Symbols and their meanings in the ninth book of paradise lost poem by John Milton.
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ABSTRACT
Putro, Albertus Eko N.W. (2015) Symbols and Their Meanings in The Ninth Book
of Paradise Lost Poem by John Milton. Yogyakarta. English Language Education
Study Programme, Sanata Dharma University.
The study is about symbols used by John Milton in his work Paradise
Lost. Paradise Lost seems to have a relation with the Holy Bible. It is a
paraphrase of a part in the Book of Genesis from The Old Testament, which talks
about how the first human kind fell into sin. While Paradise Lost consists of
twelve books, this paper focuses on the ninth book. This step was intended in
order to limit the discussion about this poem. This paper aims to find the symbols
that can be found in the ninth book of Paradise Lost, a poem by John Milton. This
paper is going to discuss two problems: 1) What are the symbols found in the
ninth book of Paradise Lost? 2) What are the meaning of the symbols found in the
ninth book of Paradise Lost?
This paper used the mythological criticism approach. There were two
mythologies used by the poet as a symbol to represent something. They were
Roman and Greek mythologies. The theory which the writer used is the theory of
sign. This theory becomes the stepping ground to find the meaning of the symbols
found in ninth book of Paradise Lost.
There are some symbols that can be found in the poem. The symbols are:
apple which represents the fruit of knowledge, snake or serpent represents the
wickedness & sly, goddess which represents Eve, and Satan which represents evil.
Each of them represents something in the poem. The meaning of those symbols
can be found by looking and analyzing their connection, though there is a symbol
which already had its own meaning.
Keywords: Symbols, Paradise Lost, Mythology, Poem
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ABSTRAK
Putro, Albertus Eko N.W. (2015) Symbols and Their Meanings in The Ninth Book
of “Paradise Lost” Poem by John Milton. Yogyakarta. English Language
Education Study Programme, Sanata Dharma University.
Penelitian ini tentang penggunaan simbol oleh penyair John Milton dalam
karyanya yaitu Paradise Lost. Puisi Paradise Lost memiliki kaitan dengan kitab
suci dan merupakan parafrase salah satu bagian dari Kitab Kejadian, yang
mengisahkan tentang bagaimana manusia pertama jatuh kedalam dosa. Paradise
Lost terdiri dari duabelas buku. Penelitian ini akan lebih berfokus pada buku ke
sembilan. Langkah ini dilakukan untuk membatasi ruang lingkup diskusi tentang
puisi tersebut. Penelitian ini bertujuan mencari simbol yang terdapat dalam buku
ke sembilan dari Paradise Lost oleh John Milton. Terdapat dua rumusan masalah
dalam penelitian ini: 1)Simbol apa saja yang dapat ditemukan dalam buku
kesembilan dari Paradise Lost? 2) Apa makna dari simbol yang ditemukan dalam
buku kesembilan dari Paradise Lost?
Penelitian ini akan menggunakan pendekatan kritik mitologi. Ada dua
mitologi yang digunakan oleh penyair untuk merepresentasikan sesuatu, yaitu
mitologi Roma dan mitologi Yunani. Sedangkan teori yang akan digunakan
adalah teori tentang tanda. Teori ini akan menjadi pijakan untuk mencari makna
dari simbol-simbol yang ditemukan dalam buku ke sembilan dari Paradise Lost.
Terdapat beberapa simbol yang ditemukan pada puisi. Beberapa simbol
tersebut adalah apel yang merepresentasikan buah pengetahuan, ular yang
merepresentasikan kelicikan, dewi yang merepresenasiakan Hawa dan Satan
yang merepresentasikan kejahatan. Setiap simbol tersebut mewakili sesuatu di
dalam puisi. Makna dari simbol-simbol tersebut dapat ditemukan dengan cara
menganalisis kaitan antar simbol, meskipun begitu terdapat simbol yang sudah
memiliki maknanya sendiri.
Kata kunci: Symbols, Paradise Lost, Mythology, Poem
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SYMBOLS AND THEIR MEANINGS IN THE NINTH BOOK
OF PARADISE LOST POEM BY JOHN MILTON
A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN FINAL PAPER
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendididkan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Albertus Eko Nugroho Wuryanto Putro
Student Number: 101214087
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2015
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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma:
Nama
: Albertus Eko Nugroho Wuryanto Putro
Nomor Mahasiswa
: 101214087
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan
Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya dengan judul:
“SYMBOLS AND THEIR MEANINGS IN THE NINTH BOOK OF
PARADISE LOST POEM BY JOHN MILTON”
Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata
Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan, dalam bentuk media lain,
mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan
mempublikasikannya di Internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis
tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya
selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal: 29 Juli 2015
Yang menyatakan
(Albertus Eko Nugroho W.P)
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ABSTRACT
Putro, Albertus Eko N.W. (2015) Symbols and Their Meanings in The Ninth Book
of Paradise Lost Poem by John Milton. Yogyakarta. English Language Education
Study Programme, Sanata Dharma University.
The study is about symbols used by John Milton in his work Paradise
Lost. Paradise Lost seems to have a relation with the Holy Bible. It is a
paraphrase of a part in the Book of Genesis from The Old Testament, which talks
about how the first human kind fell into sin. While Paradise Lost consists of
twelve books, this paper focuses on the ninth book. This step was intended in
order to limit the discussion about this poem. This paper aims to find the symbols
that can be found in the ninth book of Paradise Lost, a poem by John Milton. This
paper is going to discuss two problems: 1) What are the symbols found in the
ninth book of Paradise Lost? 2) What are the meaning of the symbols found in the
ninth book of Paradise Lost?
This paper used the mythological criticism approach. There were two
mythologies used by the poet as a symbol to represent something. They were
Roman and Greek mythologies. The theory which the writer used is the theory of
sign. This theory becomes the stepping ground to find the meaning of the symbols
found in ninth book of Paradise Lost.
There are some symbols that can be found in the poem. The symbols are:
apple which represents the fruit of knowledge, snake or serpent represents the
wickedness & sly, goddess which represents Eve, and Satan which represents evil.
Each of them represents something in the poem. The meaning of those symbols
can be found by looking and analyzing their connection, though there is a symbol
which already had its own meaning.
Keywords: Symbols, Paradise Lost, Mythology, Poem
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ABSTRAK
Putro, Albertus Eko N.W. (2015) Symbols and Their Meanings in The Ninth Book
of “Paradise Lost” Poem by John Milton. Yogyakarta. English Language
Education Study Programme, Sanata Dharma University.
Penelitian ini tentang penggunaan simbol oleh penyair John Milton dalam
karyanya yaitu Paradise Lost. Puisi Paradise Lost memiliki kaitan dengan kitab
suci dan merupakan parafrase salah satu bagian dari Kitab Kejadian, yang
mengisahkan tentang bagaimana manusia pertama jatuh kedalam dosa. Paradise
Lost terdiri dari duabelas buku. Penelitian ini akan lebih berfokus pada buku ke
sembilan. Langkah ini dilakukan untuk membatasi ruang lingkup diskusi tentang
puisi tersebut. Penelitian ini bertujuan mencari simbol yang terdapat dalam buku
ke sembilan dari Paradise Lost oleh John Milton. Terdapat dua rumusan masalah
dalam penelitian ini: 1)Simbol apa saja yang dapat ditemukan dalam buku
kesembilan dari Paradise Lost? 2) Apa makna dari simbol yang ditemukan dalam
buku kesembilan dari Paradise Lost?
Penelitian ini akan menggunakan pendekatan kritik mitologi. Ada dua
mitologi yang digunakan oleh penyair untuk merepresentasikan sesuatu, yaitu
mitologi Roma dan mitologi Yunani. Sedangkan teori yang akan digunakan
adalah teori tentang tanda. Teori ini akan menjadi pijakan untuk mencari makna
dari simbol-simbol yang ditemukan dalam buku ke sembilan dari Paradise Lost.
Terdapat beberapa simbol yang ditemukan pada puisi. Beberapa simbol
tersebut adalah apel yang merepresentasikan buah pengetahuan, ular yang
merepresentasikan kelicikan, dewi yang merepresenasiakan Hawa dan Satan
yang merepresentasikan kejahatan. Setiap simbol tersebut mewakili sesuatu di
dalam puisi. Makna dari simbol-simbol tersebut dapat ditemukan dengan cara
menganalisis kaitan antar simbol, meskipun begitu terdapat simbol yang sudah
memiliki maknanya sendiri.
Kata kunci: Symbols, Paradise Lost, Mythology, Poem
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my greatest gratitude to The Almighty God for
His blessing in doing my final paper. His blessing gives me inspiration and will
power to do my final paper.
My gratitude also goes to my father and my mother, JF. Supriyanto and
MG. Wuryati, for the big support they have given to me and their prayers, as
they always encouraged me to do my final paper.
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my advisor Ibu Veronica
Triprihatmini, S.Pd., M.Hum., M.A., for her guidance, advice, and patience in
guiding me to finish my final paper. Without her patience and attention this final
paper would not be finished well.
I would also like to express my gratitude to my two seniors in Teater
Seriboe Djendela. First is Kang Padmo Adi for his support and encouragement
in doing my final paper, also for letting me to work on my final paper in his
boarding house, even though he was still in the process of doing his post-graduate
thesis. Second is Mas Agathon Hutama for his support and the time as my proof
reader in grammar.
