chapter iii

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CHAPTER III

ANALYSIS

This chapter contains the analysis of 19th Century and 20th Century

American love poems using stylistics theory. There are ten love poems analyzed

from both eras in this chapter.

The 19th Century poems are:

1. The Reaper and the Flower by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

2. To Stranger by Walt Whitman

3. To Wait an Hour --is Long by Emily Dickinson

4. A Heine Love Song by Eugene Field

5. Suppose by Paul Lawrence Dunbar

The 20th Century poems are:

1. A Love Still Waiting by Gary R. Ferris

2. The Kiss by Stephen Dunn

3. Foot Print on Your Heart by Gary Lenhart

4. Marriage by William Carlos William

5. One Day by Patricia Jabbeh Wesley

This chapter is divided into two sub chapters. The first chapter analyses the

figurative language on the love poem. The second sub chapter analyses the

difference of figurative languages that are used in the poems of both century.

34

perpustakaan.uns.ac.id digilib.uns.ac.id

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A. Poem Analysis

1. Nineteenth Century Love Poems

The Reaper and the Flowers

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

There is a Reaper, whose name is Death,

And, with his sickle keen,

He reaps the bearded grain at a breath,

And the flowers that grow between.

"Shall I have naught that is fair?" saith he;

"Have naught but the bearded grain?

Though the breath of these flowers is sweet to me,

I will give them all back again."

He gazed at the flowers with tearful eyes,

He kissed their drooping leaves;

It was for the Lord of Paradise

He bound them in his sheaves.

"My Lord has need of these flowerets gay,"

The Reaper said, and smiled;

"Dear tokens of the earth are they,

Where he was once a child."

"They shall all bloom in fields of light,

Transplanted by my care,

And saints, upon their garments white,

These sacred blossoms wear."

And the mother gave, in tears and pain,

The flowers she most did love;

She knew she should find them all again

In the fields of light above.

O, not in cruelty, not in wrath,

The Reaper came that day;

'I was an angel visited the green earth,

And took the flowers away.


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a. Paraphrase

A reaper named Death cuts off the breaded grain and the flowers

which grow among it. But, suddenly, he realizes that the flowers do

not need to cut. Flowers are beautiful, sweet and give a fresh smell.

Then, the reaper bundles the flowers that have already been cut and

smiles. He knows the death of the flowers is for a good reason, they

will be in Paradise, they will be accepted by the Lord, and they will

grow in field of light and are protected by the reaper, the saints and the

mother. The reaper is not a bad man, but he is an angel who saves the

flowers from the cruel world.

b. Stylistics devices analysis

1) Hyperbole

He reaps the bearded grain at a breath, line 3

„At a breath‟ is a hyperbole of time. Line 3 tells about a reaper

which reaps grain. The expression of „at a breath‟ is a

hyperbole because it is exaggeration of quickness. In fact,

reaping grain needs much time to finish it, but „at a breath‟

makes Wadsworth‟s poem poetic.

2) Connotation

And the flowers that grow between line 4


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„Flower‟ is a connotation of woman. In the Oxford Dictionary

„flower‟ means “a plant grown for the beauty of its flowers”.

Flower is beauty and woman also. It is common correlation

between flower and woman. In this poem, „flower‟ means the

lover of someone. She has been taken by the reaper or she has

already passed away.

3) Symbol

“I was an angel visited the green earth, line 27

And took the flowers away” line 28

„Green‟ in the line 27 is a symbol of sick. A disease called

„„green sickness‟‟ [chlorosis] (Ferber, 2007, p. 89-90). Line 27

describes that the grim reaper comes to the earth, which is sick,

to take the flowers away, save and place them in Paradise. As

stated above, flower is associated with woman. The reaper

takes the woman to place her in Paradise.

4) Metaphor

"They shall all bloom in fields of light, line 17

„Field of light‟ is an implicit metaphor. It means a paradise.

Field is a large area while light is something shiny and bright.

Field and light are associated with a positive thing, it is

possible to draw paradise with those words.


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5) Euphemism

"They shall all bloom in fields of light, line 17

Transplanted by my care, line 18

And saints, upon their garments white, line 19

These sacred blossoms wear." line 20

And the mother gave, in tears and pain, line 21

The flowers she most did love; line 22

She knew she should find them all again line 23

In the fields of light above. line 24

Both stanzas are euphemism about paradise. Paradise is

explained in eight lines. Those lines explain about the beauty,

the treatment and the condition of paradise. There is also

metaphor which supports the explanation. „Field of light‟

represents the condition of the paradise

6) Personification

"Shall I have naught that is fair?" saith he; line 5

Though the breath of these flowers is sweet to me, line 7

He gazed at the flowers with tearful eyes, line 9

He kissed their drooping leaves; line 10

He bound them in his sheaves. line 12

The Reaper said, and smiled; line 14


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The reaper is drawn as a human being in the poem, he can

speak, gaze, kiss, bound, cry and smile while the flowers can

breathe. In this case, a thing is attributed with human

characteristics.

7) Allegory

There is a Reaper, whose name is Death, line 1

The reaper (a machine that cuts and collects crops in a farm) in

this poem means a grim reaper or an angel. The explanation

about this is spreaded over the poem, the whole poem. The key

of this meaning is at the end of the poem „I was an angle

visited the green earth‟.

c. Conclusion

Longfellow‟s poem is a love poem. In this poem, there is a reaper

or an angle who takes the flower away. There is also a dialogue

between the reaper with someone who is not mentioned. Flower in this

poem is associated with a girl (Ferber, 2007, p. 75). The reaper in the

poem makes a dialogue with the owner of the flower.

