.Conceptual Framework ...

35 36

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D.Techniques of Data Collection ... 40

E. Techniques of Data Analysis... 40

F. Trustworthiness... 41

CHAPTER IV : FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS... 42

A. The Employment of Figurative Language in “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “The Sun Rising”... 42

1. Metaphor ... 2. Simile ... 3. Personification ... 4. Metonymy ... 5. Synecdoche ... 6. Apostrophe ... 7. Hyperbole ... 42 45 48 50 53 54 54 B. The Significances of Figurative Language in “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “The Sun Rising” ... 57

1. To Evoke Imagination ... 2. To Reinforce the Speakers’ Love Expression ... 3. To Make the Love Expression Unforgettable ... 57 61 63 C.The Way Donne Employs Figurative Language to Make the Expression of the Speakers’ Love in “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “The Sun Rising” Differ from the Love of Common People ... 65

1. Presenting Analogies of Their Love ... 2. Dramatizing the Love Expression ... 66 71 CHAPTER V : CONCLUSIONS... 76

A. Conclusions... 76

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Appendix 3. “The Sun Rising” poem ... 99 Appendix 4. Pernyataan Triangulator... 100

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Wahyu Panca Handayani 10211141014

Abstract

This research aims to investigate the love expression differences between the common people and the speakers of “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “The Sun Rising” through the employment of figurative language. The objectives of this research are 1) to identify kinds of figurative language employed by John Donne in his “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “The Sun Rising”, 2) to investigate the significances of figurative language employment in John Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “The Sun Rising”, and 3) to find out the way he employs figurative language to make the expression of the speakers’ love in “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “The Sun Rising” becomes different from the love of common people.

This research applied qualitative method. The textual analysis method was used to analyze the data. The main data of this research were words, phrases, sentences related to the employment of figurative language in John Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “The Sun Rising”. The key instrument of this research was the researcher herself. The researcher employed some steps during the data collection, i.e. reading, note-making, interpreting, and categorizing. In conducting the data analysis, the researcher passed some steps, namely identifying, classifying, re-reading, and making interpretation. To gain data trustworthiness, the researcher asked her colleges to do triangulations in order to check the data.

The results of this research showed that there were seven types of figurative language found in the “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “The Sun Rising”. Those types of figurative language were personification, metaphor, simile, metonymy, synecdoche, apostrophe, and hyperbole. After categorizing and interpreting the data, the researcher concluded that each type of figurative language was significance to evoke the readers’ imagination, to reinforce the love, and to make the love expression unforgettable. The way the speakers made their love become superior to common people’s love in these two poems was by comparing their love through analogies and dramatizations. They employed figurative language to make vivid and familiar analogies and dramatization in their love expressions.

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Love is a large concept with many qualities of experience. Love can mean an experience of affection, adoration, care, compassion, and empathy. In addition, the scope of love experiences itself is wide and unlimited. Everybody in all ages and conditions can feel this kind of emotion. It can emerge between human and God, human and nature, human and society, or even human and human. However, love, in general term, is commonly interpreted as a special and strong sensual attraction between two people, normally in different genders. These two people feel a certain “desire to be intimate” with each other, which is different from their fondness toward family or friends (Chapman, 2004: 6). This kind of feeling is the one that most people need and pursue during their life.

Furthermore, most people believe that love can give them encouraging power that makes them feel livelier. Because of love, they become more eager to do and accomplish certain things, including the things they are usually afraid of. In the same line, love makes life become more colorful and rhythmical. It is capable to turn people’s emotion, making them feel cheerful, missing, miserable, mad, upset, and jealous at the same time. Therefore, most people assume love as the basic emotional need to complete their life.

Since love becomes the encouraging power and basic emotional need for most people, both men and women are enthusiastic when talking about this feeling every time and everywhere. They tend to share and express their love vigorously. Some of them tend to show their love through their gesture and speech. They will

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express their love immediately toward the one whom they love. Some others prefer expressing their love through a certain medium.

Poem is an example of written media that is commonly used to express love. The poem writers, known as poets, tend to talk about love in their poems through the complex words and symbols. They select uncommon words and organize them with the help of some intrinsic elements to make the love in their poems more beautiful and complex (Frederik, 1988: 18). For example, Robert Burns hyperbolizes his love in his “A Red, Red Rose” by saying “till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear, / And the rocks melt wi’ sun!” to imply that his love to his lover will never fade away. The uncommon use of words in this poem expresses the love in more intense way so that it becomes stronger and deeper than what the poet expects it to be.

The organized and selected words in love poems will also invite the readers to experience the feeling of love in it. Perrine (1977: 4) states that poems are written to broaden, widen, and deepen the readers’ feeling and understanding. The understanding of the poems can be obtained through the participation of the readers in the experience that is portrayed in the poems. After fully reading and participating in the love experience of poems, the readers are able to deepen their awareness toward their own love feeling or toward the love feeling that they never acquaint before.

However, the readers will not be aware of the love experience that is expressed in the poems unless the words in the poems are vivid. To make the love expressions vivid and imaginative, the poets employ figurative language to

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stimulate the imagination of the readers toward the love. Even, as stated by Frederik (1988: 21), a good poet must invent “new figurative statements”. The figurative language is significant to convey the love in the poems. This element helps the readers to sharpen and deepen their understanding and imagination of the love that is meant in the poems.

A poet who tends to invent some innovation in using figurative language is John Donne. He has written many complex poems, some of which express the love of the speakers. Two of his most well-known love poems are “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “The Sun Rising”. Both poems express the deep love of the poems’ speaker that is different from the love of common people. The speaker of “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning”, for example, ensures his lover and the readers that their love is inseparable by giving some analogized illustrations. The speaker compares himself and his lover to twin compasses to portray their temporary separation. The same way is also applied by the speaker of “The Sun Rising” who compares his lover to all states and himself to all princes to indicate how powerful his love is.

Therefore, the researcher is willing to conduct a research related to John Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “The Sun Rising”. The topic in which the researcher is interested to analyze is John Donne’s style in using figurative language to express the speakers’ love. The researcher will also explore the research object by analyzing how the figurative language can make the speakers’ love different from common people’s love.

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To analyze the topic, the researcher uses objective theory. Objective theory is one of four critical theories proposed by M.H. Abrams. This theory emphasizes the importance of intrinsic elements in creating the meaning of a literary work. Thus, here, the researcher uses objective theory to prove how love of the speakers is depicted to be more powerful than the love of common people through the employment of figurative language.

B. Focus of the Research

Love cannot be separated from human’s life. Almost every single person must have experienced this feeling. However, the love experience that is felt by every person might not always be similar. The way they express their love is also varied. The feeling of love can also be expressed through a written expression medium such as poetry. Love that is expressed in poems usually is more memorable since it is expressed in complex way. The love expression in poems gives a deep thought and sense to allow the readers to explore it. The sensuous love that the readers finally understand from the poems may stay longer in their heart and mind since they feel involved in that love. John Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “The Sun Rising” are two examples of poems that talk about love expression felt by the speakers in sensuous language.