My gratitude also goes to Paulla Ella for her support, encouragement, and
prayer in doing my final paper. Last but not least, I would like to say thank you to
all my friends: Louis Edo, Tola Augusta, Hugo Sistha P, Ega Meista “Gaplek”
Purba, Febrianus “Gedhek” Anggit, Dionisius Bimana “Chiu,” Nanda,
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Yanuari Christiawan, Ign. Martino, and all members of Teater Seriboe
Djendela family for their support and encouragement to do my final paper.
Albertus Eko Nugroho Wuryanto Putro
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
TITLE PAGE ………………………………………………………….
i
APPROVAL PAGES…………………………………………………..
ii
BOARD OF EXAMINERS……………………………………………..
iii
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY…………………………
iv
PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI …………………………
v
ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………….
vi
ABSTRAK…………………………………………………………………
vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………..
viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………..
x
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION
A. Research Background ……………………………….
B. Approach of the study ………………………………
1
3
CHAPTER II. DISCUSSION
A. Review of Related Literature
1. Paradise Lost Book 9 .………………………
2. Theory of Sign ………………………………
3. The Mythologies ……………………………
B. Discussion
1. Symbols found in Paradise Lost book 9 ……..
2. The Meaning of Symbols Found in Paradise
Lost Book 9 ………………………………….
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10
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CHAPTER III. CONCLUSION…………………………………………..
21
REFERENCES …………………………………………………………....
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
This chapter consists of the background of the study and the research
method of the study. The background of the study provides general information
about the topic, the problem formulation, and the objectives. The approach of the
study provides the description of the approach used by the writer.
A. Background
Poetry is one of the three majors in literature beside prose and play. It has
its own aesthetic aspects such as rhythm, figurative language, and its writing style.
Some people might find their own pleasure in writing and/or reading a poem. This
pleasure usually found by including feelings or thoughts through words which
picked very carefully. Some people sometimes put some messages in poems they
write. Some poets also have the skill to write poems by paraphrasing another work
of literature such as prose like bible and also the skill to put symbols in their
poems through the figurative language such as metaphor or compare some aspects
with another thing. John Milton is one of the poets who have the skill to
paraphrase and use the symbols by comparing some aspects with other things.
John Milton is an epic poet from the 17th century. One of his epic poems is
Paradise Lost which consists of twelve books. Based on the writer’s reading,
Paradise Lost book 9 is a paraphrase of a part in the Book of Genesis in which the
first human kind (Adam and Eve) fell into sin. The reason why the writer chose
this poem is because the writer was interested in John Milton’s way in using
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symbols to paraphrase the Book of Genesis from the Holy Bible and also the way
John Milton portrayed some aspects in the poem by comparing them to the
mythology from Rome and Greek.
The Book of Genesis from the Old Testament in Christian Holy Bible talks
about the creation of the world and also the fall of mankind into sin. It talks about
how God created the world in seven days, and in the sixth day He created the first
human Adam and Eve. Later they disobeyed God’s command by eating the
forbidden fruit even though God had warned them about the consequence of
eating the forbidden fruit. Thus God exiled them from the Garden of Eden.
Paradise Lost Book 9 is chosen because based on the writer interpretation, from
all the twelve books of Paradise Lost, book 9 is the part where the conflict began.
Paradise Lost Book 9 talks about how the first human fell into sin.
The writer’s focus in this study is the symbols which are found in the ninth
book of the poem. Symbols are something unique. Symbols are similar to sign, in
which they represent something, though there is a real difference between
symbols and signs. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, signs are
something which has literal meaning from the thing it stands for, while symbols
have more than literal meaning. They have deeper meaning which could be very
different from the literal one. Symbols are usually influenced by a certain culture.
The same symbols could have different meaning in other culture, but sometimes
the same symbols have the same meaning as there are some common symbols that
are used in some cultures.
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The writer provides some cultural aspects from some regions. These
cultural aspects are a kind of useful research resource to get some information
about the meaning of the signs or symbols found in the poem in some cultures.
The two main cultures which used in this paper are Greek and Roman. Some other
cultures might be used in order to provide another perspective of those symbols.
This information can be used to find the relation between some signs or symbols.
Therefore, based on the background, questions to this problem are
formulated as follows:
1. What are the symbols found in the ninth book of Paradise Lost?
2. What are the meanings of the symbols found in the ninth book of
Paradise Lost?
From those two questions, the objectives of this paper are clear. They are to find
the meaning and to analyze the symbols and how they connect to each other. Also
by studying these aspects, this paper might provide the knowledge about symbols
or signs and about the connections between them. Aside from the objectives this
paper might be used to provide more references in studying poetry.
B. Approach of the Study
This study is focused on poetry. The main data of this study is one of the
twelve books of an epic poem by John Milton entitled Paradise Lost, which is the
ninth book of those twelve books. Paradise Lost is a narrative poem in which tells
a story in a form of poem.
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In a glimpse, this poem is like paraphrasing the Book of Genesis in the
Old Testament. The ninth book talks about the fall of mankind in which Eve was
deceived by Satan himself before she dragged Adam into sin too. They ate the
forbidden fruit of knowledge. Satan himself deceived Eve with his silver tongue.
Satan succeeded in deceiving Eve especially when she could convince Adam to
eat the fruit. This ninth book of the poem consists of 1189 lines.
Then, the secondary data are the myths which are used to symbolize or
describe some aspects in the ninth book of Paradise Lost. John Milton used some
folklores or myths from two cultures which are Greek and Roman. These data are
required to find how the symbols are connected to each other in order to help the
writer find the relation between the signs or symbols in the poem. By looking at
those cultures the writer could find how the symbols are presented and of course it
is based on the writer’s interpretation.
Since the discussion deals with cultures and myths the writer uses the
approach of mythological criticism. By applying the mythological criticism
approach, the writer tries to reveal the relation between the myths or cultures used
and some aspects within the ninth book of the Paradise Lost. The writer believes
that there are some connections between symbols found in the poem.
Mythological criticism is combining the insights from anthropology,
history, and comparative religion, in which according to Kennedy and Gioia
(1999) it emphasizes the recurrent universal pattern underlying the most literary
works. They explained that the mythological criticism “explores the artist’s
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common humanity by tracing how the individual imagination uses myths and
symbols common to different cultures and epochs (p.1951).” and still according to
them, the key to mythological criticism is the archetype, “a symbol, character,
situation, or image that evokes a deep universal response (p.1951),” and this
archetype is developed by the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung. According to Jung,
as cited by Kennedy and Gioia (1999), all individuals share a “‘collective
unconscious,’ which is a set of primal memories common to the human race,
existing below each person’s conscious mind.”—often deriving from primordial
phenomena such as the sun, moon, fire, night, and blood, still according to Jung as
cited by Kennedy and Gioia (1999) archetypes “trigger the collective unconscious
(p.1951).”
According to Frye as cited by Kennedy and Gioia (1999), archetype is “a
symbol, usually an image, which recurs often enough in literature to be
recognizable as an element of one’s literary experience as a whole (p.1951).”
Therefore the mythological approach can be used to explore the mythology related
to the symbols and also the mythology used by John Milton in Paradise Lost book
9.
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CHAPTER 2
DISCUSSION
This chapter contains two parts. The first is the review of related literature
and the second is the discussion on the problem formulations mentioned in
Chapter 1. The provided review of related literature is to support the discussion.
They are Paradise Lost book 9, the theory, and the mythology. The discussion
deals with some symbols which are found in the ninth book of Paradise Lost,
their meanings based on certain cultures, and the connection between them.
A. Review of Related Literature
1. Paradise Lost Book 9
Paradise Lost is one of the poems written by John Milton. Paradise Lost
Book 9 talks about how Satan subtly entered the Garden of Eden in a form of a
snake. He patiently waited for the opportunity to drag human into sin. He
observed Adam and Eve before he decided to deceive one of them.
Satan decided to deceive Eve because she was not as devoted as Adam in a
sense of obedience. Once they were separated, Satan carefully and subtly followed
Eve and waited for the chance to get Eve’s attention. After he gained Eve’s
attention, he started to talk to her. Using his silver-tongued talks to deceive Eve
and convinced her about the fruit of knowledge – the fruit which God forbade
them to eat – that the fruit would not bring her to death. Instead it would bring her
into perfection and give her the knowledge – understanding – about good and bad.
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In the end, Eve was convinced by Satan’s words. She demanded Satan to
guide her into the tree which bore that fruit. Once they arrived at that tree, Eve
was tempted by the smell of the fruit and she plucked it from its tree. She ate it
and the knowledge flowed into her instead of death. At the same time as the
knowledge flowed into her, Eve developed a thought and feeling known as
jealousy.
After Eve ate the fruit, she was thinking how she had to face Adam.
Should she keep this perfection – knowledge – alone? Or should she share it with
Adam? Then jealousy took over her. If she kept this knowledge for herself alone,
what would happen to Adam after this? Will God create another Eve for him? So,
she decided to share the knowledge with Adam, as she did not want Adam to live
with another Eve. So, she came back to where Adam was and brought some fruits
for him to eat.