"My Lord has need of these flowerets gay,"

The Reaper said, and smiled;

"Dear tokens of the earth are they,

Where he was once a child."

"They shall all bloom in fields of light,

Transplanted by my care,

And saints, upon their garments white,

These sacred blossoms wear."



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The four stanzas above are the dialogue of the reaper with the girl

lover. The reaper tries to explain the reason of his action. The reaper

seems to tell the girl lover to let the girl go to a better place.

In this poem there are some figurative languages that build poetic

in the poem, such as: connotation, allegory, hyperbole, symbol,

euphemism, metaphor, and personification. In this poem the poet

compares love expression to nature such as: connotation of subject of

the poem‟s lover is flower, metaphor of heaven is field of light etc.

To a Stranger

by Walt Whitman

PASSING stranger! you do not know how longingly I look upon you,

You must be he I was seeking, or she I was seeking, (it comes to me as

of a dream,)

I have somewhere surely lived a life of joy with you,

All is recall'd as we flit by each other, fluid, affectionate, chaste,

matured,

You grew up with me, were a boy with me or a girl with me,

I ate with you and slept with you, your body has become not yours

only nor left my body mine only,

You give me the pleasure of your eyes, face, flesh, as we pass, you

take of my beard, breast, hands, in return,

I am not to speak to you, I am to think of you when I sit alone or wake

at night alone,

I am to wait, I do not doubt I am to meet you again,

I am to see to it that I do not lose you.


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a. Paraphrase

A stranger passes in front of the speaker of the poem. He/she looks

at the stranger for a couple of hour. The passing stranger just likes a

dream for him/her, the speaker often thinks and dreams about him/her.

He/she thinks that he/she ever lived happily with this stranger in some

period of times. The speaker has a beautiful memory with her/him.

They shared anything, affection, time (from childhood until grown

up), body, bed, etc. The speaker has been waiting for a long time to

meet the stranger and he/she feels that he/she does not want to lose

this stranger.


1) Allegory

PASSING stranger! you do not know how longingly I look upon

you, line 1

„Stranger‟ in the poem above is an allegory. The stranger in this

poem has a special meaning to the author. To understand who the

stranger is, the readers need to read the whole poem. Based on the

poem, the stranger is someone who is admired by the speaker of

the poem and he gets a sign in his dream about her. There is a

proof at the end of the poem, „I do not lose you‟.


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2) Apostrophe

The whole poem indicates apostrophe. The speaker of the poem

seems to talk to someone or his mind. In the first line, he yells to

someone who is called stranger and he continues the line using the

words which indicate speaking to someone. „Passing stranger! You

do not know how longingly I look upon you‟. „You‟ in the line

indicates the speaker of the poem talking to the stranger.

Apostrophe appears in the first line and continues until the end of

the poem.

3) Hyperbole

You grew up with me, were a boy with me or a girl with me,

line 5

I ate with you and slept with you, your body has become not yours

only nor left my body mine only, line 6

Those lines are hyperbole, because the author tries to make an

overstatement about living together. The author wants to show that

they have lived together since they were young, „boy‟ and „girl‟

indicating about their young age before getting mature. „Ate‟ and

„slept‟ together indicate they lived in the same house.

4) Synecdoche


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All is recall'd as we flit by each other, fluid, affectionate, chaste,

matured, line 4

There are two synecdoches in the line: fluid and matured. „Fluid‟

in the line above means a teenager. Teenager is the time to find the

ideology of life, where in this period mostly people become fluid

easily. „Matured‟ in the line above means grown up or settled. In

this period of life people have a strong stand. This synecdoche is

used to show the time. The characters in the poem have lived

together for long time.

c. Conclusion

This poem is a love poem. This poem tells about a speaker who

admires someone who runs in his mind and his dream, „You must be he

I was seeking, or she I was seeking, (it comes to me as of a dream), I

have somewhere surely lived a life of joy with you‟. Because of his

love to the stranger, the speaker does not want to lose her/him, „I am to

wait, I do not doubt I am to meet you again, I am to see to it that I do

not lose you.‟

Four figurative languages are found in poem by Whitman:

allegory, apostrophe, hyperbole and synecdoche. In this poem, there is

no figurative language which uses second level of meaning. As

previous poem, Whitman uses hyperbole to make poetic in his poem.


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He also hides message of his poem by using apostrophe. It makes the

readers curious.

To wait an Hour—is long

by Emily Dickinson

To wait an Hour—is long—

If Love be just beyond—

To wait Eternity—is short—

If Love reward the end—

a. Paraphrase

Waiting someone for only an hour will feel so much long if it is not a

real love. Otherwise, waiting someone for forever just like short time if

the love for eternity or happiness.


1) Contrast

To wait an Hour—is long— line 1

If Love be just beyond— line 2

To wait Eternity—is short— line 3

If Love reward the end— line 4

The 1st and 2

nd line are strikingly different to 3

rd and 4

th line. Those

have a contrastive meaning in each line. The first phrase contains

negativity and the second phrase contains positivity.

2) Hyperbole


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To wait Eternity—is short— line 3

„Eternity‟ is a hyperbole of time. In this poem someone who waits

eternity to her/his love will get true love. In the reality, it is almost

impossible to wait eternity.

c. Conclusion

This is a short love poem by Dickinson. This poem tells about

sacrificial love. Love can wait forever if it is a true love, but it is not

love if someone cannot wait until the time is coming (to be forever

with her/his love).