To understand the entire expression in these two poems, there are three aspects that can be analysed. The first problem is the use of versification. It refers to the use of rhythms, metrics, rhymes, and stanzaic forms in the poems. Versification is a significant element in poetry since it influences the beauty and the music in the poetry. It is one of the most important tools to create a certain

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feeling in the poems. The second problem identified is the biography of the poet. A poem must have a particular relation to the life of the poet. Therefore, to understand the love experience in these poems, an analysis toward the John Donne’s personal life needs to be conducted. The third problem is the use of figurative language. Figurative language is often employed in poems to stimulate the imagination of the readers about the topic that is discussed in the poems. Through the figurative language, the readers can imagine and feel the love expressed in the poems.

Considering the accessibility of the researcher, it is impossible for the researcher to analyse the entire problems. Therefore, the researcher focuses the research only on the last problem, i.e. the use of figurative language. The researcher is going to identify and explain the types of figurative language that are employed in these two poems. After identifying the kinds of figurative language in Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “The Sun Rising”, the researcher will also observe how the speakers in those two poems express their love toward their lovers. She is going to examine the significance of the figurative language employment to the speakers’ love expression. Since the employment of figurative language can define the different love expression, the researcher also aims to compare the love expression that is felt by the speakers and common people.

To achieve the wholesome understanding, the researcher employs objective theory proposed by Abrams. The theory emphasizes the independence of a literary work. Abrams (1971: 27) argues that objective theory sees the text as an

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“autonomous object”. It is isolated from the influence of the author, universe, and audience. Therefore, to acquire the understanding of the work, the researcher only needs to analyse the work.

C. Formulation of the Problems

Based on the background and the focus of the study, the researcher formulates the problems of this study into three problems:

1. What types of figurative language employed by Donne in “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning”and “The Sun Rising”?

2. What are the significances of the figurative language employment in Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “The Sun Rising” in expressing the love?

3. How does the poet employ the figurative language to make the love of the speakers in “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “The Sun Rising” different from the love of the common people?

D. Objectives of the Research

According to the formulation of the problems, the objectives of this study are: 1. to find out the types of figurative language employed by Donne in “A

Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “The Sun Rising”,

2. to explain the significances of the figurative language employment to express the love, and

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3. to explain the way the poet employs the figurative language to make the love of the speakers in “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “The Sun Rising” different from the love of the common people.

E. Significance of the Research

The results of the research are expected to give both theoretical and practical significances. Theoretically, the results of this research are expected to be able to enrich the insight of the researcher in the literature field, especially in objective criticism of intrinsic elements in the poetry. Practically, it is expected that the results of this research can be useful to the students of English Language and Literature Study Program. This research hopefully can contribute more knowledge about poetry, especially to the students whose major is in literature. This research is also hoped to help the students understand the importance of figurative language employment in expressing certain feeling, especially the love feeling.

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This section consists of some theories that support the research. Those theories include literature definition and Abram’s critical theories, objective theory, poetry, language elements in poetry, and John Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “The Sun Rising”. Firstly, the researcher presents the definition of literature and its relation to Abram’s critical theories, as well as objective theory, as one of Abram’s four critical theories. Secondly, the researcher presents the explanation about poetry, which is followed by its language elements such as diction, imagery, and figurative language. Lastly, the researcher describes John Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “The Sun Rising” in a brief explanation.

1. Literature Definition and Abram’s Critical Theories

It takes some times to define what literature is and what kind of composition counted as literature is. Many questions and attempts wander through people’s mind in order to find a precise definition of literature. Earlier, the confusion emerges to distinguish whether certain writing is literature or not, a phone book for example. People question whether literature is simply a linguistic composition or it must be fictional. Then, it comes to conclusion that literature is either spoken or written composition of imagination that takes the form of drama, metrics, or prose (Childs and Fowler, 2006: 129).

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However, the confusion about literature still goes on. The literary experts question whether literature can be ‘factual’ and whether or not literature is derived from historical, sociological, and philosophical reflection. Thus, Eagleton (1996: 2) argues that certain composition can be defined as literature because it uses “peculiar language”, not because it is a fiction or a reflection. The only way to recognize literature is through the use of deviation language that draws attention to itself. To decide whether a certain literature is a reflection of other elements or not, maintains Eagleton, the critics need to employ a certain critical theory to approach it.

Critical theory provides some methodologies to answer the long debated questions. It allows the critics to examine a literary work from different point of view and articulate their own hypothesis toward the work. Each critical theory launches different standards that enable the readers to authenticate and explain their analysis and judgment of the work’s aesthetic value. Each critical theory also allows the exploration of the work to define what literature is. Thus, the definition of literature is not limited to the use of peculiar and imaginative language, but it can be broaden based on the theory that is used to define it (Brussler, 1999: 11-12).

However, the diversity of critical theories creates a chaos instead. Those varied theories cannot be either measure or compare to one another because they are different in terms and significances. Abrams (1971: 5) argues that the chaos among those theories is “because they lack a common ground on which to meet and clash.” Those theories have no something in common that can unite them at

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all. There is no even one simple reference to relate the definition of literature from one theory to another one. Seeing this chaos, thus, Abrams proposes the “orientation of critical theories” that can simplify those varied theories.

Abrams claims that almost all critical theories, basically, show an orientation toward one of four main elements in art criticism. Those four elements are the work itself as the product of art, the artist who creates the work, the universe from which the work is derived, and the audience to whom the work is contributed. Therefore, to afford ground analysis of literary work, Abrams distinguishes the critical theory into four categories: mimetic, pragmatic, expressive, and objective theory based on their orientation toward each element (Abrams, 1971: 6).

The first category is mimetic theory. Abrams consider this theory as “the most primitive” theory because its initial appearance has been noted since Plato era. The main belief of this theory is that a literary work is the imitation of the universe. For this theory, poetry and other works of art exist only to represent the appearance of the universe. Thus, the way it analyzes the literary work is by judging its accurateness of the copy (Abrams, 1999: 51).

The second category is pragmatic theory. This theory believes that the creation of a work only aims the audiences. Sydney (in Abrams, 1971: 14) argues that poetry’s chief purpose is to move the readers by giving them certain effects, such as emotion and edification. This theory judges a work based on its success in achieving the readers’ response. It puts emphasis on the strategy that the author uses to move the readers’ response (Abrams, 1999: 51). Thus, to evaluate a

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literary work using this theory, literary critics also need to assess the responses given by the readers toward the work.

The third category is expressive theory. This theory highlights the relationship between a literary work and the author. For this theory, a literary work is the product coming from the author’s feeling, thought, and imagination. Wordsworth, as one of the initiators of this theory, declares in Abrams (1971:21) that poetry is the poet’s “spontaneous of overflow feeling.” Therefore, to evaluate a literary work using this theory, literary critics need to observe the authors’ personal life in order to relate their feeling and perspective to their work.