She told Adam what she had done. As she explained it to Adam, Adam
got the chill of fear and terror. How could Eve do something which was
forbidden? How could she break the rules from God? How could she be so
disobedient? But then, he thought to himself. Eve was created by God for him. He
did not want to live with another Eve. Eve was love whom God had given to him.
So, he decided to eat the fruit and bore the burden together.
Adam and Eve ate the fruit together and after that, he discovered
something new. He saw Eve with a certain feeling; not love, not care, not passion,
but lust. He then dragged Eve into bushes and did an intercourse with her.
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However, after that, he blamed Eve out of the desperation he got. How he had to
face God now? How he had to explain what they had done to God? Out of
desperation, they made some clothes from plants to cover their private parts, and
went deeper into the forest of Eden in order to hide from God.
2. Theory of Sign
The theory that used in this paper is about symbol which is a part of sign
(later will be clarified in the end of this section). This was developed by Roland
Barthes, who was a Saussurrean. Barthes (1981) stated that “The aim of
semiological research is to reconstitute the functioning systems of signification
other than language in accordance with the process typical of any structuralist
activity, which is to build a simulacrum of the objects under observation.” This
theory talks about signs – which are also called as semiotics – where sign is
divided into three parts. First is the sign itself, second is the signifier, and the last
is the signified. Signifier is the material aspect which could be sounds, pictures or
letters. Signified is the mental aspect which is presented by the material aspect.
According to Sunardi (2002), there are three relations of sign. First is
symbolic relation, which is the result of the relation of sign with itself or also
called as the internal relation. This relation refers to the independence of the sign
as itself (its existence and its function) without relying on its relationship with
other signs. Second is paradigmatic relation, which is the external relation of a
sign with the other sign which is still in the same class or the same system. The
last one is sintagmatic relation, which is the relation that refers to the relation of a
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sign with other sign before or the sign after. The relation includes the cause and
effect relation in which we need to imagine what will happen.
According to Sunardi (2002), the process of signifying is called the
signification. Signification comes from the Latin word significatio which consists
of two words which are signum (sign) and facere (create). “Significatio berarti –
menurut
Kamus
Latin-Indonesia
–
‘hal
menunjuk,
hal
menyatakan,
pengungkapan, petunjuk, tanda, isyarat” (p.47). According to Sunardi (2002) hal
menunjuk (something which refers to) or hal menyatakan (something which
states) are the closest definition of significatio. Sunardi (2002) also states that the
meaning of sign is not innate (static or never changes); instead it is a result of a
system of sign which is used by certain group or society.
Another article that supports this theory of semiology is the paper entitled
Pierce’s Theory of Sign by Albert Atkin. It is explained in the paper that Pierce
divides sign into three categories; which are icons, indexes, and symbols. In the
paper, Atkin (2006) states, “if we generate an interpretant in virtue of some
observed general or conventional connection between sign and object, then the
sign is a symbol.” According to the paper, interpretant is the understanding which
people developed about some objects/signs and it will provide the translation
which allows the readers to the more complex understanding of some
objects/signs. Thus from this article, it can be said that symbol is a part of sign.
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3. The Mythologies
The mythologies that are mainly discussed in this paper are the Roman
mythology and the Greek mythology. The Roman and Greek mythology are
chosen because the writer found that in Paradise Lost Book 9, those two
mythologies are mostly used by John Milton. Another mythology from another
religion or region is presented in order to provide a comparative material to the
other two mythologies mentioned above. The Roman mythology is not really
different from the Greek mythology. These two cultures share a similar
mythology. It can be seen from the pantheon (gods and goddesses). Some of
Roman gods are the same gods in Greek; they just have different names such as
the god of thunder in Greek, Zeus. In Roman mythology, Zeus is known as
Jupiter. Artemis, the Greek goddess of moon, is known as Diana in Roman
mythology. This is the list of comparison between Roman and Greek God.
Roman and Greek God Comparisons
Roman
Greek
Apollo
Apollo
Bacchus
Dionysus
Ceres
Demeter
Cupid
Eros
Diana
Artemis
Fortuna
Janus
Juno
Hera
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Jupiter
Zeus
Maia
Mars
Ares
Mercury
Hermes
Minerva
Athena
Neptune
Poseidon
Pluto
Hades
Proserpina
Persephone
Saturn
Cronus
Uranus
Ouranos
Venus
Aphrodite
Vesta
Hestia
Vulcan
Hephaestus
Figure 2.1(Source : http://www.crystalinks.com)
From the comparison, some of the Roman gods and Greek gods are the same, they
just have different names. Also, it can be seen that some of the Roman gods’
names are the names of planets in our solar system. The only goddess in the solar
system is Venus – Aphrodite in Greek – while other planets are named after gods.
Venus or Aphrodite is the goddess of beauty which according to the Mythology:
An Illustrated Encyclopedia, Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty (p.124).
Venus
Greek
(Aphrodite)
Originally a Goddess of Gardens and Vinyards,
Venus became the major deity of love and beauty
after the influx of Greek deities. On August 18 the
Vinalia Rustica was observed. A second festival, that
of the Veneralia, was celebrated on April 1 in honor
of Venus Verticordia, who later became the protector
against vice. On April 23 a festival, the Vinalia
Priora, celebrated the opening of one of her temples.
Figure 2.2 (Source : http://www.unrv.com)
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Figure 2.3: Venus (Source: http://www.crystalinks.com)
Figure 2.4: Statue of Aphrodite
(Source: http://www.crystalinks.com)
B. Discussion
1. Symbols Found in Paradise Lost Book 9
This part is presented to answer the first problem formulation “What are
the symbols found in Paradise Lost book 9?” Here are some symbols that the
writer found in the poem. The listed symbols are only those which represent some
aspects the writer considered to be important. The symbols found in the poem
Paradise Lost book 9 are as follows:
a. Apple
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As people know, apple is a kind of fruit with the red or green color,
sweet taste, and refreshing when one eats it. In this poem apple
represents the fruit of knowledge. It is proven in these lines:
“Loaden with fruit of fairest colours mixed,
Ruddy and gold. In nearer drew to gaze;
When from the boughs a savoury odour blown,
Grateful to appetite, more pleased my sense
Than smell of sweetest fennel, or the teats
Of ewe or goat dropping with milk at even,
Unsucked of lamb or kid, that tend their play.
To satisfy the sharp desire I had
Of tasting those fair Apples, I resolved”
580
585(Paradise Lost p.504)
Those lines are Eve’s thought after being led by Satan – who takes
form of a snake/serpent – to the forbidden tree which bears the fruit of
knowledge as her demand. She had those thought after she saw the
fruit and smelled its scent. It can be seen that the fruit of knowledge is
represented by an apple proven by the line “Of tasting those fair
Apples, I resolved.” “Ruddy and gold” shows that the color of the
apple is the mixed color of red and gold. In line 580 to line 583 shows
that the apple has the tempting smell.. Because the smell was tempting
Eve’s desire (which might be her desire to knowledge or just her
curiosity to taste the very tempting apple) she finally decided to eat the
apple or the fruit of knowledge.
b. Snake or serpent
It is a kind of reptile, which in many cultures snake or serpent
represents something wicked, sly, and evil. Also, when hearing the
word snake, people might think about something related to danger and
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poison. However, in Chinese culture, snake or serpent is related to
dragon, the mythological serpent-like creature, which represents
wisdom, might, and something divine. In Greek culture, snake or
serpent is related to Medusa, or according to Loomis (1965) “Gorgon
Medusa” killed by Perseus. Medusa is a mythological creature in a
form of snake haired woman. It is said that those who look at her eyes,
will be petrified and turn into stone. In other perspective snake or
serpent represents immortality. Even in the Greek culture, there is a
snake called Ouroboros, usually pictured with a snake curling its body
and biting its own tail. This symbolization created the belief that snake
has the ability to live forever by eating itself and be reborn anew. Thus
snake or serpent could be also a symbol of creation and destruction and
immortality.
Figure 2.5: Ouroboros (Source: http://mythologian.net)
In the poem the symbol snake or serpent can be found in these lines,
“The Serpent subtlest beast of all the field.
Him, after long debate, irresolute
Of thoughts revolved, his final sentence chose
Fit vessel, fittest Imp of fraud, in whom
To enter, and his dark suggestions hide
90
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From sharpest sight; for in the wily snake
Whatever sleights none would suspicious mark
As from his wit and native subtlety
Proceeding, which, in other beasts observed,”(Paradise Lost p.464-475)
Those lines describe that snake or serpent is the subtlest animal among
the other kinds of animals. It proceeds using its instinct to move
without being caught or seen. Those lines also describe that snake or
serpent is the most suitable vessel or form for Satan in doing his
mission to enter the Garden of Eden in order to deceive Eve.
c. Goddess
In line 547, there is a phrase “goddess among gods”. This line pictures
Eve as a goddess. The word “goddess” usually influences people to
create a mental image of perfect beauty, ideal body proportion, smooth
fair skin, and smooth hair. Thus this line pictures Eve as a beautiful
woman with perfect beauty. Looking back into the list of Roman gods,
the only goddess who stands between gods is Venus – referring to the
planets in solar system. Venus is the goddess of beauty (figure 2.2)
whom in Greek mythology is called Aphrodite. Aphrodite is usually
pictured as a woman holding an apple. In Figure 2.4 and Figure 2.6,
the apple which is held by Aphrodite is a golden apple.