There are two figurative languages in this poem, contrast and

hyperbole. This poem, like the previous poem, does not use symbol,

metaphor and connotation to hide the message. The poet uses

hyperbole to deliver the message.

A Heine love song

by Eugene Field

The image of the moon at night

All trembling in the ocean lies,

But she, with calm and steadfast light,

Moves proudly through the radiant skies,

How like the tranquil moon thou art--

Thou fairest flower of womankind!

And, look, within my fluttering heart

Thy image trembling is enshrined!


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a. Paraphrase

There is a reflection of moon on the sea, it trembles because wild

waves. There is a girl who flies to the sky with stable and smile. This

girl just looks like the moon which is calm and stable and she is like

the most beautiful flower. The girl is in the speaker heart forever and

enshrined.

b. Stylistic devices analysis

1) Metaphor

Moves proudly through the radiant skies, line 4

There is a metaphor in the 4th

line: „radiant skies‟. It is a kind of

absolute metaphor. Radiant skies mean heaven, where skies are

closely related to heaven. Many people say that heaven is located

far away in the skies.

Thou fairest flower of womankind! line6

„Fairest flower‟ is also an absolute metaphor. There is no

correlation between flower and former or following phrase. The

metaphor means beautiful, kind, good as perfect women for the

speaker. Flower mostly associated with woman and „fairest flower‟

means the best woman.

2) Symbol


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But she, with calm and steadfast light, line 3

„Light‟ in the poem is a symbol of “spirit” (Cirlot, 1962, p. 243).

This line tells about the girl who had already passed away and

moved to heaven.

3) Connotation

All trembling in the ocean lies, line 2

„Trembling‟ is a connotation of sadness. Speaking and crying at the

same time will produce trembling sound. This poem tells about the

losing soulmate. The 2nd

line tells about the situation of his heart,

his heart is being sad, crying and trembling.

4) Paradox

All trembling in the ocean lies, line 2

Moves proudly through the radiant skies, line 4

There is a paradox in the poem „ocean‟ and „skies‟. In the reality,

these two words are located in the two different places. The author

wants to show about the different place between the author and the

girl. Skies are associated with heaven or death and ocean is

associated with earth or life.

5) Apostrophe


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How like the tranquil moon thou art-- line 5

Thou fairest flower of womankind! line 6

And, look, within my fluttering heart line 7

Thy image trembling is enshrined! line 8

This whole stanza is apostrophe. In this stanza the speaker of the

poem tries to speak to the girl who actually is only in his

imagination. „Thou‟, „look‟ and „thy‟ are words which show that

the stanza is an apostrophe. The author uses apostrophe to give

extra emotions in order to create sad atmosphere to the reader.

c. Conclusion

Based on the title of the poem, it is clear that Field‟s poem is love

poem. This poem is a sad story about someone who loses his/her lover.

His/her lover is already passed away. This poem tells about the feeling

of the speaker who can not forget everything about his/her lover, „Thy

image trembling is enshrined!‟.

There are five kinds of figurative languages in this poem:

apostrophe, symbol, connotation, metaphor and paradox. There are

three (symbol, connotation and metaphor) kinds of figurative language

which have layer meaning, the readers need to dig deeper to find the

message.


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Suppose

by Paul Laurence Dunbar If ‟twere fair to suppose

That your heart were not taken,

That the dew from the rose

Petals still were not shaken,

I should pluck you,

Howe‟er you should thorn me and scorn me,

And wear you for life as the green of the bower.

If ‟twere fair to suppose

That that road was for vagrants,

That the wind and the rose,

Counted all in their fragrance;

Oh, my dear one,

By love, I should take you and make you,

The green of my life from the scintillant hour.

a. Paraphrase

If there is a fair, the heart of the girl is not taken by another man.

The dew on the petals was not shaken. The man should pluck the rose

even though the rose will hurt him. He will enjoy the rose in the

bower.

If there is a fair for vagrants in the road, the wind and the rose are

mixed as a fragrance. “I should take you and make you the green of my

life from scintillant hour” he said to his lover.


1) Irony

If ‟twere fair to suppose line 1

That your heart were not taken, line 2


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If ‟twere fair to suppose line 8

That that road was for vagrants, line 9

Those lines indicate irony, because there are two words „if‟ and

two words „suppose‟. It shows contradiction between the fact and

the expectation. The author wishes a fair but in the fact he does not

get it. The irony that is stated in this poem is dramatic irony. It

shows the unfulfilled wish of the author.

2) Metaphor

That the dew from the rose line 3

There is a complex metaphor in the third line. „Dew‟ is a metaphor

and then the author adds „rose‟ to layer the „dew‟. The line means

love in heart of the girl. „Dew‟ is associated with love and „rose‟ is

associated with heart.

Petals still were not shaken line 4

There is also mixed metaphor in the poem. Third line and Forth

line are mixed metaphor. Those are two metaphors that are

correlated each other. The meaning of mixed metaphor above is

love in the heart that is not taken. Or in other word, she is still

single and is not involved with any relationship. This metaphor is

used to beautify the poem. The author uses „rose‟ in order to show

that rose has close relation with love.


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3) Symbol

And wear you for life as the green of the bower line 7

The green of my life from the scintillant hour. line 14

„Green‟ is a symbol of “old or mature” (Ferber, 2007, p. 89). The

author thinks to ask the girl so that she wants to life with him in the

future, „life as the green‟ and „the green of my life‟.