The last category of Abram’s critical theory is objective theory. This theory exists to object the principle of mimetic, pragmatic, and expressive theory. For this theory, a literary work is an independent entity that is able to empower itself without being interfered by the universe, audience, or author. This criticism appreciates a literary work as the center of analysis that controls itself, not being controlled by other elements outside the work. Hence, literary critics must emphasize their analysis solely on the work and ignore its extrinsic elements since biographical, cultural or historical origins have nothing to do with the text (Abrams, 1999: 51).

2. Objective Theory

Objective theory is defined in Columbia Dictionary of Modern Literary and Cultural Criticism (1995: 212) as a theory that concentrates on the literary work’s correlation with its intrinsic elements. For this criticism, a literary work is autonomous and isolated from the intention of the author. The only way to value

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the quality of a literary work is by evaluating the structure, symbols, imagery, figure of speech, and other intrinsic elements. In the same line, Ratna (2013: 73) also argues that the focus of objective theory lies only on the intrinsic elements. This theory disregards other elements coming from outside the works, such as authorial, sociological, political, and historical elements. The aim of this theory is to analyze the correlations between the internal elements of the work in empowering the work itself.

Furthermore, Abrams (1971: 52) states that the objective theory considers a literary work as “something that stands free from what is often called "extrinsic" relations to the poet, or to the audience, or to the environing world.” This theory perceives a literary work as a “self-sufficient and autonomous object.” A literary work, believes this theory, is “a world on its own” that is capable to empower itself through the construction of organized elements. The aesthetic and meaningful value of a literary work emerges merely because of the interrelation of its intrinsic elements, not because of the influence of other elements.

Objective theory, then, can be assumed as the literary critical theory whose main target is the literary work itself. The leading idea of this theory is to examine thoroughly the work and evaluate how the intrinsic elements work together to contribute a unifying theme and meaning. Therefore, the role of the author, reader, or the society toward the literary work is ignored in this theory.

The principle of this theory is supported by T.S. Eliot (in Abrams, 1971: 27) who states that “when we are considering poetry, we must consider it primarily as poetry and not another thing.” In this statement, T.S. Eliot rejects the intervention

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of other elements such as author, reader, politic, society, and history in the analysis of the literary work. In analyzing a literary work, the critics ought to look at the work as the work itself, not as what is determined by other elements.

Similar to Eliot, John Crowe Ransom in Abrams (1971: 28) also recognizes the literary work’s authority “for its own sake”. He believes that a literary work is independent and self-governing which has a power in itself. Therefore, it is capable to determine its own meaning through its varied and complex structure. Every single structure in the literary work is meaningful and inseparable from one another. The way the words are chosen and placed in particular construction and the way imagery, symbol, and figurative language are employed in the work render certain function to make the work sound gorgeous and become a powerful complexion (Tyson, 2006: 137). Therefore, the objective approach only needs to focus on the elements that construct the text in order to understand what the work actually means.

Since the focus of objective theory is the work, the critics have to pay attention to each element used in the work. They must, according to Tyson (2006: 137), “carefully examine, or “closely read,” all the evidence provided by the language of the text itself: its images, symbols, metaphors, rhyme, meter, point of view, setting, characterization, plot, and so forth.” The close examination toward those elements leads the analysis to the discovery of the effects and themes of the works (Brussler, 1999: 43). It proves the relationship between the works’ form and meaning. Hence, Eliot in Brussler (1999: 43) argues that the good critics

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assess the judgement of the literary work based on whether or not the correlation of the intrinsic elements contributes to the central unifying idea.

Among several kinds of literary works, poetry is the most suitable one to be analyzed using this objective theory for the elements that construct it are more complex. Wolosky (2001: 3) defines poetry as “language in which every component element—word and word order, sound and pause, image and echo—is significant, significant in that every element points toward or stands for further relationships among and beyond themselves.” This kind of literary work is constructed in verse and uncommon use of word choice and word order that relate to one another to deliver its central idea. Therefore, Abrams, Poe, and Eliot mostly use the term ‘poetry’ as the substitute of literary work in their description about objective theory. Even, Eliot in Brussler (1999: 40) declares that the readers, in order to obtain a good criticism, need to train themselves to conduct close reading of poetry, especially the Elizabethan and metaphysical poems.

3. Poetry

Being an ancient and durable work of art, poetry remains popular from generation to generation. Every civilization in history recognizes the popularity of poetry. Even, the power of poetry still exists in this scientific age. It is still written, read, and listened by many people in a great quantity (Altenbernd and Lewis: 1938: 1). It becomes the concern of all people in all countries, ages, jobs, and classes. As stated by Perrine (1977: 3), “poetry has been written—and eagerly read or listened to—by all kinds and conditions of people, by soldier, statesmen, lawyers, farmers, doctors, scientists, clergymen, philosophers, kings, and queens.”

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Though poetry is an old and popular literary work, no particular definition can define what poetry is, claims Kuiper (2012: 3). Many theorists have formulated some definitions and purposes of poetry, but none of them can offer any precise definition (Frederik, 1988: 19). Since each person has different opinion related to poetry, the argument about this problem still takes place up to today. When a group of people agree with a certain theory, another group may not feel satisfied enough with it. Thus, among the numerous definitions that have been proposed, Frederik (1988: 3) suggests the readers to pick one definition that typically meets their way of thinking.

One of the definitions of poetry is presented by Baldick (2001: 198), who describes poetry as the language in which words are related to one another and repeated in certain patterned versification. The repetition of the interrelated words enables the poetry to be either written or spoken in musical form. In line with Baldick, Perrine (1977: 3) states that poetry is a language that communicates in more intense way than ordinary language. Hence, poetry can be defined as a kind of language, both written and oral, that speaks more intensely through the patterned and interrelated words.

In addition, Kuiper (2012: 1) defines poetry as “a genre of literature that evokes a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience or a specific emotional response through language chosen and arranged for its meaning, sound, and rhythm.” Poetry represents the experiences that become the main concern in actual life. It speaks out wrath, fear, love, hatred, anxiety, happiness, sadness, and worries and portrays certain circumstances such as war, starvation, and disaster

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that most people in the world commonly experience. Poetry does not only show those kinds of feeling, but also makes the readers participate in the experience imaginatively (Perrine, 1977: 4). Those experiences and emotions in poetry are intermingled in the language of poetry (Landy, 1979: 94).

Unlike everyday language, the language of poetry is complex and expressive. It consists of many elements that are developed together and interrelated to one another to create the theme and meaning of the poem. Through the relationship of those language elements, poetry is able to represent and communicates the complexity of people’s experiences and feeling aesthetically (Tyson, 2006: 138). Therefore, Bressler (1999: 44) argues that to understand the whole meaning of poetry, the form and content of poetry are inseparable. This statement also suggests the readers to comprehend the relationship of each element before analyzing the poetry.