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Figure 2.6: Aphrodite (Source : Age of Mythology)
d. Satan
Anyone who hears the word or sees a picture of Satan mostly imagines
about something scary, evil, wicked, inhuman, and monstrous. Satan
always tries to persuade human to do something bad and drag them
into sin. That is why Satan has always been considered as an enemy of
God in many cultures.
The symbol Satan can be found in these lines:
“...When Satan, who late fled before the threats
Of Gabriel out of Eden, now improved
In meditated fraud and malice, bent
55
On Man’s destruction, maugre what might hap
Of heavier on himself, fearless returned….” (Paradise Lost p. 472)
Those lines show that before he went back to the Garden of Eden to
deceive Eve, he was exiled by God with the help of Gabriel. He, who
was chased out of the Garden of Eden by Gabriel, then went back to
the Garden of Eden with thought full of malice, destruction, and evil.
Also, he came back without fear.
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2. The Meaning of Symbols found in Paradise Lost Book 9
This part is presented to answer the second problem formulation “What
are the meanings of the signs or symbols found in the ninth book of Paradise
Lost?” From the list presented above, we could see some of the meanings.
However, some of those symbols have further meaning. The further meaning
could be discovered by seeing the relation in each symbol, whether it is the
relation between a symbol and itself or between a symbol and other symbols.
The first symbol is apple. As explained in the section “Symbols found in
Paradise Lost book 9,” the apple in this poem represents the fruit of knowledge.
The apple here is the signifier or the material aspects, while the signified or the
mental aspect is the fruit of knowledge. In the Bible, the fruit of knowledge is the
forbidden fruit to eat. As Adam and Eve ate the fruit, they were doing something
which is called sins by the society. Why the apple (signifier) is used to represent
the fruit of knowledge (signified) which dragged Adam and Eve into sin might
influenced the Latin word. Apple in Latin word is malum. While malum means
apple in English, it also means something else. In English, malum also means evil.
As people know, something which is considered evil is usually related to sin.
Thus the apple in this poem or the fruit of knowledge means the root of all sins
done by Adam and Eve.
The next relation is between the snake or serpent and Satan – both are
signifiers. As explained in the previous part, snake or serpent might give an image
– mental aspect – to people as something wicked or dangerous. However it also
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means immortality or rebirth. In this poem, snake or serpent means something
wicked, sly, and dangerous. The reason is that Satan takes form of a snake/serpent
to persuade and drag Eve into sin. This relation is proven by these lines:
“…When Satan, who late fled before the threats
Of Gabriel out of Eden, now improved
In meditated fraud and malice, bent
55
On Man’s destruction, maugre what might hap
Of heavier on himself, fearless returned.
…
Fit vessel, fittest Imp of fraud, in whom
To enter, and his dark suggestions hide
90
From sharpest sight; for in the wily snake
Whatever sleights none would suspicious mark
As from his wit and native subtlety
Proceeding, which, in other beasts observed …” (Paradise Lost p.472-475)
From those lines, the reason why in this poem snake or serpent means
something wicked, sly, and dangerous is clear. Satan, which is one of symbols for
something bad, evil, scary and God’s enemy, takes form of a snake or serpent in
order to drag Adam and Eve into sin by persuading them to eat the fruit of
knowledge.
The next relation is between “goddess” in line 547 and itself. As explained
before, the word goddess (signifier) could bring the imagination – mental image –
of perfect beauty, sexy woman, ideal body proportion and shape, smooth fair skin,
and smooth hair. Also, the phrase in line 547 is “goddess among gods.” Referring
to the list of Roman Gods above, it can be seen that some of their names are the
same with the planets in the solar system, and the only “goddess” who stands
between “gods” in the solar system is Venus in Roman or Aphrodite in Greek.
Aphrodite, though she is the most beautiful goddess with the perfect beauty, she
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also has her own vices such as the jealousy towards other women. Thus the word
“goddess” represents Eve not only in a physical aspect but also in the trait of
jealousy.
The last relation is the relation between the word goddess and apple. The
explanations above have explained the meaning of apple and goddess. Therefore
this relation would reveal how the goddess Venus or Aphrodite – who represents
Eve – and the apple – which represents the forbidden fruit of knowledge – are
connected to each other. As explained before that some pictures of Aphrodite
portrayed her holding the Golden apple, also the writer has provided the picture of
Aphrodite statue and another picture of Aphrodite holding a golden apple. Also,
how the apple represents the fruit has been explained above, and why the writer
refers to the golden apple is proven in the line 578 which said that the color of the
fruit is ruddy and gold.
“…Loaden with fruit of fairest colours mixed,
Ruddy and gold. In nearer drew to gaze;
When from the boughs a savoury odour blown,
Grateful to appetite, more pleased my sense…” 580 (Paradise Lost p.504)
Also, Aphrodite’s jealousy and selfishness were gained by Eve after she plucked
and ate the fruit and it is proven in these lines.
“…Superior; for, inferior, who is free?
825
This may be well; but what if God have seen,
And death ensue? Then I shall be no more;
And Adam, wedded to another Eve,
Shall live with her enjoying, I extinct!
A death to think! Confirmed, then, I resolve
830
Adam shall share with me in bliss or woe.
So dear I love him that with him all deaths
I could endure, without him live no life…” (Paradise Lost p. 518)
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Those lines show that Eve does not want Adam to live with another Eve.
Therefore Eve decided to share the fruit with Adam, and shall be together in bliss
or woe. In her thought and feeling, she loved Adam so much that she did not want
to lose him, and thought that without Adam her life means nothing.
Based on the discussion the writer presents a conclusion in order to make
the long story short. Satan, who is usually symbolized evil and related to evil,
takes form of a snake/serpent to breach the Garden of Eden without being spotted
in order to convince Eve to eat the fruit of knowledge represented by the apple –
malum in Latin, which also means evil. Eve – pictured in a poem as a goddess of
beauty, Venus/Aphrodite – then demands Satan who was in the form of a
snake/serpent to lead her towards the tree which bore the fruit of knowledge –
apple, – after she ate the apple she developed the feeling of jealousy. She plucked
some of the apples and took them to Adam. Then she persuaded Adam to eat the
apple too. After he ate the fruit, Adam was taken by lust towards Eve. Thus they
did a sexual intercourse out of lust, which led and dragged them into sin.
Another conclusion also can be drawn from the discussion “The Meaning
of Symbols”. Based on the poem Paradise Lost book 9 by John Milton, women
and knowledge can drag people into something bad, or blatantly it could be said
that women can be a source of sin, and knowledge can be a boomerang if a person
is not ready to accept and apply it wisely.
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CHAPTER 3
CONCLUSION
This chapter is the last part of the study. This chapter contains the
conclusion of the study. It presents the conclusion of the discussion in the
previous chapter. From the discussion, the symbols that had been listed before
have their own meanings. As explained in the discussion based on the theory of
sign, a signifier – material aspect – might have different image towards the people
according the culture. For example, most people usually relate snake or serpent
with something dangerous, poisonous, and wicked. However in Greek culture
snake or serpent could be also related to rebirth or immortality (as explained in the
discussion).
Based on the writer’s interpretation, there are some important symbols that
can be found in Paradise Lost book 9.The symbols are: Apple which represents
the fruit of knowledge, Snake or Serpent which represents the wickedness and sly,
Goddess who represents Eve, and Satan which represents the evil deeds. Those
symbols are connected to each other as explained in the discussion which Satan
actually leads human (Adam and Eve) into sin by his acts and persuasion to eat
the forbidden fruit of knowledge. In “The Meaning of Symbols Found in Paradise
Lost book 9,” it has been explained how or why all signifiers – material aspects of
signs/symbols – could represent the objects they refer to by connecting them and
analyzing the mental aspects of each material aspect.
21
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The poem Paradise Lost may give us another way to read a Holy Bible
especially the book of Genesis from the Old Testament. The ninth book of
Paradise Lost has showed us how to use symbols to compare or represent
something by using other mythologies. The discussion may provide additional
knowledge on how to draw the connection between symbols and how to use one
of linguistics theories to analyze a work of literature, in this case a poem. The
overall discussion about symbols may also provide a teaching material, especially
about culture and mythology. In the end the writer hopes that this study may be
beneficial for all of us.
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REFERENCES
Alkitab deuterokanonika. (2009). Jakarta: Lembaga Alkitab Indonesia.
Atkin, A. (2010, November 15). Pierce’s theory of signs. Retrieved June 14,
2015, from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy:
http://plato.standford.edu
Barthes, R. (1981). Elements of semiology (7th ed.). (C.Smith, & A. Lavers,
Trans.) New York: Hill and Wang.
Cavendish, R., & Ling, T. O. (Eds.). (1980). Mythology: An illustrated
encyclopedia. London: Book Club Associates, Orbis Publishing Ltd.
Culture: Major roman god list. (n.d.). Retrieved June 10, 2015, from UNRV:
http://www.unrv.com
Divission of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of
Christ in the United States (1952). The holy bible: Containing the old and
new testaments. Dallas: The Melton Book Co.