4) Connotation

And wear you for life as the green of the bower line 7

„Bower‟ is a connotation of house. This line means the author

wants to propose the girl to marry with him and later on becomes

the mother of his children.

5) Apostrophe

In this poem are easily found „you‟ which indicate about

apostrophe. The subject of the poem is talking to the girl he loved.

He is on his imagination if the girl is not with someone else. There

is also a phrase „oh my dear one‟. This phrase shows that the

subject of the poem is talking to his lover. It shows regret.

c. Conclusion

This poem is a love poem. There are two lines in the poem which

indicates this poem as love poem, line 12 (Oh, my dear one,) and line


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13 (By love, I should take you and make you,). This poem tells about a

regret of someone who loses his love. He speaks himself and dreams

that the girl is still single, „That your heart were not taken,‟. At the end

of the poem he promises himself to fight for the girl, „By love, I should

take you and make you,‟.

Five figurative languages are found in this poem: symbol, irony,

apostrophe, connotation and metaphor. In this poem are found two

symbols, two ironies and two metaphors. Symbol (green) in this poem

has different meaning with symbol in Longfellow‟s poem, even it is a

same word.

2. Twenty Century Love Poems

A Love Still Waiting

by Gary R. Ferris

I know you want to be happy,

With the new love you have found;

But you see the storms are brewing,

And they will strike your new love down.

****

You know down deep you love me,

But you‟re afraid to search your heart;

Pride and shame keep you from me,

And running will tear you apart.

****

Others may see the outside,

But I still see the good;

You see what we used to be,

And I see what we could

****

You can keep on hiding,

But soon you will be found;

And I‟ll be there to pick you up,

Even off the ground.


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****

If you could trust me,

And let your feelings show;

You would find a love still waiting,

Just like you used to know.

****

a. Paraphrase

The speaker of the poem loves someone but, his/her lover has

already left for another person. The speaker has already known that

their relationship is in trouble. The speaker also knows that the lover

still love him/her. He/she believes that one day his/her lover will be

back and the speaker still stands there to wait.


1) Connotation

But you see the storms are brewing, line 4

In the Oxford Dictionary „storm‟ means very bad weather with

strong wind and rain, and often thunder and lightning (2005; p.

1512). Based on the previous explanation, „storms‟ in this poem

means something bad or problem in the relationship. The real

condition of storm is very bad and very scary condition, many

people connote bad situation in storm with bad situation/problem

in a relationship.


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And they will strike your new love down. line 5

„Strike‟ is a punch. In the Oxford Dictionary „strike‟ means hitting

somebody/something hard or with force. In this case, there is a

punch in the relationship between the speaker‟s lover and other

person.

But you‟re afraid to search your heart; line 6

„Search‟ means ask, find, and look. In the Oxford Dictionary

„search‟ means an attempt to find somebody or something,

especially by looking carefully for them or it. In this poem, the

speaker wants his/her lover to find an answer or the true love in

his/her heart. Every question about love is found in heart.

And I‟ll be there to pick you up, line 15

In the Oxford Dictionary „pick me up‟ means something that makes

you feel better, happier, healthier etc. „Pick you up‟ in this poem

means accepting his/her lover at the end. The speaker will accept

his/her lover after the lover ends his/her relationship and becomes a

medicine that helps his/her lover to recover the hurt.

Even off the ground. line 16

In the Oxford Dictionary „ground‟ means “the solid surface of the

earth”. „Ground‟ in this poem means a bad condition of someone,


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he or she placed in the lowest place in the universe. Most people

will be sad and get frustration when they broke apart with his/her

couple. In this poem, the speaker will accept his/her lover even if

the lover in the worst condition of broken heart. The speaker says

“A love still waiting”.

2) Ambiguity

But soon you will be found; line 14

There is an ambiguity in line 14. „You will be found‟ is an

ambiguity; there is no explanation who will find „you‟. It can be

the speaker of the poem (the speaker finds the lover) or love (love

meets the searcher). Ambiguity is used to richness the meaning of

the poem.

3) Euphemism

You would find a love still waiting, line 19

„A love still waiting‟ means I still love you or the speaker still

loves his/her lover. Euphemism is used to beautify the poem. It

gives poetic effect.

4) Apostrophe

This poem clearly uses apostrophe as the figurative language.

There are a lot of „I‟ and „you‟ in the poem. Those two words


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indicate apostrophe. This poem is talking about the subject of the

poem who talks to her/his lover that he/she still loves him/her.

He/she wants to show that the love for her/his lover still waiting to

be accepted. Apostrophe in this poem creates a romantic

atmosphere.

c. Conclusion

This poem is a love poem. The title of the poem shows it. The main

idea of the poem is the title itself. The poem is the story about

someone who still waits his/her lover although his/her lover has

already met new person. The speaker will wait his/her lover even if

his/her lover in the very bad condition of broken heart. At the end of

the poem the speaker gives statement to make his/her lover trust him.

Some figurative languages are found in this poem: apostrophe,

connotation, euphemism and ambiguity. The poet dominates this poem

by connotation, there are five connotations. This poem is kind of poem

that give enough clues to the reader.

Footprint on Your Heart

by Gary Lenhart

Someone will walk into your life,

Leave a footprint on your heart,

Turn it into a mudroom cluttered

With encrusted boots, children's mittens,

Scratchy scarves—

Where you linger to unwrap

Or ready yourself for rough exits


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Into howling gales or onto

Frozen car seats, expulsions

Into the great outdoors where touch

Is muffled, noses glisten,

And breaths stab,

So that when you meet someone

Who is leaving your life

You will be able to wave stiff

Icy mitts and look forward

To an evening in spring

When you can fold winter away

Until your next encounter with

A chill so numbing you strew

The heart's antechamber

With layers of rural garble.

a. Paraphrase

The speaker of the poem talks to someone who is not mentioned.