Poetry itself consists of several intrinsic elements that construct it, some of which are the language elements. These elements of poetry consist of diction, imagery and figurative language. Each of these elements has different effects in constructing the meaning of the poem, as described in the explanation below. a. Diction

The basic language element that makes a poem called as a poem is diction. It becomes the weapon of poetry, which differentiates it from other literary works. The diction used in poetry may also be the same as the diction in other writings, but the words in poetry are purposely and artfully chosen, arranged and rearranged in such a way so that they become more compressed and concentrated. The

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intensity of diction makes the ideas embodied in poetry become deeper and more powerful. The good diction does not only spell out the idea, but also make it painted into the human soul. Therefore, diction is regarded as the most essential element in poetry (Frederik, 1999:17).

The diction itself consists of two aspects: denotation and connotation. Denotation of words is the one that people call as “dictionary definition.” It is the explicit choice of words that can be named, described, and narrated so that everybody can find its meaning in dictionary (Alternbernd and Lewis, 1966: 10). The example of denotation is presented in the statement, ‘I really want to stand on the mountain peak and see the beauty of this world from there’. The word “mountain” in the previous statement is a denotation because its intended meaning is the same as the meaning defined in the dictionary, i.e. “a mass of high rock” (Oxford Dictionary Fifth Edition, 1995: 759). In contrary, connotation is the word choice whose meaning can be far from its dictionary meaning. Alternbernd and Lewis (1966: 10) argue that “connotation supplements denotation by indicating attitudes and values.” The statement “I have mountains works” (taken from Frederik, 1999: 36) contains an example of connotation. The word “mountains” in that sentence has different meaning from the previous. Its real meaning, “a mass of high rock” is used to imply that the speaker’s works amassed as high as the mountains.

b. Imagery

Another language element in poetry is imagery, which is the description of objects that can be imagined through the experience of seeing, smelling, hearing,

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tasting, or touching. Altenbernd and Lewis (1938: 12) argue that the imagery can produce a special effect that is almost the same as the effect produced by sensory organs. The readers can sense the images as if they directly see, smell, hear, touch, or taste it. In addition, Frederik (1988: 21) argues that the words in poetry will not be meaningful if the readers do not use their own experience and imagination to make them vivid. For this reason, the language employed by the poets has to be more sensuous than ordinary language. The sensuous language helps to evoke the imagination of the readers. Therefore, Frederik (1988: 20) says that the way the poets create sensuous language is by employing imagery in their poem.

The poets employ imagery to describe the experience in sharp and precise ways (Frederik, 1988: 22). Imagery presents concrete and vivid quality of certain images that recall the experiences the readers have before. The remembrance of those experiences makes the readers become familiar with the images portrayed in the poem so that they can respond to them with their own impression. It enables them to recognize the images as if they perceived them with their own senses. By participating in the images creation, the readers are able to take part in the exact experiences talked in the poem (Alternbernd and Lewis, 1966: 13).

1) Visual Imagery

Visual imagery is one of the imagery types that are most frequently employed in the poems. This kind of imagery is related to the sense of sight (Siswantoro, 2010: 215). It presents the visual images, which enables the readers to imagine as if they saw the object by their own eyes. Here is an example of visual imagery that is represented in William Butler Yeats’ poem “The Lake of Innisfree.” “I will

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arise and go now, and go to Innisfree, / And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made: / Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,” (taken from Albright, 1990: 60). The underlined words such as “A small cabin,” “of clay and wattles made,” “nine bean-rows” and “a hive for the honey-bee” are examples of visual imagery. They portray the size and materials of the cabin, as well as the things that can be found around it, such as the rows and hive in visual description. Those images recall the readers’ pre-existing memory so that they are able to visualize those objects in their mind as if they saw them by themselves.

2) Auditory Imagery

Auditory imagery is the other kind of imagery that deals with the sense of sound. This imagery describes and names the sound to portray the situation in the poetry (Altenbernd and Lewis, 1966: 13). It presents the imaginative description of the sound so that the readers are able to recognize what kind of sound it is and in which kind of situation they hear the sound. This imagery can also be produced not only by naming certain sound, but also by imitating the natural sound that is also known as onomatopoeia. When the poets employ onomatopoeia, they describe the sound exactly as how it is heard. The example of auditory imagery can be seen in the lines of Shakespeare’s “Winter” below.

Then nightly sings the starring owl, Tu-who;

Tu-whit, tu-who: a merry note While greasy Joan doth keel the pot. (taken from Burto, 1992: 141)

“Tu-who;/ Tu-whit, tu-who:” is an example of auditory imagery that imitates an owl’s voice. Shakespeare presents that kind of imagery to reinforce the

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atmosphere in the poem. Most readers may have heard that kind of sound at night, especially at a gloomy night. Therefore, they are expected to be able to imagine the gloomy atmosphere in the cold night by hearing the sound of owl.

3) Tactile Imagery

Tactile is a kind of imagery that suggests the sense of feeling (Altenbernd and Lewis, 1966: 13). This imagery presents the description of images that can arouse the readers’ sensitivity as if they touched those images with their own skin. Shakespeare’s “Venus and Adonis” presents an example of this imagery in “My flesh is soft and plump, my marrow burning; / My smooth moist hand, were it with thy hand left,” (taken from http://shakespeare.mit.edu/Poetry/VenusAndAdonis.html). The speaker of the poem depicts the speaker’s beauty by employing tactile imagery. He mentions the words “soft,” “smooth,” and “moist” to describe how the flesh and hand feel. Those images evoke the readers’ pre-existing experience in touching a “soft” and “moist” hand and stimulate them to fancy a beautiful girl with that kind of skin. Hence, this method is effective to invite the readers to participate in the poem.

4) Olfactory Imagery

Olfactory imagery is the imagery that depicts a certain smell to remind the readers to a familiar odor (Altenbernd and Lewis, 1966: 14). The recalling of the smell enables the readers to recognize what kind of smell talked in the poem and influence their perception toward it. The sentence “Sweet-scented stuff when the

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breeze drew across it” in Robert Frost’s “Out, Out” (taken from Brooks and Warren, 1960: 24) portrays this kind of imagery. In that poem, the speaker gives concrete images for the readers to have an imagination about what happens to the wood. He presents “sweet-scented stuff” as an example of olfactory imagery to describe how the wood smells. The imagery brings the remembrance of the smell to the readers’ mind so that they are stimulated to imagine the smell and the sensation it brings.

5) Gustatory Imagery

Though rarely used, gustatory imagery is an important kind of imagery. This imagery is used to describe the sense of taste (Abrams, 1999: 121). The poets employ it when they want the readers to have an imagination of how something tastes to them. Robert Frost employs the gustatory imagery in one of his poems entitled “Blueberries” in the poem below:

It must be on charcoal they fatten their fruit. I taste in them sometimes the flavour of soot. And after all really they’re ebony skinned:

The blue’s but a mist from the breath of the wind, A tarnish that goes at a touch of the hand,

(taken from https://m.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/blueberries)

In the quotation above, the speaker describes the color and flavor of blueberries after the fire. He also illustrates the taste of the blueberries as “the flavor of soot.” With that imagery, he expects the readers to imagine its taste and acknowledge the effect of the fire.