Kennedy, X.J., & Gioia, D. (1999). Literature: An introduction to fiction, poetry,
and drama (7th ed.). New York: Longman
Loomis, J. W. (1965). Mythology: Greek, Roman, Norse, Babylonian, and Indian.
New York: Monarch Press.
Milton, J. (1998). Paradise lost (A. Fowler, Ed.) (2nd ed.). Harlow: Longman
Roman gods and goddesses. (n.d.). Retrieved June 14, 2015, from Crystalinks:
http://www.crystalinks.com
Sunardi, ST. (2002). Semiotika negativa. Yogyakarta: Kanal
Symbols. (n.d.). Retrieved June 14, 2015, from Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
http://merriam-webster.com
23
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ABSTRACT
Putro, Albertus Eko N.W. (2015) Symbols and Their Meanings in The Ninth Book
of Paradise Lost Poem by John Milton. Yogyakarta. English Language Education
Study Programme, Sanata Dharma University.
The study is about symbols used by John Milton in his work Paradise
Lost. Paradise Lost seems to have a relation with the Holy Bible. It is a
paraphrase of a part in the Book of Genesis from The Old Testament, which talks
about how the first human kind fell into sin. While Paradise Lost consists of
twelve books, this paper focuses on the ninth book. This step was intended in
order to limit the discussion about this poem. This paper aims to find the symbols
that can be found in the ninth book of Paradise Lost, a poem by John Milton. This
paper is going to discuss two problems: 1) What are the symbols found in the
ninth book of Paradise Lost? 2) What are the meaning of the symbols found in the
ninth book of Paradise Lost?
This paper used the mythological criticism approach. There were two
mythologies used by the poet as a symbol to represent something. They were
Roman and Greek mythologies. The theory which the writer used is the theory of
sign. This theory becomes the stepping ground to find the meaning of the symbols
found in ninth book of Paradise Lost.
There are some symbols that can be found in the poem. The symbols are:
apple which represents the fruit of knowledge, snake or serpent represents the
wickedness & sly, goddess which represents Eve, and Satan which represents evil.
Each of them represents something in the poem. The meaning of those symbols
can be found by looking and analyzing their connection, though there is a symbol
which already had its own meaning.
Keywords: Symbols, Paradise Lost, Mythology, Poem
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ABSTRAK
Putro, Albertus Eko N.W. (2015) Symbols and Their Meanings in The Ninth Book
of “Paradise Lost” Poem by John Milton. Yogyakarta. English Language
Education Study Programme, Sanata Dharma University.
Penelitian ini tentang penggunaan simbol oleh penyair John Milton dalam
karyanya yaitu Paradise Lost. Puisi Paradise Lost memiliki kaitan dengan kitab
suci dan merupakan parafrase salah satu bagian dari Kitab Kejadian, yang
mengisahkan tentang bagaimana manusia pertama jatuh kedalam dosa. Paradise
Lost terdiri dari duabelas buku. Penelitian ini akan lebih berfokus pada buku ke
sembilan. Langkah ini dilakukan untuk membatasi ruang lingkup diskusi tentang
puisi tersebut. Penelitian ini bertujuan mencari simbol yang terdapat dalam buku
ke sembilan dari Paradise Lost oleh John Milton. Terdapat dua rumusan masalah
dalam penelitian ini: 1)Simbol apa saja yang dapat ditemukan dalam buku
kesembilan dari Paradise Lost? 2) Apa makna dari simbol yang ditemukan dalam
buku kesembilan dari Paradise Lost?
Penelitian ini akan menggunakan pendekatan kritik mitologi. Ada dua
mitologi yang digunakan oleh penyair untuk merepresentasikan sesuatu, yaitu
mitologi Roma dan mitologi Yunani. Sedangkan teori yang akan digunakan
adalah teori tentang tanda. Teori ini akan menjadi pijakan untuk mencari makna
dari simbol-simbol yang ditemukan dalam buku ke sembilan dari Paradise Lost.
Terdapat beberapa simbol yang ditemukan pada puisi. Beberapa simbol
tersebut adalah apel yang merepresentasikan buah pengetahuan, ular yang
merepresentasikan kelicikan, dewi yang merepresenasiakan Hawa dan Satan
yang merepresentasikan kejahatan. Setiap simbol tersebut mewakili sesuatu di
dalam puisi. Makna dari simbol-simbol tersebut dapat ditemukan dengan cara
menganalisis kaitan antar simbol, meskipun begitu terdapat simbol yang sudah
memiliki maknanya sendiri.
Kata kunci: Symbols, Paradise Lost, Mythology, Poem
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SYMBOLS AND THEIR MEANINGS IN THE NINTH BOOK
OF PARADISE LOST POEM BY JOHN MILTON
A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN FINAL PAPER
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendididkan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Albertus Eko Nugroho Wuryanto Putro
Student Number: 101214087
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2015
i
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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma:
Nama
: Albertus Eko Nugroho Wuryanto Putro
Nomor Mahasiswa
: 101214087
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan
Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya dengan judul:
“SYMBOLS AND THEIR MEANINGS IN THE NINTH BOOK OF
PARADISE LOST POEM BY JOHN MILTON”
Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata
Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan, dalam bentuk media lain,
mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan
mempublikasikannya di Internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis
tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya
selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal: 29 Juli 2015
Yang menyatakan
(Albertus Eko Nugroho W.P)
v
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ABSTRACT
Putro, Albertus Eko N.W. (2015) Symbols and Their Meanings in The Ninth Book
of Paradise Lost Poem by John Milton. Yogyakarta. English Language Education
Study Programme, Sanata Dharma University.
The study is about symbols used by John Milton in his work Paradise
Lost. Paradise Lost seems to have a relation with the Holy Bible. It is a
paraphrase of a part in the Book of Genesis from The Old Testament, which talks
about how the first human kind fell into sin. While Paradise Lost consists of
twelve books, this paper focuses on the ninth book. This step was intended in
order to limit the discussion about this poem. This paper aims to find the symbols
that can be found in the ninth book of Paradise Lost, a poem by John Milton. This
paper is going to discuss two problems: 1) What are the symbols found in the
ninth book of Paradise Lost? 2) What are the meaning of the symbols found in the
ninth book of Paradise Lost?
This paper used the mythological criticism approach. There were two
mythologies used by the poet as a symbol to represent something. They were
Roman and Greek mythologies. The theory which the writer used is the theory of
sign. This theory becomes the stepping ground to find the meaning of the symbols
found in ninth book of Paradise Lost.
There are some symbols that can be found in the poem. The symbols are:
apple which represents the fruit of knowledge, snake or serpent represents the
wickedness & sly, goddess which represents Eve, and Satan which represents evil.
Each of them represents something in the poem. The meaning of those symbols
can be found by looking and analyzing their connection, though there is a symbol
which already had its own meaning.
Keywords: Symbols, Paradise Lost, Mythology, Poem
vi
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ABSTRAK
Putro, Albertus Eko N.W. (2015) Symbols and Their Meanings in The Ninth Book
of “Paradise Lost” Poem by John Milton. Yogyakarta. English Language
Education Study Programme, Sanata Dharma University.
Penelitian ini tentang penggunaan simbol oleh penyair John Milton dalam
karyanya yaitu Paradise Lost. Puisi Paradise Lost memiliki kaitan dengan kitab
suci dan merupakan parafrase salah satu bagian dari Kitab Kejadian, yang
mengisahkan tentang bagaimana manusia pertama jatuh kedalam dosa. Paradise
Lost terdiri dari duabelas buku. Penelitian ini akan lebih berfokus pada buku ke
sembilan. Langkah ini dilakukan untuk membatasi ruang lingkup diskusi tentang
puisi tersebut. Penelitian ini bertujuan mencari simbol yang terdapat dalam buku
ke sembilan dari Paradise Lost oleh John Milton. Terdapat dua rumusan masalah
dalam penelitian ini: 1)Simbol apa saja yang dapat ditemukan dalam buku
kesembilan dari Paradise Lost? 2) Apa makna dari simbol yang ditemukan dalam
buku kesembilan dari Paradise Lost?
Penelitian ini akan menggunakan pendekatan kritik mitologi. Ada dua
mitologi yang digunakan oleh penyair untuk merepresentasikan sesuatu, yaitu
mitologi Roma dan mitologi Yunani. Sedangkan teori yang akan digunakan
adalah teori tentang tanda. Teori ini akan menjadi pijakan untuk mencari makna
dari simbol-simbol yang ditemukan dalam buku ke sembilan dari Paradise Lost.
Terdapat beberapa simbol yang ditemukan pada puisi. Beberapa simbol
tersebut adalah apel yang merepresentasikan buah pengetahuan, ular yang
merepresentasikan kelicikan, dewi yang merepresenasiakan Hawa dan Satan
yang merepresentasikan kejahatan. Setiap simbol tersebut mewakili sesuatu di
dalam puisi. Makna dari simbol-simbol tersebut dapat ditemukan dengan cara
menganalisis kaitan antar simbol, meskipun begitu terdapat simbol yang sudah
memiliki maknanya sendiri.