Someone will fill his/her life and breaks his/her heart. The speaker of

the poem shows two options to his/her friend to stay on his/her heart

breaking or to move on and back to life. If he/she chooses to back to

life, he/she can create new relationship and forget the broken heart.


1) Paradox

To an evening in spring line 17

When you can fold winter away line 18

„Spring‟ and „winter‟ in the poem indicate paradox. Those are

names of season which have different characteristics. „Spring‟

shows growing plant, blooming flower, warm weather etc while


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„winter‟ shows snow, coldest weather in a year etc. Both seasons

show contradiction in physical and material meaning.

2) Irony

So that when you meet someone line 13

Who is leaving your life line 14

Both lines above are irony. Both lines talk about someone who is

coming into the girl life for leaving her at the end. Irony on the

poem is situational irony which shows a reverse circumstance. In

the line 13 someone will meet „you‟ but in the line 14 someone

who meets „you‟ leaves „you‟.

3) Metaphor

Leave a footprint on your heart, line 2

„Foot print on your heart‟ is an absolute metaphor. „Footprint‟ in

this poem has no connectivity with the former and following words

in the line but it has meaning in the poem. „Footprint‟ means scar.

The line tells about a scar which is left by someone. It is a scar

because it hurts the heart; it is not beautiful print but a painful

print. The conclusion is supported by the following lines.

Turn it into a mudroom cluttered line 3

With encrusted boots, children's mittens, line 4


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Scratchy scarves— line 5

Those lines are picture of broken heart. It is a messy condition or

place. The author wants to make a comparison between broken

heart and messy place. Broken heart is closely related to anger,

pain, resentment and crying. Mudroom is closely related to messy

where boots, mittens and scarves are at the same place.

Or ready yourself for rough exits line 7

Into howling gales or onto line 8

Frozen car seats, expulsions line 9

„Rough exits‟ is a complex metaphor. The first metaphor is exits

and it is given „rough‟ as the layer. The line 7 tells about the

speaker who wants to forget about the pain in his/her heart. „Rough

exits‟ means pushing herself/himself to wake up from worst

condition and to raise his/her life. „Rough exits‟ is force action to

him/her to rise. It is supported by line 8 and 9, „howling gales‟

means a new person with new spirit. The spirit means attractive

person, gales is a strong wind, it is associated with „attractive‟ in

human behavior. In the line 9, there is an opposite choice. „Frozen

car seats‟ is an opposite metaphor of „howling gales‟. In line 9, the

object of the poem is given choice to be a cold hearted person, the

opposite of attraction. Those lines mean rising up from worst

condition and moving on to be a new person.


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Into the great outdoors where touch line 10

Is muffled, noses glisten, line 11

And breaths stab, line 12

Those lines are the continuation of line 7. It tells about the pushing

of the pain until the object of the poem forgets about the pain or the

footprint which is left by her/his ex-couple. Line 11 and line 12 are

some expressions of how hard the object recovers his/her heart.

4) Apostrophe

This poem is a poem which the speaker of the poem is not

mentioned. The anonymous speaker tries to give her/his

interlocutor advice. There are many „you‟-s as second person in

this poem which indicate apostrophe.

5) Connotation

Someone will walk into your life, line 1

There is a connotation in the first line, „walk‟. It means coming or

filling. In the dictionary „walk‟ means to spend time. The line tells

about someone who will spend time with „you‟ in „your‟ life.

„Walk‟ is the best word to use in this poem, because it has close

relation with foot or foot print. It is in the same context of the

poem.

A chill so numbing you strew line 20


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There is a connotation in the line 20th

, „chill‟. Based on the poem,

there is someone who gets hurt with his/her couple and it makes

his/her life screw up. „Chill‟ in this line means a broken heart

which hurt by his/her previous relationship.

c. Conclusion

This is a love poem which tells about an advice for broken heart

woman or man who is left by her/his couple. In the middle of the

poem, there are many advices to recover soon from the pain, „Frozen

car seats,‟. At the end of the poem, there is about how to face her/his

new life, „With layers of rural garble‟.

In this poem, there are five figurative languages (connotation,

metaphor, paradox, apostrophe and irony) which build the poem to be

poetic. This poem is dominated by metaphor, there are ten metaphors.

In this poem are found many words that unusual used in love poem

such as: mudroom, children‟s mittens, noses glisten etc.

The Kiss

by Stephen Dunn

She pressed her lips to mind.

—a typo

How many years I must have yearned

for someone‟s lips against mind.

Pheromones, newly born, were floating

between us. There was hardly any air.


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She kissed me again, reaching that place

that sends messages to toes and fingertips,

then all the way to something like home.

Some music was playing on its own.

Nothing like a woman who knows

to kiss the right thing at the right time,

then kisses the things she‟s missed.

How had I ever settled for less?

I was thinking this is intelligence,

this is the wisest tongue

since the Oracle got into a Greek‟s ear,

speaking sense. It‟s the Good,

defining itself. I was out of my mind.

She was in. We married as soon as we could.

a. Paraphrase

The speaker of the poem meets a girl who kisses him. The kiss of the

girl means a lot of thing for the speaker. He has been waiting for the

kiss from the girl for many years. The kiss means intelligence, wise

tongue, deep messages, speaking sense etc for the man. He wants to

marry the girl as soon as he can.