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Based on Oxford English Dictionary, kinesthetic imagery is a kind of imagery that describes the sensory organ of movement. This imagery enables the readers to recognize the movements in the poems. The example of this imagery is employed by Robert Browning’s “Meeting at Night” below:

The grey sea and the long black land; And the yellow half-moon large and low And the startled little waves that leap In fiery ringlets from their sleep,

(taken from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems) The speaker of this poem intends to portray the scenery that becomes the witness of his meeting with his lover at night. The words “the startled little waves” in line three is an example of kinesthetic imagery that he uses to emphasize that the meeting point is set in the beach where he sees the movement of water at coastal areas. He presents that image in order the readers to be able to grasp the impression of walking along the beach and being welcomed by the soft leaping waves.

c. Figurative Language

In making poems, poets need to employ the deviation of language known as figurative language. According to Wren and Martin (in Siswantoro, 2010: 115), figurative language is the use of language which deviates from daily expression or the common way of thinking. By employing figurative language, the poets can achieve a special effect in their poems intensely.

Figurative language employs the deviation in language. The employment of figurative language is as same as ordinary language, which is derived from every area of human experience. It can be drawn from human characteristics, nature, and

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animals around human. However, its use is deviated from the normal use so that it becomes more intense and vivid. Therefore, the use of figurative language is important to deepen the experience in the poem (Frederik, 1988: 49).

The figurative language helps to deliver the idea, thought and feeling of a poem in imaginative way. They deal with one thing by relating or comparing it to something else. The successful figurative language will not only make the readers realize the experience intensely, but also add their excitement. The effects that are caused by the establishment of the figurative language are varied, depending on the type (Altenbernd and Lewis, 1938: 15). In the below section, the researcher will explain further about each type of figurative language, as well as its significances.

1) Metaphor

According to Simon and Schuster (1996: 37), “metaphor is the figure of speech which compares one thing to another directly.” In line with Simon and Schuster’s statement, Alternbernd and Lewis (1938: 16) state that “when a writer or speaker asserts that something is, or is equivalent to, something in most ways actually unlike it, the figure is called metaphor.” In short, metaphor compares two things by saying that one thing is another thing.

In addition, Wolosky (2001: 30) states that the comparison in metaphor “happens without warning.” The poet does not use any comparative terms to assert the comparison in metaphor. Metaphor directly suggests the comparison of two things by creating an equation without showing any contrast between them.

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Usually, the objects are compared directly using the verb “to be.” (Simon and Schuster, 196: 36).

Simon and Schuster (196: 36) explain further that “when the poet uses metaphor, he transfers qualities and associations of one object to another in order to make the latter more vivid in our mind.” The same opinion is also declared by Wolosky (2001: 30) who says that metaphor is “the transferal of some quality, or attribute, or word associated with one thing to another thing.” Therefore, the expression “my heart is titanium,” as an example of metaphor, means that the quality of titanium, which is a strong material, is transferred into “my heart” to create an impression that “my heart” is tough.

Another example of metaphor can be found in Emily Dickinson’s poem, “Hope is the Thing with Feathers” (Simon and Schuster: 1966: 96). In this poem, Dickinson wants the readers to have an idea about what a hope that she means. In order to provide a vivid picture in readers’ mind, Dickinson compares hope, which is an absurd thing, with the thing with feather in her poem.

Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all.

(taken from Simon and Schuster: 1966: 96)

The speaker starts the poem with a metaphor by saying “hope” is the thing with feathers”. Put in the first line, this metaphor is impressive to attract readers’ attention. The readers are directed to wonder about the correlation between hope and the thing with feathers because hope is an absurd thing that does not look like the thing with feathers at all. However, the following lines describe the characters

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of the thing with feathers that are transferred to the hope. By reading the following lines, the readers are able to grasp an understanding and draw a picture in their mind about what hope is like and why it is compared to the thing with feathers.

Each line in this stanza exposes the shared characteristics between hope and the thing with feathers or bird. In second line, the speaker says, “that perches in the soul,” to show the first similarity between hope and the thing with feathers. The word “perches” itself is a name of activity done by bird or the thing with feathers to stay for a long time, usually on a branch. As same as the thing with feathers, hope is something that stays and fills the empty space in the soul for a long time. In the third and fourth line, hope is also said as something that “sings the tune without the words and never stops at all.” The continuously tune without words which is sung by hope keeps the soul cheerful and lively. In conclusion, hope which stays in individual’s soul encourage them to desire and reach something.

2) Simile

Landy (1979: 43) states that “a simile is a comparison, and is always stated as such.” Lewis and Altenbernd (1963: 18) affirm that simile shows similarity between two things instead of identity. The two things which are compared in simile are actually dissimilar but shown to resemble each other. According to Simon and Schuster (1966: 41), “simile is a direct comparison between things which are not particularly similar.”

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The presence of comparison in simile is announced explicitly through the use of connecting word. The poet openly asserts that one thing is like another thing. Simon and Schuster (1966: 41) argue that simile is presented through a connecting word to signify the existence of comparison in it. The poets announce the comparison by bringing up the words “like,” “as,” and “than” between the compared objects. The word “resemble,” “compare,” or “similar” can also be used to show the comparison in simile (Wolosky: 2001: 30). The example of this figurative language is demonstrated in the Lord Bryon’s poem entitled “She Walks in Beauty” below.

She walks in Beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that’s best of dark and bright Meet in her aspect and her eyes: Thus mellow’d to that tender light Which Heaven to gaudy denies.

(taken from Simon and Schuster, 1966: 73)

Using connecting word “like,” simile explicitly announces the existence of comparison at the opening of this poem. Simile is presented to compare the woman who walks in beauty with the night that is shown in “she walks in beauty, like the night.” Those two objects are noticeably two different things that show nothing in similar. However, what is being compared by the speaker is the beauty which is found both in the woman and the night. In this poem, the speaker wants to describe the woman’s beauty in detail, not only about her beautiful face but also about the whole impression of beauty that she gets when everyone sees her. To make the readers catch the same opinion about the woman’s beauty, the speaker portrays her beauty by comparing her to the night.

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In spite of its open and simple declaration, the comparison between the lover and the night is extended over the whole stanza. This extension is aimed to describe that the night that is compared to the woman’s beauty is not a mere night and to make the readers have the picture of this woman’s beauty in their mind. In second line, the speaker of the poem describes that the night is cloudless and starry. A night with cloudless climes decorated with the bright stars, as what the speaker states in the third line, is the best view of the night. The contrast of dark and bright results the best combination of beauty. That perfect beauty is what the speaker sees from the woman’s eyes and aspect. The speaker closes the stanza by saying that the woman’s beauty is sweet and tender. The speaker regards that kind of beauty is lovelier than the gaudy beauty.