Kata kunci: Symbols, Paradise Lost, Mythology, Poem
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my greatest gratitude to The Almighty God for
His blessing in doing my final paper. His blessing gives me inspiration and will
power to do my final paper.
My gratitude also goes to my father and my mother, JF. Supriyanto and
MG. Wuryati, for the big support they have given to me and their prayers, as
they always encouraged me to do my final paper.
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my advisor Ibu Veronica
Triprihatmini, S.Pd., M.Hum., M.A., for her guidance, advice, and patience in
guiding me to finish my final paper. Without her patience and attention this final
paper would not be finished well.
I would also like to express my gratitude to my two seniors in Teater
Seriboe Djendela. First is Kang Padmo Adi for his support and encouragement
in doing my final paper, also for letting me to work on my final paper in his
boarding house, even though he was still in the process of doing his post-graduate
thesis. Second is Mas Agathon Hutama for his support and the time as my proof
reader in grammar.
My gratitude also goes to Paulla Ella for her support, encouragement, and
prayer in doing my final paper. Last but not least, I would like to say thank you to
all my friends: Louis Edo, Tola Augusta, Hugo Sistha P, Ega Meista “Gaplek”
Purba, Febrianus “Gedhek” Anggit, Dionisius Bimana “Chiu,” Nanda,
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Yanuari Christiawan, Ign. Martino, and all members of Teater Seriboe
Djendela family for their support and encouragement to do my final paper.
Albertus Eko Nugroho Wuryanto Putro
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
TITLE PAGE ………………………………………………………….
i
APPROVAL PAGES…………………………………………………..
ii
BOARD OF EXAMINERS……………………………………………..
iii
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY…………………………
iv
PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI …………………………
v
ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………….
vi
ABSTRAK…………………………………………………………………
vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………..
viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………..
x
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION
A. Research Background ……………………………….
B. Approach of the study ………………………………
1
3
CHAPTER II. DISCUSSION
A. Review of Related Literature
1. Paradise Lost Book 9 .………………………
2. Theory of Sign ………………………………
3. The Mythologies ……………………………
B. Discussion
1. Symbols found in Paradise Lost book 9 ……..
2. The Meaning of Symbols Found in Paradise
Lost Book 9 ………………………………….
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6
8
10
12
12
CHAPTER III. CONCLUSION…………………………………………..
21
REFERENCES …………………………………………………………....
23
x
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
This chapter consists of the background of the study and the research
method of the study. The background of the study provides general information
about the topic, the problem formulation, and the objectives. The approach of the
study provides the description of the approach used by the writer.
A. Background
Poetry is one of the three majors in literature beside prose and play. It has
its own aesthetic aspects such as rhythm, figurative language, and its writing style.
Some people might find their own pleasure in writing and/or reading a poem. This
pleasure usually found by including feelings or thoughts through words which
picked very carefully. Some people sometimes put some messages in poems they
write. Some poets also have the skill to write poems by paraphrasing another work
of literature such as prose like bible and also the skill to put symbols in their
poems through the figurative language such as metaphor or compare some aspects
with another thing. John Milton is one of the poets who have the skill to
paraphrase and use the symbols by comparing some aspects with other things.
John Milton is an epic poet from the 17th century. One of his epic poems is
Paradise Lost which consists of twelve books. Based on the writer’s reading,
Paradise Lost book 9 is a paraphrase of a part in the Book of Genesis in which the
first human kind (Adam and Eve) fell into sin. The reason why the writer chose
this poem is because the writer was interested in John Milton’s way in using
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symbols to paraphrase the Book of Genesis from the Holy Bible and also the way
John Milton portrayed some aspects in the poem by comparing them to the
mythology from Rome and Greek.
The Book of Genesis from the Old Testament in Christian Holy Bible talks
about the creation of the world and also the fall of mankind into sin. It talks about
how God created the world in seven days, and in the sixth day He created the first
human Adam and Eve. Later they disobeyed God’s command by eating the
forbidden fruit even though God had warned them about the consequence of
eating the forbidden fruit. Thus God exiled them from the Garden of Eden.
Paradise Lost Book 9 is chosen because based on the writer interpretation, from
all the twelve books of Paradise Lost, book 9 is the part where the conflict began.
Paradise Lost Book 9 talks about how the first human fell into sin.
The writer’s focus in this study is the symbols which are found in the ninth
book of the poem. Symbols are something unique. Symbols are similar to sign, in
which they represent something, though there is a real difference between
symbols and signs. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, signs are
something which has literal meaning from the thing it stands for, while symbols
have more than literal meaning. They have deeper meaning which could be very
different from the literal one. Symbols are usually influenced by a certain culture.
The same symbols could have different meaning in other culture, but sometimes
the same symbols have the same meaning as there are some common symbols that
are used in some cultures.
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The writer provides some cultural aspects from some regions. These
cultural aspects are a kind of useful research resource to get some information
about the meaning of the signs or symbols found in the poem in some cultures.
The two main cultures which used in this paper are Greek and Roman. Some other
cultures might be used in order to provide another perspective of those symbols.
This information can be used to find the relation between some signs or symbols.
Therefore, based on the background, questions to this problem are
formulated as follows:
1. What are the symbols found in the ninth book of Paradise Lost?
2. What are the meanings of the symbols found in the ninth book of
Paradise Lost?
From those two questions, the objectives of this paper are clear. They are to find
the meaning and to analyze the symbols and how they connect to each other. Also
by studying these aspects, this paper might provide the knowledge about symbols
or signs and about the connections between them. Aside from the objectives this
paper might be used to provide more references in studying poetry.
B. Approach of the Study
This study is focused on poetry. The main data of this study is one of the
twelve books of an epic poem by John Milton entitled Paradise Lost, which is the
ninth book of those twelve books. Paradise Lost is a narrative poem in which tells
a story in a form of poem.
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In a glimpse, this poem is like paraphrasing the Book of Genesis in the
Old Testament. The ninth book talks about the fall of mankind in which Eve was
deceived by Satan himself before she dragged Adam into sin too. They ate the
forbidden fruit of knowledge. Satan himself deceived Eve with his silver tongue.
Satan succeeded in deceiving Eve especially when she could convince Adam to
eat the fruit. This ninth book of the poem consists of 1189 lines.
Then, the secondary data are the myths which are used to symbolize or
describe some aspects in the ninth book of Paradise Lost. John Milton used some
folklores or myths from two cultures which are Greek and Roman. These data are
required to find how the symbols are connected to each other in order to help the
writer find the relation between the signs or symbols in the poem. By looking at
those cultures the writer could find how the symbols are presented and of course it
is based on the writer’s interpretation.
Since the discussion deals with cultures and myths the writer uses the
approach of mythological criticism. By applying the mythological criticism
approach, the writer tries to reveal the relation between the myths or cultures used
and some aspects within the ninth book of the Paradise Lost. The writer believes
that there are some connections between symbols found in the poem.
Mythological criticism is combining the insights from anthropology,
history, and comparative religion, in which according to Kennedy and Gioia
(1999) it emphasizes the recurrent universal pattern underlying the most literary
works. They explained that the mythological criticism “explores the artist’s
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common humanity by tracing how the individual imagination uses myths and
symbols common to different cultures and epochs (p.1951).” and still according to
them, the key to mythological criticism is the archetype, “a symbol, character,
situation, or image that evokes a deep universal response (p.1951),” and this
archetype is developed by the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung. According to Jung,
as cited by Kennedy and Gioia (1999), all individuals share a “‘collective
unconscious,’ which is a set of primal memories common to the human race,
existing below each person’s conscious mind.”—often deriving from primordial
phenomena such as the sun, moon, fire, night, and blood, still according to Jung as
cited by Kennedy and Gioia (1999) archetypes “trigger the collective unconscious
(p.1951).”
According to Frye as cited by Kennedy and Gioia (1999), archetype is “a
symbol, usually an image, which recurs often enough in literature to be
recognizable as an element of one’s literary experience as a whole (p.1951).”
Therefore the mythological approach can be used to explore the mythology related
to the symbols and also the mythology used by John Milton in Paradise Lost book
9.
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CHAPTER 2
DISCUSSION
This chapter contains two parts. The first is the review of related literature
and the second is the discussion on the problem formulations mentioned in
Chapter 1. The provided review of related literature is to support the discussion.
They are Paradise Lost book 9, the theory, and the mythology. The discussion
deals with some symbols which are found in the ninth book of Paradise Lost,
their meanings based on certain cultures, and the connection between them.
A. Review of Related Literature
1. Paradise Lost Book 9
Paradise Lost is one of the poems written by John Milton. Paradise Lost
Book 9 talks about how Satan subtly entered the Garden of Eden in a form of a
snake. He patiently waited for the opportunity to drag human into sin. He
observed Adam and Eve before he decided to deceive one of them.
Satan decided to deceive Eve because she was not as devoted as Adam in a
sense of obedience. Once they were separated, Satan carefully and subtly followed
Eve and waited for the chance to get Eve’s attention. After he gained Eve’s
attention, he started to talk to her. Using his silver-tongued talks to deceive Eve
and convinced her about the fruit of knowledge – the fruit which God forbade
them to eat – that the fruit would not bring her to death. Instead it would bring her
into perfection and give her the knowledge – understanding – about good and bad.