1) Euphemism

defining itself. I was out of my mind. line 19

„I was out of my mind‟ is a euphemism. It means crazy about

something. In this case, the speaker of the poem is crazy about the

kiss of the girl that has a lot of meaning for the speaker. Crazy


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means the speaker has waited the kiss for many years and he senses

her kiss with peace, intelligence, wise and love.

2) Allusion

since the Oracle got into a Greek‟s ear, line 17

Based on Encyclopedia of Greek Mythology „Oracle‟ is the answer

given by God to a question asked by a mortal supplicant

(http://www.mythwed.com/encyc/entries/oracle.html). In this

poem, 17th

line means the speaker‟s wish to get a meaningful kiss

is answered by God.

3) Metaphor

She pressed her lips to mind line 1

„Mind‟ is a submerged metaphor. The author lets the reader to

think wide about the meaning. „Mind‟ is meaningless compared to

heart. If the kiss only on the subject of the poem‟s mind, it will be

ordinary kiss. But, if it is on his heart, it means something deep.

The metaphor in this line correlates with the next line „—a typo‟.

This line shows that the author of the poem wants to show about

how important the kiss is. It is not only kiss but it is a meaningful

kiss for the subject of the poem‟s life.

that sends messages to toes and fingertips, line 8


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http://www.mythwed.com/encyc/entries/oracle.html

64

Line 8 is a complex metaphor. The first metaphor is „sends

messages‟ and the author layer it with „toes and fingertips‟. It

means that the kiss of the girl is fought by the speaker in his whole

body. He feels that the kiss is extraordinary, because he had been

already waited for the kiss for long time.

this is the wisest tongue line 16

„Wisest tongue‟ is a submerged metaphor. This is a simple phrase

but means a lot. „Wisest tongue‟ means the speaker had already

fought kiss from many girls but the kiss from the girl in the poem

is the wisest kiss. Wise means based on good judgment. This kiss

is good kiss; it is not desire or hurried kiss. It is a comfortable and

calm kiss.

4) Symbol

Some music was playing on its own. line 10

Music as instrument is “a form of relationship or communication,

substantially dynamic, as in the case of the voice or the spoken

word” (Cirlot, 1971; p. 224). This line explains about how

extraordinary the kiss is. Music in this line is a way of

communication. The kiss is the answer that the speaker searched

for all this time. Everything is clear and bright since he has kissed

the girl.


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5) Connotation

Pheromones, newly born, were floating line 5

In the Oxford Dictionary, „pheromone‟ means “substance produced

by an animal as a chemical signal, often to attract another animal of

the same species”. Based on the context of the poem, pheromone

means an effort of a man to attract a woman. It is a unique word to

express how a couple attract each other. If animal will make liquid

to attract each other, human being will do invisible act to make an

interest of other people.

c. Conclusion

This poem is a love poem. This poem tells about a man who

admires a kiss by a girl. He had been waited the kiss for many years.

The girl makes the man „crazy‟ and fall in love with her. At the end of

the poem the man wishes that they will get married a soon as they can,

„We married as soon as we could‟.

Five figurative languages are found in this poem; connotation,

metaphor, symbol, allusion, and euphemism. This poem uses all

possible word to deliver the love message such as: connotation of the

way man to attract a woman is pheromones, allusion of answering

question is Oracle etc.


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Marriage

by William Carlos William

So different, this man

And this women:

A stream flowing

In a field

a. Paraphrase

There is a couple who have already married. The condition of the

marriage is not as beautiful as the previous relationship before

marriage. There are a lot of problems in the marriage.


1) Metaphor

A stream flowing line 3

In a field line 4

Those two lines mean problem. „Stream‟ in the dictionary means

flow. „Field‟ is metaphor of marriage. It means dynamic in a

relationship or marriage. A relationship is not only a beautiful

moment but also anger and bad moment. This metaphor is used to

show a dynamic in the relationship or marriage.


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2) Irony

So different, this man line 1

The first line in the poem indicates irony. It is a situational irony.

„Different‟ in the beginning of the line shows a condition that is

faced by the man and the woman after marriage. The poem

explains that there is a problem that is faced by the couple after

marriage. The word „different‟ means that the condition before

marriage in their relationship is beautiful without any „stream‟.

c. Conclusion

This poem is a love poem. The title of the poem shows that the

poem is about a marriage. This poem shows about the condition of a

couple which suffers from a problem in marriage.

It is one of short poems by William. He uses two figurative

languages (irony and metaphor). It is clear poem without many

comparison words, William only use one metaphor to hide the

message.

One Day

Love Song for the Newly Divorced

by Patricia Jabbeh Wesley

One day, you will awake from your covering

and that heart of yours will be totally mended,

and there will be no more burning within.

The owl, calling in the setting of the sun

and the deer path, all erased.


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no more need for love

or lovers or fears of losing lovers

and there will be no more burning timbers

with which to light a new fire,

and there will be no more husbands or people

related to husbands, and there will be no more

tears or reason to shed your tears.

You will be as mended as the bridge

the working crew has just reopened.

The thick air will be vanquished with the tide

and the river that was corrupted by lies

will be cleansed and totally free.

And the rooster will call in the setting sun

and the sun will beckon homeward,

hiding behind your one tree that was not felled.

a. Paraphrase

A woman is newly divorce and she tries to get her confidence back.

When the day comes, she will not feel sad anymore. She will forget her

bad experience in the past, her divorce. Every memory that she get

from her previous marriage will disappear soon. Her life will be

colorful as her previous life.