3) Personification

Personification is also a figurative language of comparison, but the comparison is made between nonhuman and human. As what Simon and Schuster (1966: 39) state that personification is the figure of speech that assigns humans attributes to nonhuman objects or ideas. Wolosky (2001: 93) adds that “it always likens something that is not human to the human realm.” The nonhuman objects like wood, river, animal, cloud, and abstract things are described as having human characteristics or feeling (Landy, 1979: 48). Those non-human objects are described as being able to behave, think, and perceive like a normal human being. Through personification, poet can describe the nonhuman world in dramatic ways. Lewis and Alternbernd (1963: 22) argue that “here abstraction is endowed with the qualities of a human being in such a way as to render a normally

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disembodied idea dramatically effective.” The use of personification gives power and life to nonhuman objects, which also enriches the power of the poem as well. Personification is common to be found in nineteenth century poems. One of them is James Stephens’ poem entitled “The Wind” which gives many examples of personification.

The wind stood up and gave a shout He whistled on his fingers and Kicked the withered leaves about

And thumped the branches with his hand And said he’d kill and kill,

And so he will and so he will.

(taken from https://poetrynook.com/poem/wind-27)

In this poem, the speaker describes about the wind that he personifies as a human. The speaker in that poem, Stephen endows the wind that is an abstract thing with the quality of human. He treats the wind as if it is a human being that can do and feel something. They are described as if they can stand up, whistle, kick, and kill. The function of this metaphor is to make it more dramatically and vivid.

4) Paradox

Paradox is the statements or ideas that are self-contradictory or opposed to common sense in the first glance. However, they may be found as the hidden truth upon investigation (Frederik, 1988: 49). The function of paradox is to emphasize and draw attention to something (Simon and Schuster, 1966: 38). An example of this figure of speech is Chidiock Tichborne’s “Elegy, Written with His Own Hand in the Tower before His Execution”: “My tale was heard, and yet it was not told,” (taken from

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/nov/26/poem-of-the-week-29

chidiock-tichborne). To draw the attention of the readers, the poet presents two contradictory statements in each line. Tichborne says that everybody knows his tale, but nobody ever spreads it in fact. By stating that statement, the readers’ attention will be drawn. They will wonder what the poet actually means.

5) Irony

Irony is the contrast between the meanings of the words (Simon and Schuster, 1966: 35). They also argue that “irony can be light, comic, and playful.” Using irony, the poets play with the readers and share a private joke. The poets will also bring the readers to enjoy their delightful and refreshing thought. The example of irony can be found in “Oh No” by Robert Creeley.

If you wander far enough You will come to it And when you get there

They will give you a place to sit For yourself only, in a nice chair, And all your friends will be there With smiles on their faces

And they will likewise all have places

(taken from http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/oh-no-14/)

The speaker shows the selfishness of the character ‘you’ in this poem. At the end of his hard work and long journey, the character ‘you’ in this poem finds himself welcomed in a nice place. However, the speaker presents an irony in the last line of the quotation above to show how selfish the character ‘you’ is. He sits in nice chair while his friends stand up sincerely. The irony lies when his friends put a smile on their face as if they were all seated, but actually they are not.

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Frederik (1988: 48) cites that “metonymy is a figure of speech in which the name of one thing is applied to another with which it is closely associated.” The examples of metonymy are easily to be found in daily speech. For instance, people often call “whisky” by saying “the bottle” because they are closely associated. The example of metonymy can also be found in Edward Arlington Robinson’s poem entitled “Richard Cory.”

Whenever Richard Cory went down town, We people on the pavement looked at him: He was a good gentleman from sole to crown, Clean favored, and imperially slim.

(taken from Simon and Schuster, 1966: 61)

In the poem above, there are two examples of metonymy that are found, i.e. “Sole” and “crown.” “Sole” stands for the common people while “crown” stands for the rulers. Robinson purposely uses the word “sole” and “crown” instead of their substituted words to give the concrete description for the readers. The word “sole” refers to common people because many of them are poor and having no shoes to wear. Therefore, common people are identically associated with being “sole.” In contrary, king, as the ruler of the kingdom, always wears a marvelous golden crown on his head to signify his power. For that reason, the king is recognized with “the crown” that he wears.

7) Synecdoche

In contrast to metonymy, synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part is used to signify the whole part (Simon and Schuster: 1966: 41). In other words, instead of giving the full description of something entirely, the poet, sometimes,

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only presents a small detail of it. The example of synecdoche can be found in Rupert Brooke’s poem, “The Death.”

These hearts were woven of human joys and cares, Washed marvelously with sorrow, swift to mirth The years had given them kindness. Dawn was theirs, And sunset, and the colours of the earth.

(taken from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems ) “Hearts” in the first line is an example of synecdoche. Heart is a part of human being that is used to refer to the whole human being in this poem. Brooke uses the word “heart” instead of “human” because heart is the most important part in the human body. In addition, heart is also signified as the center of human emotion. Its existence brings in the emotion in human life. It enables every single person feels joyful, sad, angry, caring, hate, and loving. Even, the beat of the hearts goes up and down along with the emotion felt by the individual. Thus, the presentation of “hearts” is powerful enough to enable the readers to join in the emotion in the poem.

8) Apostrophe

Apostrophe is a figure of speech that has a close relation with personification. This figure of speech addresses the absent, the dead, or the inanimate object as if they were a present and living human being (Baldick, 2001: 17). This figure sometimes emerges in the beginning of a poem to indicate that the speaker is talking to that character through the whole poem. The example of this apostrophe can be seen in John Donne’s “Holy Sonnets: Death, be not proud”. “Death, be not proud, though some have called thee” (taken from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/44107). In the

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beginning of this poem, the speaker addresses the Death as the person to whom he is speaking in the whole poem. However, “Death” here is not a name of a real present person. It is the concept of death that he challenges in this poem. The apostrophe of “Death” is presented to emphasize the idea that he is not afraid to the death at all. This figure creates an effect that the speaker is more powerful than the death. In addition, the use of apostrophe helps to focus the poem so that the readers can recognize that the whole poem is only talking about death at one glance.

9) Hyperbole

Hyperbole is the exaggeration statement in the poetry. Its function is to emphasize a point in the poetry, both for comic and serious purposes. Besides, it can give a dramatic effect to the readers so that they can feel touched (Simon and Schuster, 1966: 34). The example of hyperbole can be seen in Robert Burns’ “A Red, Red Rose.”

As fair art thou, my bonnie lass, So deep in luve am I,

And I will luve thee still, my dear, Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear, And the rocks melt wi’ the sun!

(taken from http://www.robertburns.org/works/444.shtml)

The last two lines of the poem above shows a hyperbole. Burns exaggerates the fact by saying that the persona’s love will last till the seas gang dry and the rocks melt with the sun. These statements are exaggerated because the sea will never dry and the rocks will never melt in fact. These overstatements are used to produce a dramatic effect to the readers so that they will feel interested to keep reading the poem. Also, this hyperbole is effective to show that the speaker is so

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in love with his lover. By saying those exaggerated statements, he means that his love for her will last forever and never fade away.

4. John Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “The Sun Rising”

John Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “The Sun Rising” are two of his metaphysical poems that talk about love. Both speakers in these two poems portray their love for their lover in such a way to ensure the readers that nothing can compare their love. The way the speakers express their love is incomparable for they express it through the complex word choice and word order, which add the significances of the love expression itself.