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In the end, Eve was convinced by Satan’s words. She demanded Satan to
guide her into the tree which bore that fruit. Once they arrived at that tree, Eve
was tempted by the smell of the fruit and she plucked it from its tree. She ate it
and the knowledge flowed into her instead of death. At the same time as the
knowledge flowed into her, Eve developed a thought and feeling known as
jealousy.
After Eve ate the fruit, she was thinking how she had to face Adam.
Should she keep this perfection – knowledge – alone? Or should she share it with
Adam? Then jealousy took over her. If she kept this knowledge for herself alone,
what would happen to Adam after this? Will God create another Eve for him? So,
she decided to share the knowledge with Adam, as she did not want Adam to live
with another Eve. So, she came back to where Adam was and brought some fruits
for him to eat.
She told Adam what she had done. As she explained it to Adam, Adam
got the chill of fear and terror. How could Eve do something which was
forbidden? How could she break the rules from God? How could she be so
disobedient? But then, he thought to himself. Eve was created by God for him. He
did not want to live with another Eve. Eve was love whom God had given to him.
So, he decided to eat the fruit and bore the burden together.
Adam and Eve ate the fruit together and after that, he discovered
something new. He saw Eve with a certain feeling; not love, not care, not passion,
but lust. He then dragged Eve into bushes and did an intercourse with her.
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However, after that, he blamed Eve out of the desperation he got. How he had to
face God now? How he had to explain what they had done to God? Out of
desperation, they made some clothes from plants to cover their private parts, and
went deeper into the forest of Eden in order to hide from God.
2. Theory of Sign
The theory that used in this paper is about symbol which is a part of sign
(later will be clarified in the end of this section). This was developed by Roland
Barthes, who was a Saussurrean. Barthes (1981) stated that “The aim of
semiological research is to reconstitute the functioning systems of signification
other than language in accordance with the process typical of any structuralist
activity, which is to build a simulacrum of the objects under observation.” This
theory talks about signs – which are also called as semiotics – where sign is
divided into three parts. First is the sign itself, second is the signifier, and the last
is the signified. Signifier is the material aspect which could be sounds, pictures or
letters. Signified is the mental aspect which is presented by the material aspect.
According to Sunardi (2002), there are three relations of sign. First is
symbolic relation, which is the result of the relation of sign with itself or also
called as the internal relation. This relation refers to the independence of the sign
as itself (its existence and its function) without relying on its relationship with
other signs. Second is paradigmatic relation, which is the external relation of a
sign with the other sign which is still in the same class or the same system. The
last one is sintagmatic relation, which is the relation that refers to the relation of a
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sign with other sign before or the sign after. The relation includes the cause and
effect relation in which we need to imagine what will happen.
According to Sunardi (2002), the process of signifying is called the
signification. Signification comes from the Latin word significatio which consists
of two words which are signum (sign) and facere (create). “Significatio berarti –
menurut
Kamus
Latin-Indonesia
–
‘hal
menunjuk,
hal
menyatakan,
pengungkapan, petunjuk, tanda, isyarat” (p.47). According to Sunardi (2002) hal
menunjuk (something which refers to) or hal menyatakan (something which
states) are the closest definition of significatio. Sunardi (2002) also states that the
meaning of sign is not innate (static or never changes); instead it is a result of a
system of sign which is used by certain group or society.
Another article that supports this theory of semiology is the paper entitled
Pierce’s Theory of Sign by Albert Atkin. It is explained in the paper that Pierce
divides sign into three categories; which are icons, indexes, and symbols. In the
paper, Atkin (2006) states, “if we generate an interpretant in virtue of some
observed general or conventional connection between sign and object, then the
sign is a symbol.” According to the paper, interpretant is the understanding which
people developed about some objects/signs and it will provide the translation
which allows the readers to the more complex understanding of some
objects/signs. Thus from this article, it can be said that symbol is a part of sign.
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3. The Mythologies
The mythologies that are mainly discussed in this paper are the Roman
mythology and the Greek mythology. The Roman and Greek mythology are
chosen because the writer found that in Paradise Lost Book 9, those two
mythologies are mostly used by John Milton. Another mythology from another
religion or region is presented in order to provide a comparative material to the
other two mythologies mentioned above. The Roman mythology is not really
different from the Greek mythology. These two cultures share a similar
mythology. It can be seen from the pantheon (gods and goddesses). Some of
Roman gods are the same gods in Greek; they just have different names such as
the god of thunder in Greek, Zeus. In Roman mythology, Zeus is known as
Jupiter. Artemis, the Greek goddess of moon, is known as Diana in Roman
mythology. This is the list of comparison between Roman and Greek God.
Roman and Greek God Comparisons
Roman
Greek
Apollo
Apollo
Bacchus
Dionysus
Ceres
Demeter
Cupid
Eros
Diana
Artemis
Fortuna
Janus
Juno
Hera
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Jupiter
Zeus
Maia
Mars
Ares
Mercury
Hermes
Minerva
Athena
Neptune
Poseidon
Pluto
Hades
Proserpina
Persephone
Saturn
Cronus
Uranus
Ouranos
Venus
Aphrodite
Vesta
Hestia
Vulcan
Hephaestus
Figure 2.1(Source : http://www.crystalinks.com)
From the comparison, some of the Roman gods and Greek gods are the same, they
just have different names. Also, it can be seen that some of the Roman gods’
names are the names of planets in our solar system. The only goddess in the solar
system is Venus – Aphrodite in Greek – while other planets are named after gods.
Venus or Aphrodite is the goddess of beauty which according to the Mythology:
An Illustrated Encyclopedia, Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty (p.124).
Venus
Greek
(Aphrodite)
Originally a Goddess of Gardens and Vinyards,
Venus became the major deity of love and beauty
after the influx of Greek deities. On August 18 the
Vinalia Rustica was observed. A second festival, that
of the Veneralia, was celebrated on April 1 in honor
of Venus Verticordia, who later became the protector
against vice. On April 23 a festival, the Vinalia
Priora, celebrated the opening of one of her temples.
Figure 2.2 (Source : http://www.unrv.com)
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Figure 2.3: Venus (Source: http://www.crystalinks.com)
Figure 2.4: Statue of Aphrodite
(Source: http://www.crystalinks.com)
B. Discussion
1. Symbols Found in Paradise Lost Book 9
This part is presented to answer the first problem formulation “What are
the symbols found in Paradise Lost book 9?” Here are some symbols that the
writer found in the poem. The listed symbols are only those which represent some
aspects the writer considered to be important. The symbols found in the poem
Paradise Lost book 9 are as follows:
a. Apple
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As people know, apple is a kind of fruit with the red or green color,
sweet taste, and refreshing when one eats it. In this poem apple
represents the fruit of knowledge. It is proven in these lines:
“Loaden with fruit of fairest colours mixed,
Ruddy and gold. In nearer drew to gaze;
When from the boughs a savoury odour blown,
Grateful to appetite, more pleased my sense
Than smell of sweetest fennel, or the teats
Of ewe or goat dropping with milk at even,
Unsucked of lamb or kid, that tend their play.
To satisfy the sharp desire I had
Of tasting those fair Apples, I resolved”
580
585(Paradise Lost p.504)
Those lines are Eve’s thought after being led by Satan – who takes
form of a snake/serpent – to the forbidden tree which bears the fruit of
knowledge as her demand. She had those thought after she saw the
fruit and smelled its scent. It can be seen that the fruit of knowledge is
represented by an apple proven by the line “Of tasting those fair
Apples, I resolved.” “Ruddy and gold” shows that the color of the
apple is the mixed color of red and gold. In line 580 to line 583 shows
that the apple has the tempting smell.. Because the smell was tempting
Eve’s desire (which might be her desire to knowledge or just her
curiosity to taste the very tempting apple) she finally decided to eat the
apple or the fruit of knowledge.
b. Snake or serpent
It is a kind of reptile, which in many cultures snake or serpent
represents something wicked, sly, and evil. Also, when hearing the
word snake, people might think about something related to danger and
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poison. However, in Chinese culture, snake or serpent is related to
dragon, the mythological serpent-like creature, which represents
wisdom, might, and something divine. In Greek culture, snake or
serpent is related to Medusa, or according to Loomis (1965) “Gorgon
Medusa” killed by Perseus. Medusa is a mythological creature in a
form of snake haired woman. It is said that those who look at her eyes,
will be petrified and turn into stone. In other perspective snake or
serpent represents immortality. Even in the Greek culture, there is a
snake called Ouroboros, usually pictured with a snake curling its body
and biting its own tail. This symbolization created the belief that snake
has the ability to live forever by eating itself and be reborn anew. Thus
snake or serpent could be also a symbol of creation and destruction and
immortality.
Figure 2.5: Ouroboros (Source: http://mythologian.net)
In the poem the symbol snake or serpent can be found in these lines,
“The Serpent subtlest beast of all the field.