1) Metaphor

and there will be no more burning timbers line 8

with which to light a new fire, line 9

„Burning timbers‟ is implicit metaphor. Based on the context of the

poem, it means offended of heart. The meaning can be connected

to following line „light a new fire‟. It means start something new

and left the offended behind.


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The thick air will be vanquished with the tide line 15

„Thick air‟ is an implicit metaphor. It means sad and difficult time

for the women after divorce. When a woman gets hurt in her heart,

she will cry and it makes her hard to breath. „Thick air‟ can be

meant hard to breath because of broken heart.

and the sun will beckon homeward, line 19

Line 19 is an implicit metaphor. It means light and home is the

good one. The divorce woman will bring back home by the light.

She will recover from the very bad pain and be ready to face her

new life.

2) Symbol

The owl, calling in the setting of the sun line 4

„Owl‟ is a symbol of night. Owl is a nocturnal bird. Night is close

related to dark. The divorce condition is dark condition. There is

no light because of the woman is in a very bad condition of broken

heart.

The owl, calling in the setting of the sun line 4

And the rooster will call in the setting sun line 18

and the sun will beckon homeward, line 19


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„Sun‟ is a symbol of light and seeing. In this poem light is used to

show a comeback of the divorce woman from the bad condition. In

the line 4, „the sun‟ and „the owl‟ are on the same line. It means

that the darkness which moves to lightness condition. The divorce

woman is ready to face her new life. In the line 18, „sun‟ is in the

same line with „rooster‟. It means morning and light. This is better

condition of the woman. She can escape from the dark or bad

condition.

and the deer path, all erased. line 5

„Deer‟ is a symbol of “heart” (Ferber, 2007; p. 57). „Path‟ is “plan”

(Oxford Dictionary, 2007; p. 1110). This line means the plan of her

heart. Her heart plan is to forget her divorce and face the light. This

line is related to the previous line, „calling in the setting of the

sun‟. She tries to come back and recover her heart to face a new

love.

and the river that was corrupted by lies line 16

Based on dictionary of symbol, „river‟ means time (Cirlot, 1971; p.

174). This line indicates the story of the woman before divorce.

There are a lot of wasted times when she was with her ex-husband.

3) Connotation


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The thick air will be vanquished with the tide line 15

„Tide‟ is a connotation. It means a feeling that you suddenly have

that gets stronger and stronger (Oxford Dictionary, 2007; p. 1604).

Line 15 in this poem means difficult time will be destroyed by the

power of her heart that day by day getting stronger.

And the rooster will call in the setting sun line 18

In the Oxford Dictionary, „rooster‟ means cock or an adult male

chicken (2007; p. 1321). Based on the context of the poem,

„rooster‟ means morning. „Rooster‟ is related with morning

because it crows every morning to wake people.

the working crew has just reopened. line 14

„Crew‟ is a group of people (Oxford Dictionary, 2007; p. 362). It

means many people and hearts that can help to forget the hurt in

the future. The universe will help the woman to recover from her

hurt.

4) Analogy

You will be as mended as the bridge line 13

There is an analogy in line 13. The author tries to compare heart

with „bridge‟. The author does not mention heart in the poem, but


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the context of the text goes in the direction of heart. The hurt heart

will be fixed as strong as a bridge.

5) Apostrophe

One day, you will awake from your covering line 1

You will be as mended as the bridge line 13

Those two lines indicate apostrophe. The words „you‟ on those

lines show that the subject of the poem seems talk to someone and

give an advice. The subject of the poem tries to give a motivation

to a newly divorce women. Apostrophe in this poem is used to give

friendly or closer effect to the reader, therefore this poem can be a

support for those newly divorce women.

c. Conclusion

This poem is a love poem. There is a statement from the author

under the title that proves it. This poem was made to cheer up a newly

divorce woman. In this poem, the newly divorce woman will get better

one day. Everything around her will not let her down, „the working

crew has just reopened‟. She will recover from the pain and be ready

to face her new life alone or with another man.

There are five figurative languages in this poem; apostrophe,

metaphor, connotation, symbol, and analogy. This poem has a lot of


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symbol, connotation and metaphor. The reader needs to dig deeper to

find the meaning or real massage. In this poem are found many unique

words used by the poet to deliver love message such as: rooster as new

life, thick air as broken heart etc.

B. Figurative Language Analysis

1. Nineteenth Century Love Poem

Five Nineteenth Century American love poems have been

already analyzed in the previous sub chapter and it was found that

some figurative languages were used in that period. There are

hyperbole, personification, euphemism, apostrophe, allegory, paradox,

metaphor, contrast, synecdoche, symbol, irony and connotation. On

those twelve figurative languages, nature is the comparison words of

love used the most by American poet in this period.

Three of five poems use nature as the figurative language of

love; The Reaper and the Flower, A Heine Love Song, and Suppose. In

the poem by Longfellow, flowers are associated with woman and field

of light are associated with heaven etc.










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In the poem by Field, there are radiant skies as heaven, fairest flower

as woman etc.

The image of the moon at night

All trembling in the ocean lies,

But she, with calm and steadfast light,

Moves proudly through the radiant skies,

How like the tranquil moon thou art--

Thou fairest flower of womankind!

And, look, within my fluttering heart

Thy image trembling is enshrined!

In the poem by Dunbar, there are dew as love and rose as woman‟s

heart etc.





I should pluck you,


And wear you for life as the green of the bower.