In “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning”, the speaker tries to convince his lover that their separation will never separate their love. From the beginning up to the ending of the poem, the speaker presents some illustration that analogizes their love. In the first stanza, he describes the sincerity of the virtuous men in facing the death. The lover, assumes the speaker, should see those virtuous men and do as they do, i.e. letting him go sincerely. She should stop crying and showing off her sadness for those things will only alleviate the purity of their love. Then, he explains further the logical reasons for his lover to let him go. He ensures her that this separation does not really separate them for they have been united in the oneness of their love. To make her understand his concept of separation deeper, the speaker compares himself and his lover to the twin compasses, which he considers to represent them and their short valediction.

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The love expressions in this poem are not only conveyed through the metaphorical words, but also through the artistic music in each line. Donne writes this poem in thirty-six lines, which are divided into nine quatrains. Each stanza in this poem is written in common form rhyme for quatrains, which is a b a b. In addition, this poem is iambic tetrameter for the syllables in each line alternate between unstressed syllables and four stressed syllables. For this meaningful and artistic construction, this poem is regarded as a complex and rich composition that expresses a deep love.

Similar to “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning”, Donne’s “The Sun Rising” is also a complex and meaningful love poem. This poem portrays the prominence of the speaker’s love. Even, to indicate how great his love is, the speaker challenges the sun, which he assumes to be less powerful than his love. This poem is preceded with the speaker’s anger toward the sun that wakes up him and his lover. Then, he challenges the sun to show the power of his beams, which is nothing compared to the power of his love. Thus, in the following lines, he declares that he is the ruler of the world for all kings and wealth are bent down to him. Even, he claims that he and his lover are the center of the world so that the sun only needs to shine to them in order to be able to shine the world.

This dramatic love poem is constructed in three ten-lines stanzas. Each stanza in this poem is constructed in rhyme a b b a c d c d e e. In addition, the meter in this poem does not have a specific name. Line 1, 5, and 6 in each stanza is iambic tetrameter because the eight syllables alternate between four unstressed syllables and four stressed syllables. Different from others, line 2 in each stanza is dimeter

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because they consist of two unstressed syllables and two stressed syllables. Then, the rest of the lines are iambic pentameter that consists of ten syllables, which alternate between unstressed and stressed syllables.

B. Previous Study

The researcher admits that there have been many previous researches that also discuss about love and figurative language. However, none of those researches is similar. Though discuss the same topic, each of them has their own distinctive focus and object. One of the similar researches is conducted by Dewi Sagita in 2014. In her research entitled John Keats’ Mixed Feeling of Love to Fanny

Brawne Expressed in His Poem ‘Ode on Melancholy,’ the researcher analyzes the

figurative language which is used to express John Keats’ mixed feeling in his ‘Ode on Melancholy’ by using expressive criticism. In that research, the researcher finds out that John Keats employs several kinds of figurative language such as allusion, personification, and simile to express his deepest love to Fanny Brawne. Those figures of speech also reveal Keats’ own feeling of anxious, delighted, jealous, sad and spirited so that the readers can discover the visualization of the love feeling which he embodies in his poem.

Another similar research is conducted by Graham Roebuck in 1994. Different from Dewi Sagita’s research, Roebuck’s research, entitled “A Valediction:

Forbidding Mourning”: Traditions and Problems of Imagery only focuses on the

employment of images in “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” without relating it to love or other themes. In that research, the researcher, using New Criticism, proves that Donne’s employments of images in the poem, including metaphor,

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simile, conceit, and analogy, deserve to be claimed as unrivalled prominence in the discussion of poetry.

This research is not the same as those two previous researches. Using objective criticism, this research focuses on analyzing the employment of figurative language to express the speakers’ love which they assume to be different from common people’s love in John Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “The Sun Rising.” To be able to analyze the love expression in those two poems, the researcher uses objective theory to identify the types of figurative language employed by John Donne as well as their significances in expressing love.

C. Conceptual Framework

This research tries to make an analysis of love differences between common people and the speaker of “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “The Sun Rising” through the employment of figurative language. The researcher means to answer three objectives that are analyzed in this research. The first is the kinds of figurative language employed by John Donne in the texts. The second is the significance of figurative language to express love. The last one is the way the love of the speakers of “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “The Sun Rising” different from the love of common people through the employment of the figurative language.

To investigate and answer her three research questions, the researcher employs the objective criticism and theory of figurative language. Based on the theory, the researcher finds that the figurative language consists of ten types: metaphor,

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simile, personification, paradox, irony, metonymy, synecdoche, hyperbole, apostrophe, and symbol.

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This study is a qualitative research. Strauss and Cobin (in Snape and Spencer, 2003: 3) argue that qualitative research produces non statistical findings. Vanderstoep and Johnston (2005:7) also state that “qualitative research produces narrative or textual descriptions of phenomena under study.”

The aim of qualitative research is to provide an in-depth and interpreted understanding of the experiences, perspectives, and histories of the research participants (Snape and Spencer, 2003: 3). The same argument is also stated by Vanderstoep and Johnston (2009: 167) that “the goal is to understand, in depth, the viewpoint of a research participant.” Vanderstoep and Johnston explain further that this kind of research cannot be generalized since different participants will result in different interpretations. Based on this realization, the data of this research should be performed in more descriptive way rather than predictive one.

The technique of qualitative research used in this study was textual analysis. According to Vanderstoep and Johnston (2009: 211), the textual analysis focuses on meaning of the text that is analyzed from the perspective of the speaker’s intent, the audience’s reaction, and the historical or cultural context. This technique can be applied to any kinds of texts that carry symbolic meaning.

B. Data and Data Sources

Given (2008: 185) states that data is “a collection of information.” The collected of information which is meant by Given can be in the form of numbers,

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words, pictures, videos, audios or concepts. She explains further that the data in the qualitative research are nonnumeric. Therefore, the data that was analyzed in this research are in the form of words, phrases, and sentences.

The main sources of this research were John Donne’s two love poems. They were “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “The Sun Rising.” “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” was a metaphysical poem that was composed in thirty-six lines and “The Sun Rising”, also a metaphysical poem, was composed in thirty lines. These poems were chosen because they represented the speakers’ deep love through the employment of figurative language.

To analyze the poems, the researcher used objective theory on M.H. Abrams’ Orientation of Critical Theory in his book entitled The Mirror and the Lamp (1971). His other book, A Glossary of Literary Terms (1999), Tyson’s Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide (2006), Altenbernd and Lewis’ A Handbook for the Study of Poetry (1966) also supported the understanding of the theory.

C. Research Instrument

Lincoln and Guba (in Vanderstoep and Johnston, 2009: 188) state that “the best instrument for qualitative naturalistic inquiry is the human.” Therefore, the primary instrument in this research was the researcher herself. The researcher used her own capacity to act as the planner, data collector, interpreter, and analyst for her research findings.

