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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.
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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."
And the mother gave, in tears and pain,
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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.
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.
b. Stylistics devices analysis
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.
b. Stylistics devices analysis
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.
b. Stylistics devices analysis
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.
b. Stylistics devices analysis
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.
b. Stylistic devices analysis
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.
b. Stylistics devices analysis
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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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.
b. Stylistic devices analysis
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.
b. Stylistic devices analysis
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.
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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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.
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.
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.
O, not in cruelty, not in wrath,
The Reaper came that day;
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'I was an angel visited the green earth,
And took the flowers away.
The second is „green‟ in the poem by 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
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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