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This study aimed to describe the types of figurative language and contextual meanings in Billy Collins' poems entitled I Ask You, The.
Typology: Exercises
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A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for S1-Degree
By Sulistia Ningsih NPM. 1711040161
Study Program : English Education Advisor : M. Ridho Kholid, S.S, M.Pd Co-Advisor : Dr. Nur Syamsiah, M.Pd
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This study aimed to describe the types of figurative language and contextual meanings in Billy Collins' poems entitled I Ask You, The Art Drowning, and Forgetfulness. As for the background of this research, the researcher found that students' understanding was still very lacking in understanding the meaning of an English poem. Whereas in learning English, poem can be used as a medium that can help students to learn new vocabulary in poem, hone students' creative thinking in understanding figurative language and the meaning of a poem, and make students interested in getting to know literary works, especially poem.
The type of this research is a qualitative research used descriptive method. The researcher used seven types of figurative language in analyzing Billy Collins's poems, namely simile, personification, synecdoche, metaphor, metonymy, parable of the epic, and allegory. The researcher chose three Collins’ poems, the researcher read line by line that had the characteristics of the types of figurative language and then separated them from the lines that did not have these characteristics, then took the words that had figurative language into a table. For the data analysis technique in this study, the researcher used the Miles and Huberman model, namely data reduction, data presentation and conclusion drawing/verification.
The results showed that in Billy Collins's poem I Ask You, The Art of Drowning, and Forgetfulness, there were 22 types of figurative language and 5 types meaning of figurative language. The figurative language in the poem includes 12 personifications, 2 metonyms, 3 synecdoches, 3 metaphors, and 2 similes. The use of figurative language aimed to beautify Billy Collins' poems so that readers are interested in reading and understanding his poem, so that Collins can conveyed his ideas and feelings in the meaning implied in figurative language. The researcher also found 9 connotative meanings, 8 conceptual meanings, and 6 collocative meanings. Thus, the most common type of figurative language used in Billy Collins' poems is personification.
Keywords : Figurative Language, meaning, poem, Billy Collins.
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Bismillahirahmanirrahim, I’ll prise to Allah SWT. who has blessed me. I humbly dedicate this thesis to everyone whom I love. Especially for:
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The name of the researcher is Sulistia Ningsih. She is called Sulis. She was born on April, 27th^ 1999 in Banyumas, Central Java. Sulis is the first daughter of Mr. Sarkam and Mrs. Supriyati. She has a sister named Maratus Sole'hah.
The researcher started her education by attending TK Pertiwi Gunung Lurah, Central Java when she was six years old and graduated in 2005. She continued her education by studying in elementary school at SDN Bangun Jaya. Then she continued to junior high school Negeri 1 Sungkai Utara. Then, from high school she studied at SMAN 1 Sungkai Utara and graduated in 2017. After that she continued her education at UIN Raden Intan Lampung and took English education as her major.
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The Researcher
Sulistia Ningsih NPM. 1711040161
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COVER .......................................................................................... i
ABSTRACT .................................................................................. ii
DECLARATION ......................................................................... iii
APPROVAL ................................................................................ iv
ADMISSION................................................................................. v
MOTTO ....................................................................................... vi
DEDICATION ............................................................................ vii
CURRICULUM VITAE ........................................................... viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .......................................................... ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................ xi
LIST OF TABLES .................................................................... xiii
LIST OF APPENDICES ........................................................... xiv
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
A. Title Affirmation .............................................. 1 B. Background of the Problem ............................. 2 C. Focus and Sub-focus of the Research............... 8 D. Formulation of the problem ............................. 9 E. Objective of the Research ................................ 9 F. Significance of the Research ............................ 9 G. Relevance studies ........................................... 10 H. Research Methodology .................................. 13
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A. Research data analysis ........................................ 49 B. Research finding ................................................. 85
A. Conclusion .......................................................... 91 B. Suggestion........................................................... 93
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Table 1.1 The List of Figurative Language Found in Collin’ Poem I Ask You ......................................................... 26
Table 1.2 The List of Figurative Language Found in Collins’ Poem The Art of Drowning ........................................ 29
Table 1.3 The List of Figurative Language Found in Collins’ Poem Forgetfulness .................................................... 32
Table 1.4 Meaning of Figurative Language in I Ask You Poem .. 34
Table 1.5 Meaning of Figurative Language in The Art of Drowning Poem .......................................................... 36
Table 1.6 Meaning of Figurative Language in Forgetfulness Poem........................................................................... 38
A. Title of Affirmation
In order to understand the title of this thesis and to avoid any misunderstanding in the title of this thesis, the researcher will give some brief definitions of the terms that are the constituent elements of the title in this thesis. The title of this thesis is Figurative Language on Billy Collins' Poems. Analysis is an activity that includes activities to sort, parse, distinguish something so that it can be classified based on certain characteristics which will then be assessed in order to obtain its meaning and relation. The analytical activity in this thesis aimed to find out the types of figurative language that exist in Billy Collins's poems which is seen based on the characteristics of each line of the stanza so that the meaning of the line of poems that contains the figurative language can be known. Poem is a means of conveying ideas and feelings in the form of written sentences accompanied by rhymes and enjoyed by both readers and listeners. Many poets express their ideas and feelings through poem. So that readers and listeners of the poet's work can feel his ideas. Furthermore, the writer chooses figurative language which is a striking deviation in the use of language in understanding the meaning of words to achieve some special meaning or effect. In figurative language, there is a meaning conveyed by someone. Figurative language is widely used in literary works, such as poem, song, and novel. Figurative language is divided into several types that can be identified based on their respective characteristics. Poets usually use figurative language to make their poems appear more attractive to readers through the choice of words they write in conveying their ideas and feelings. Billy Collins is a popular American poet, whose poetry books sell well and are always widely read. It is evident that Billy
Collins was not trusted as Robert Frost's successor due to the number of books sold. Billy Collins is known for his unique and funny poems, the words he uses are also simpler and often have the theme of life that is mostly experienced by humans. Poems is part of a literary work that contains beauty and can be used as a medium of learning in order to generate interest for students in learning English, including in understanding the types of figurative language in English words used in poem and understanding the meaning conveyed by the author. Through understanding the types and meanings of poem, students can indirectly increase vocabulary knowledge in a poem, and train students' creative thinking. So the title of this study is based on the purpose, namely FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE ANALYSIS ON BILLY COLLINS POEMS.