Him, after long debate, irresolute
Of thoughts revolved, his final sentence chose
Fit vessel, fittest Imp of fraud, in whom
To enter, and his dark suggestions hide
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From sharpest sight; for in the wily snake
Whatever sleights none would suspicious mark
As from his wit and native subtlety
Proceeding, which, in other beasts observed,”(Paradise Lost p.464-475)
Those lines describe that snake or serpent is the subtlest animal among
the other kinds of animals. It proceeds using its instinct to move
without being caught or seen. Those lines also describe that snake or
serpent is the most suitable vessel or form for Satan in doing his
mission to enter the Garden of Eden in order to deceive Eve.
c. Goddess
In line 547, there is a phrase “goddess among gods”. This line pictures
Eve as a goddess. The word “goddess” usually influences people to
create a mental image of perfect beauty, ideal body proportion, smooth
fair skin, and smooth hair. Thus this line pictures Eve as a beautiful
woman with perfect beauty. Looking back into the list of Roman gods,
the only goddess who stands between gods is Venus – referring to the
planets in solar system. Venus is the goddess of beauty (figure 2.2)
whom in Greek mythology is called Aphrodite. Aphrodite is usually
pictured as a woman holding an apple. In Figure 2.4 and Figure 2.6,
the apple which is held by Aphrodite is a golden apple.
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Figure 2.6: Aphrodite (Source : Age of Mythology)
d. Satan
Anyone who hears the word or sees a picture of Satan mostly imagines
about something scary, evil, wicked, inhuman, and monstrous. Satan
always tries to persuade human to do something bad and drag them
into sin. That is why Satan has always been considered as an enemy of
God in many cultures.
The symbol Satan can be found in these lines:
“...When Satan, who late fled before the threats
Of Gabriel out of Eden, now improved
In meditated fraud and malice, bent
55
On Man’s destruction, maugre what might hap
Of heavier on himself, fearless returned….” (Paradise Lost p. 472)
Those lines show that before he went back to the Garden of Eden to
deceive Eve, he was exiled by God with the help of Gabriel. He, who
was chased out of the Garden of Eden by Gabriel, then went back to
the Garden of Eden with thought full of malice, destruction, and evil.
Also, he came back without fear.
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2. The Meaning of Symbols found in Paradise Lost Book 9
This part is presented to answer the second problem formulation “What
are the meanings of the signs or symbols found in the ninth book of Paradise
Lost?” From the list presented above, we could see some of the meanings.
However, some of those symbols have further meaning. The further meaning
could be discovered by seeing the relation in each symbol, whether it is the
relation between a symbol and itself or between a symbol and other symbols.
The first symbol is apple. As explained in the section “Symbols found in
Paradise Lost book 9,” the apple in this poem represents the fruit of knowledge.
The apple here is the signifier or the material aspects, while the signified or the
mental aspect is the fruit of knowledge. In the Bible, the fruit of knowledge is the
forbidden fruit to eat. As Adam and Eve ate the fruit, they were doing something
which is called sins by the society. Why the apple (signifier) is used to represent
the fruit of knowledge (signified) which dragged Adam and Eve into sin might
influenced the Latin word. Apple in Latin word is malum. While malum means
apple in English, it also means something else. In English, malum also means evil.
As people know, something which is considered evil is usually related to sin.
Thus the apple in this poem or the fruit of knowledge means the root of all sins
done by Adam and Eve.
The next relation is between the snake or serpent and Satan – both are
signifiers. As explained in the previous part, snake or serpent might give an image
– mental aspect – to people as something wicked or dangerous. However it also
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means immortality or rebirth. In this poem, snake or serpent means something
wicked, sly, and dangerous. The reason is that Satan takes form of a snake/serpent
to persuade and drag Eve into sin. This relation is proven by these lines:
“…When Satan, who late fled before the threats
Of Gabriel out of Eden, now improved
In meditated fraud and malice, bent
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On Man’s destruction, maugre what might hap
Of heavier on himself, fearless returned.
…
Fit vessel, fittest Imp of fraud, in whom
To enter, and his dark suggestions hide
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From sharpest sight; for in the wily snake
Whatever sleights none would suspicious mark
As from his wit and native subtlety
Proceeding, which, in other beasts observed …” (Paradise Lost p.472-475)
From those lines, the reason why in this poem snake or serpent means
something wicked, sly, and dangerous is clear. Satan, which is one of symbols for
something bad, evil, scary and God’s enemy, takes form of a snake or serpent in
order to drag Adam and Eve into sin by persuading them to eat the fruit of
knowledge.
The next relation is between “goddess” in line 547 and itself. As explained
before, the word goddess (signifier) could bring the imagination – mental image –
of perfect beauty, sexy woman, ideal body proportion and shape, smooth fair skin,
and smooth hair. Also, the phrase in line 547 is “goddess among gods.” Referring
to the list of Roman Gods above, it can be seen that some of their names are the
same with the planets in the solar system, and the only “goddess” who stands
between “gods” in the solar system is Venus in Roman or Aphrodite in Greek.
Aphrodite, though she is the most beautiful goddess with the perfect beauty, she
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also has her own vices such as the jealousy towards other women. Thus the word
“goddess” represents Eve not only in a physical aspect but also in the trait of
jealousy.
The last relation is the relation between the word goddess and apple. The
explanations above have explained the meaning of apple and goddess. Therefore
this relation would reveal how the goddess Venus or Aphrodite – who represents
Eve – and the apple – which represents the forbidden fruit of knowledge – are
connected to each other. As explained before that some pictures of Aphrodite
portrayed her holding the Golden apple, also the writer has provided the picture of
Aphrodite statue and another picture of Aphrodite holding a golden apple. Also,
how the apple represents the fruit has been explained above, and why the writer
refers to the golden apple is proven in the line 578 which said that the color of the
fruit is ruddy and gold.
“…Loaden with fruit of fairest colours mixed,
Ruddy and gold. In nearer drew to gaze;
When from the boughs a savoury odour blown,
Grateful to appetite, more pleased my sense…” 580 (Paradise Lost p.504)
Also, Aphrodite’s jealousy and selfishness were gained by Eve after she plucked
and ate the fruit and it is proven in these lines.
“…Superior; for, inferior, who is free?
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This may be well; but what if God have seen,
And death ensue? Then I shall be no more;
And Adam, wedded to another Eve,
Shall live with her enjoying, I extinct!
A death to think! Confirmed, then, I resolve
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Adam shall share with me in bliss or woe.
So dear I love him that with him all deaths
I could endure, without him live no life…” (Paradise Lost p. 518)
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Those lines show that Eve does not want Adam to live with another Eve.
Therefore Eve decided to share the fruit with Adam, and shall be together in bliss
or woe. In her thought and feeling, she loved Adam so much that she did not want
to lose him, and thought that without Adam her life means nothing.
Based on the discussion the writer presents a conclusion in order to make
the long story short. Satan, who is usually symbolized evil and related to evil,
takes form of a snake/serpent to breach the Garden of Eden without being spotted
in order to convince Eve to eat the fruit of knowledge represented by the apple –
malum in Latin, which also means evil. Eve – pictured in a poem as a goddess of
beauty, Venus/Aphrodite – then demands Satan who was in the form of a
snake/serpent to lead her towards the tree which bore the fruit of knowledge –
apple, – after she ate the apple she developed the feeling of jealousy. She plucked
some of the apples and took them to Adam. Then she persuaded Adam to eat the
apple too. After he ate the fruit, Adam was taken by lust towards Eve. Thus they
did a sexual intercourse out of lust, which led and dragged them into sin.
Another conclusion also can be drawn from the discussion “The Meaning
of Symbols”. Based on the poem Paradise Lost book 9 by John Milton, women
and knowledge can drag people into something bad, or blatantly it could be said
that women can be a source of sin, and knowledge can be a boomerang if a person
is not ready to accept and apply it wisely.
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CHAPTER 3
CONCLUSION
This chapter is the last part of the study. This chapter contains the
conclusion of the study. It presents the conclusion of the discussion in the
previous chapter. From the discussion, the symbols that had been listed before
have their own meanings. As explained in the discussion based on the theory of
sign, a signifier – material aspect – might have different image towards the people
according the culture. For example, most people usually relate snake or serpent
with something dangerous, poisonous, and wicked. However in Greek culture
snake or serpent could be also related to rebirth or immortality (as explained in the
discussion).
Based on the writer’s interpretation, there are some important symbols that
can be found in Paradise Lost book 9.The symbols are: Apple which represents
the fruit of knowledge, Snake or Serpent which represents the wickedness and sly,
Goddess who represents Eve, and Satan which represents the evil deeds. Those
symbols are connected to each other as explained in the discussion which Satan
actually leads human (Adam and Eve) into sin by his acts and persuasion to eat
the forbidden fruit of knowledge. In “The Meaning of Symbols Found in Paradise
Lost book 9,” it has been explained how or why all signifiers – material aspects of
signs/symbols – could represent the objects they refer to by connecting them and
analyzing the mental aspects of each material aspect.
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The poem Paradise Lost may give us another way to read a Holy Bible
especially the book of Genesis from the Old Testament. The ninth book of
Paradise Lost has showed us how to use symbols to compare or represent
something by using other mythologies. The discussion may provide additional
knowledge on how to draw the connection between symbols and how to use one
of linguistics theories to analyze a work of literature, in this case a poem. The
overall discussion about symbols may also provide a teaching material, especially
about culture and mythology. In the end the writer hopes that this study may be
beneficial for all of us.
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REFERENCES
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