41 D. Technique of Data Collection

To answer the research questions, the researcher had to collect the data in the first place. In collecting the data, the researcher performed four main techniques. They were reading, note-making, interpreting, and categorizing. First, the researcher read Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “The Sun Rising” for several times until she understood the text well. Second, she made some simple notes to write the definitions of some words and mark the important details and clues related to the data. Third, the researcher carefully re-read the texts and the notes she already made earlier to have a clear interpretation. Last, the data were categorized into the types of figurative language and their significances.

E. Technique of Data Analysis

Given (2008: 186) states that “data analysis is an integral part of qualitative and constitutes an essential stepping-stone toward both gathering data and linking one’s findings with higher order concepts.” The data analysis should occur after the data are collected so that the researcher can discover the errors in data collection (Vanderstoep, 2009: 191). To analyze the collected data, the researcher passed some steps, namely identifying, classifying, re-reading and making interpretation.

First, the researcher identified the data from the poems by making some notes according to the types of figurative language. Second, the researcher classified the data into some categories based on research objectives. Third, the researcher re-read the data and arranged the data. Last, the researcher made the interpretation of the findings based on the understanding of the theory.

42 F. Trustworthiness

Given (2008: 895) argues that “trustworthiness can be thought of as the ways in which qualitative researchers ensure that transferability, credibility, dependability, and conformability are evident in their research.” Transferability is proven to be accurate when the study can be applied in broader contexts and well determined by others. Credibility of a research is proven when the researcher has represented the data that has to be measured based on purpose. Dependability is proven when the research is replicated using the same contexts and procedure, it results different data. In conformability, the research can be subjective as long as the interpretation matches the data.

In this research, credibility was used by the researcher to check the trustworthiness of the data. The researcher read and re-read the texts carefully to make sure that the data were in line with the objectives of the study. To achieve the credibility of the data, the researcher chose three of her friends who were also literature students to review, confirm and discuss the data. The researcher also consulted the data to her thesis advisors to verify the data and the analysis in her research. The discussion was conducted in order the researcher and the reviewers achieve the credible interpretation.

43 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 remains 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.

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In that quotation, the speaker presents a twin compasses that illustrate him with his lover. Then, he compares his lover, described as “Thy soul”, to the stationary leg of the twin compasses, “the fixed foot”. These two objects definitely have nothing in common for the 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

Simile is the other type of figurative language that is identified in this research. The researcher finds out four occurrences of simile, all of which are in “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” only. This figurative language compares two objects in direct way to highlight the existence of a comparison. It explicitly gives a signal that a comparison is being made in the poem through the words

96 No. No.

Poem Line Quotation

Figurative Language Significances

Description

M Si P Mt Sy A H 1 2 3

27 be

To warm the world, that’s done in warming us

dramatizes the statement that he is the center of the world so that the sun only needs to warm them in order to warm the world.

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2 29 Shine here to us, and

thou art everywhere    

This statement is personification because the sun is described as a human who obeys the speaker’s order to change the direction of his beams.

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2 29 Shine here to us, and

thou art everywhere 

  

In this expression, the speaker claims that he and his lover are the center of the world. That is why, the sun only needs to shine to them since its beam is radiated to everywhere through them. This statement sounds illogical because he hyperbolizes the fact.

97 No. No.

Poem Line Quotation

Figurative Language Significances

Description

M Si P Mt Sy A H 1 2 3

58

2 30

This bed thy centre is, these walls, thy sphere

   

This statement is metaphor because the speaker compares his bed to the center of the world and compares the walls of his room to the sphere. 59

2 30

This bed thy centre is, these walls, thy sphere

   

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2 30

This bed thy centre is, these walls, thy sphere

   

Besides a metaphor, this expression is also a hyperbole because it exaggerates the fact that his room as the universe.

98 A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning

As virtuous men pass mildly away, And whisper to their souls to go, Whilst some of their sad friends do say The breath goes now, and some say, No: So let us melt, and make no noise,

No tear-floods, nor sigh-tempests move; ‘Twere profanation of our joys

To tell the laity our love.

Moving of th’ earth brings harms and fears, Men reckon what it did, and meant; But trepidation of the spheres,

Though greater far, is innocent. Dull sublunary lovers’ love

(Whose soul is sense) cannot admit Absence, because it doth remove Those things which elemented it. But we by a love so much refined, That our selves know not what it is, Inter-assured of the mind,

Care less, eyes, lips, and hands to miss. Our two souls therefore, which are one, Though I must go, endure not yet A breach, but an expansion,

Like gold to airy thinness beat. 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. And though it in the center sit, Yet when the other far doth roam, It leans and hearkens after it,

And grows erect, as that comes home. Such wilt thou be to me, who must, Like th’ other foot, obliquely run; Thy firmness makes my circle just, And makes me end where I begun.

99 The Sun Rising

Busy old fool, unruly sun, Why dost thou thus,

Through windows, and through curtains call on us? Must to thy motions lovers' seasons run?

Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide Late school boys and sour prentices, Go tell court huntsmen that the king will ride, Call country ants to harvest offices,

Love, all alike, no season knows nor clime,

Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time. Thy beams, so reverend and strong

Why shouldst thou think?

I could eclipse and cloud them with a wink, But that I would not lose her sight so long; If her eyes have not blinded thine, Look, and tomorrow late, tell me, Whether both th' Indias of spice and mine Be where thou leftst them, or lie here with me. Ask for those kings whom thou saw'st yesterday, And thou shalt hear, All here in one bed lay. She's all states, and all princes, I, Nothing else is.

Princes do but play us; compared to this, All honor's mimic, all wealth alchemy. Thou, sun, art half as happy as we, In that the world's contracted thus. Thine age asks ease, and since thy duties be To warm the world, that's done in warming us. Shine here to us, and thou art everywhere;

100 PERNYATAAN

Saya yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini Nama : Ahmad Munir, S.S.

Pekerjaan : Alumni Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta

menyatakan dengan sesungguhnya bahwa saya telah melakukan tringulasi data sehubungan dengan analisis data yang dilakukan oleh mahasiswa bernama Wahyu Panca Handayani dalam penelitian yang berjudul “An Analysis of Love Expression Differences between Common People and the Speakers through Figurative Language

in John Donne’s“A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “The Sun Rising”

Demikian surat keterangan ini dibuat untuk dapat digunakan sesuai dengan keperluan.

Yogyakarta, 3 Oktober 2016

101 PERNYATAAN

Saya yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini Nama : Juani Vinafari, S.S.

Pekerjaan : Alumni Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta

menyatakan dengan sesungguhnya bahwa saya telah melakukan tringulasi data sehubungan dengan analisis data yang dilakukan oleh mahasiswa bernama Wahyu Panca Handayani dalam penelitian yang berjudul “An Analysis of Love Expression Differences between Common People and the Speakers through Figurative Language

in John Donne’s“A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” and “The Sun Rising”

Demikian surat keterangan ini dibuat untuk dapat digunakan sesuai dengan keperluan.

Yogyakarta, 3 Oktober 2016