In many periods, nature is the most popular comparison in the literary

world. It is used by poet to express love in nineteenth century. As

mentioned above, flower is associated with woman. All of the people

who enjoy literature will use this assumption to get understanding in

reading poem or other literary work. It is like a pattern, flower is

beautiful and woman too.

From those five love poems, two poems uses„green‟ as, symbol.

The first is „green‟ in the poem by Longfellow.




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The second is „green‟ in the poem by Dunbar.





I should pluck you,


And wear you for life as the green of the bower

Those two poems use „green‟ as symbol but the symbols have different

meaning. Based on the context, „green‟ in the Longfellow‟s poem

means sick. However, in the Dunbar‟s poem „green‟ means mature.

Context of the poem can influence the meaning even if it is the same

word.

In Nineteenth Century, there are three figurative languages that

are used more often than others: symbol, metaphor and hyperbole.

Three poems use the three figurative languages stated before. Symbol

is found in the Longfellow‟s poem ('I was an angel visited the green

earth,), Field‟s poem (But she, with calm and steadfast light,) and

Dunbar‟s poem (And wear you for life as the green of the bower.).

Meanwhile, metaphor is found in the poem by Longfellow (In the

fields of light above.), Field‟s poem (Moves proudly through the

radiant skies,) and Dunbar‟s poem (That the dew from the rose).

Hyperbole is found in the poem by Longfellow (He reaps the bearded

grain at a breath,), Whitman‟s poem (You grew up with me, were a


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boy with me or a girl with me,) and Dickinson‟s poem (To wait

Eternity—is short—). Those three figurative languages are the most

figurative language that can easily make people curious about the

meaning of the poem.

2. Twentieth Century Love Poem

There are some figurative languages that are usually used in

Twentieth Century American love poem: connotation, paradox,

metaphor, apostrophe, euphemism, symbol, analogy, ambiguity, irony

and allusion. In this era, all poets explored the poem using many kinds

of word to make figurative language of love such as: verb (search),

animal (owl), kind of limb (tongue), kind of thing (music), kind of

cloth (boot) etc.

Twentieth Century belongs to modern era which affects the style

of American man of literature in creating their work. They started to

use all of possible words to express the theme of their work, in this

case is love. Some strange words are found in the poem such as „light

a new fire‟ means moving on, „mudroom cluttered‟ means heart

breaking, „off the ground‟ means frustration etc. They are called

strange because those words are uncommon words in love poem. The

era affects the way poets express love in their poem.


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Metaphor is the most popular figurative language, it is found in

four poems. The first poem is poem by Lenhart.

Where you linger to unwrap

Or ready yourself for rough exits

Into howling gales or onto

Frozen car seats, expulsions

Into the great outdoors where touch

Is muffled, noses glisten,

The next poem is poem by Dunn.

I was thinking this is intelligence,

this is the wisest tongue

since the Oracle got into a Greek‟s ear,

speaking sense. It‟s the Good,

The next poem is poem by William.

So different, this man

And this women:

A stream flowing

In a field

The last poem is Wesley‟s poem:

or lovers or fears of losing lovers

and there will be no more burning timbers

with which to light a new fire,

and there will be no more husbands or people

related to husbands, and there will be no more

tears or reason to shed your tears.

Poet can be easily used metaphor to hide the real meaning of the

poem. This is the easiest way to compare the real meaning with

connotative word. Metaphor and simile are two figurative languages


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which have close meaning, but simile is less popular in modern

literature. By using metaphor, poet does not need to show the clue to

the reader about the meaning of the poem. In Twentieth Century love

poems above, there are no similes.

The second figurative language often used in Twentieth Century

love poem is connotation. Three poems use connotation to compare

love. First poem is poem by Ferris.

I know you want to be happy,

With the new love you have found;

But you see the storms are brewing,

And they will strike your new love down.

The second poem is Wesley‟s poem:

And the rooster will call in the setting sun

and the sun will beckon homeward,

hiding behind your one tree that was not felled.

The third poem is Lenhart‟s poem:

Someone will walk into your life,

Leave a footprint on your heart,

Turn it into a mudroom cluttered

With encrusted boots, children's mittens,

Connotation and symbol are two figurative languages that almost have

same function. Symbol has deeper meaning than connotation.

Connotation can be easily interpreted by opening dictionary but

symbol is influenced many aspects. Poet uses connotation to give little

clue to the reader. Connotation is familiar figurative language, it is not

only used in literary world but also in the daily dialogue. Connotation


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and symbol are allowed to be used in the same poem. Wesley in her

poem, One Day, collaborate connotation (tide, rooster) and symbol

(owl, river). Connotation can help the reader to find the meaning of the

poem behind the symbol.

3. Conclusion

By analyzing those two eras, I found the style that is used

mostly by American poets in those two eras in writing love poem.

There are different patterns that are used by the poet. It becomes an

unwritten agreement in the literary world at that time.

There are some differences in using figurative language of love

in Nineteenth Century love poem and Twentieth Century love poem.

In the nineteenth century nature are easily found. It is used to express

love in figurative. There are also some figurative languages that are

used often in the love poem, such as: metaphor, symbol and hyperbole.

On the other hand, Twentieth Century has various words to

express love, such as: verb (search), animal (owl), kind of limb

(tongue), kind of thing (music), kind of cloth (boot) etc. Modern era is

the era of freedom which allows poet to express their creativity.

Metaphor is the only figurative language in this era which is often used

by the poet. Metaphor is simple figurative language that hides the real

meaning perfectly.


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chapter iii

Documents

Transcript of chapter iii