B. Background of the Problem
“I ask Them to take poem And hold it up to the light Like a color slide” (Introduction to poetry by Billy Collins) This stanza is a quote from the poet Collins entitled Introduction to Poetry. If we look further, this quote can be interpreted as a depiction of a poem or poetry through the meaning behind the words it uses. This stanza depicts the poem through a parable to compare the poem with a color slide, the author encourages the reader to skim the poem and let the words in the poem imprint on his mind. Furthermore, quotes from a poem have more value where the words and their meanings will be easily remembered and understood by poem readers as in this quote. The poem is beautiful, a beautiful literary in which every word has meaning. It causes the reader to read the poem in its entirety, right? So what exactly is the meaning of the poem? In the process of learning English, the poem is one of the fun and
that has a lot of meaning which contains imagination, dreams, happiness, wounds, and the writer‟s life written through a magic word. It can rhyme or not rhyme, simple or complex. The poem also has a characteristic that is attachment. Poetry is a classic flow of words that contain explanations to express the poet's thoughts and make the reader feel the same as the poet. Through the language and words used in this poem, it can evoke the feelings and thoughts of the writer. It can be concluded that poetry is a collection of poem. The poem is written in lines of the same length, in the form of the asymmetrical stanza, poem also usually has a recurring rhyme pattern which is quite striking although there are many poems that do not consist of rhymes.^4 A rhythmic poem consists of the repetition of words that rhyme, rhyme is located in the last vowel tone, or any vowel sound that is in the line of the poem, for example late and fate, follow and hollow. One example of a rhyming poem is a poem by Whitman with the title "After The Sea-Ship", in which this poem is composed with quite different vowels, but has similar consonants. Whitman used some very far- fetched words such as winds-ropes-necks, waves-curves which have a similar consonant. For a poem that does not have rhyme, you can see Collins' poem "Embrace". This modern poem that is written does not have rhyme because it does not have the same sound or stress as the sounds on the other lines, such as on lines one, two, and three such as trick-body-like. So in each line, there is no similarity in sound or pressure. According to Childs and Flower, the terms "poem", "poetry" and "poetic" seem to be used frequently in writing but if observed critically there are differences in their senses. The poem uses a specific language which is a simple language and is used by people every day. This comes from the emotional feeling that builds up in serenity. In a beautifying poem, usually, someone
(^4) John Peck and Martin Coyle. “Literary Terms and Criticsm”. 1984. Macmilan Publisher LTD. p.
uses a certain language. This is necessary because when the poem is written in plain language, there is no strong impression by the reader.^5 The poem chosen by the writer is the poem of choice by Billy Collins because the poem is unique and composed of good word selection and rhythm. Billy Collins presents conventional imagery to bring commentary to life. Collins' poem is sarcastic yet funny to attract readers. Billy Collins is known as "The most popular poet in America" in New York, and he even received many awards including awards from magazines in Indonesia for his work. Billy Collins is very well known and has served two terms such as the United States Nobel Poet from 2001 to 2003, and New York State Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006. Billy Collins uses simple verses to describe the ideas that exist in the poem so that it can attract readers and bring it from real life into a life of poetic creation. Oftentimes, Billy Collins uses poem and poetry as a medium to provide relief in difficult times for himself and his readers, so that the poem he writes is just the thoughts that pop into his head. In writing poem, it is necessary to choose beautiful words in composing a verse so that it can form a beautiful sentence in which there is a meaning conveyed by the poet. According to Abrams, figurative language is a striking deviation from a word that a language user understands as the standard meaning of words, or a standard sequence of words to achieve a special meaning or effect.^6 A good poem is a poem that contains several types of figurative language which can serve to attract someone's interest to read and listen to it and understand the meaning contained in the figurative language used by the poet in composing his poem. Figurative language is a way for a poet to express ideas and feelings in a poem as a description of the meaning contained in
(^5) Dewi Syafitri dan Melisa Marlinton. Op.cit, p. 44. (^6) M. H. Abrams, A Glossary of Literary Terms (Seventh Editions), (New York: Earl McPeek. 1999), p. 96.
