CHAPTER II REVIEW OF LITERATURE, CONCEPT AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 2.1 Review of Literature Poetry is a topic which is very interesting to be discussed, because it has aesthetic values that can make the reader imagining. That is why there are some of the students in English department wrote about poetry as their under graduate thesis. These theses are able give some contribution to this study. Those three theses are reviewed here. 2.1.1 Thesis Review First, thesis entitled Analysis of Figurative Language in the Poem When I Was One and Twenty (Susanti, 2004). She discussed about the type of figurative employed in the poem When I Was One and Twenty and the function of figurative in that poem. This topic was chosen by Susanti because most poetry uses figurative language since figurative language is used to convey the poet s idea. Because of this reason the fundamental aims of this study is to know the type of figurative language employed in that poem. The data source of this study was a poem entitle When I Was One and Twenty which was taken from book of poetry entitle Interpreting Literature by Knickerboker and Reninger (1963). The data
8 was collected by doing library research. And in analyzing the data it was presented descriptively based on theories proposed by Knickerboker and Reninger (1963). The second study was Figurative Languages in Riordan s The Lighting Thief and Their Translations in Pencuri Petir by Ni Wayan Cintya Surya Pratami (2013). The findings show that there are seven types of figurative languages found namely metonymy, synecdoche, idiom, euphemism, hyperbole, metaphor and simile in the novel. In the analysis, only two until four examples were used in each of the types of figurative languages in order to avoid too much data and repeated analysis. In process of translation, it could be found some ways of how the data were translated, for example the translation by changing the form or the structure of the word or sentence and the translation by giving the addition or reduction of the word or sentence from the source to the target language novel. In matter of equivalent, there were three concepts that found when analyzing the data. Those were lexical equivalent when concepts are shared, lexical equivalent when concepts are unknown in target language, and also the concept of literal equivalent. In completing the process of collecting the data, note taking technique was applied. The data for this study belong to qualitative data because it is based predominantly on non-numerical. The main theory used to identify and to analyze
9 the types of figurative languages, the process of translating the data, and also the concepts of equivalent is the theory proposed by Larson in her book entitled Meaning Based Translation (1998). The last work is Gede Prima Perdana Mertha s thesis which analyzed William Wordsworth s poem, The Solitary Reaper. It told about a highland girl was all alone in the field. She was reaping and singing by herself. The poet asked the passerby to stop or gently pass without disturbing her. She was reaping the harvest and binding the sheaves alone. And the notes of her melancholy song were resounding in the deep valley. There were two main theories being adopted in this study. First was Knickerbocker and Reninger (1955: 309) who stated that as the first step in understanding a poem, it was very helpful to make a paraphrase of its plain sense. The meaning of each part of the poem helped to determine the meaning of the whole poem, and in turn the whole poem helped to determine the meaning of each part. And the second was Wellek and Warren s theory about biographical approach in term of extrinsic analysis, to find the relationship between the real life of the poets and the story they tell in their poems. The discussion of this writing focused on the extrinsic and intrinsic aspect of the poem. In terms of intrinsic element, this study focused on the poem itself by looking at the message within the poems. Extrinsically, this writing concerned
with the life of William Wordsworth and his life affected the poem as achieved through biographical approach. The last discussion was about the communion of man and nature found in The Solitary Reaper. Reviewing one journal with respect to poetry seemed to be a must and needed as well. The journal for this study was taken from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/analysis-of-daffodils-by-william-wordsworth.html entitled Analysis of Daffodils by William Wordsworth by Vaishali Satwase. And in her paper, she analyzes Wordsworth s Daffodils as follows I wander'd lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vale and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host of golden daffodils: Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. 10 The Daffodils has a rhyming scheme throughout the poem. The rhyming scheme of the above stanza is ABAB ( A - cloud and crowd; B - hills and daffodils) and ending with a rhyming couplet CC (C - trees and breeze). The above stanza makes use of 'Enjambment' which converts the poem into a continuous flow of expressions without a pause. I wander'd lonely as a cloud - The first line makes nice use of personification and simile. The poet assumes himself to be a cloud (simile) floating in the sky. When Wordsworth says in the second line 'I' (poet as a cloud)
11 look down at the valleys and mountains and appreciate the daffodils; it is the personification, where an inanimate object (cloud) possesses the quality of a human enabling it to see the daffodils. The line "Ten thousand saw I at a glance" is an exaggeration and a hyperbole, describing the scene of ten thousand daffodils, all together. Alliteration is the repetition of similar sounds, is applied for the word 'h', in the words - high and hills. The title, Daffodils is a simple word that reminds us about the arrival of the spring season, when the field is full of daffodils. Daffodils are yellow flowers, having an amazing shape and beautiful fragrance. A bunch of daffodils symbolize the joys and happiness of life. The theme of the poem Daffodils is a collection of human emotions inspired by nature that we may have neglected due to our busy lives. The daffodils imply beginning or rebirth for human beings, blessed with the grace of nature. The arrival of daffodils in the month of March is welcome and an enjoyable time to appreciate them! The poem paints images of lakes, fields, trees, stars in Ullswater. Wordsworth continuously praises the daffodils, comparing them to the Milky Way galaxy (in the second stanza), their dance (in the third stanza) and in the concluding stanza, dreams to join the daffodils in their dance.
12 The poem uses descriptive language throughout the stanzas. The poet cannot resist himself from participating in the dance of the daffodils. The wording is simple and melodious. Isn't Daffodils, a great gift idea of William Wordsworth that celebrates happiness of nature amongst us. The similarity of this study and this article was in using poetry as the data source. And the difference that could be seen from this article and this study was the scope of the discussion of the analysis. The article was more focused on the word meanings in poetry. Meanwhile in this study, it focused on the analysis of the poem from the background of the poet s experience. 2.2 CONCEPT The focus of this study is to analyze Wordsworth s poem Elegiac Stanzas and the poet s concept of life and nature which are closely related to the ideas of the poem. 2. 2. 1 Concept of Poetry When people use the word poetry they may have no clear idea in their mind what poetry really is. But they are likely to assume that the term implies certain qualities. Poetry may be a matter of grace and beauty, but it may also represent sheer impractical fancy. The association of the word with beauty
13 and with imagination instead of actuality is supported by the meaning usually provided by the dictionary, which stresses poetry s being beautiful and capable of arousing an imaginative emotional response. (Danzinger &Johnson, 1968: 13) According to Hornby (2002) Poetry is a collection of poems; poems in general. It is literature in its most intense, most imaginative, and most rhythmic forms. Basically, poetry is written in lines of arbitrary length instead of in paragraph. In general, poetry s richness in imagery, particularly in metaphor, results in a far greater concentration of meaning (Morner, 1991: 169). According to Holman (1960) in his book A Handbook to Literature, Poetry is a term applied to the many forms in which man has given a rhythmic expression to his most imaginative and intense perception of his own world and the relationship of the two. Only through and examination of its significance can a definition be made about poetry. Poetry is written in many languages but the language of poetry is quite different from the language of science, journalism or history and language of philosophy. There are some qualities of poetry s language in terms of diction, imagery and figurative language. 2.2.1.1 Diction
14 Diction is choice of certain words and the ways they are used to create a particular effect. The poet must use words that contribute to the sound and rhythm of the poem. There are factors; however, that he must also consider. For example, he may wish to use highly connotative words (words that carry non literal meaning because of the suggested or implied meaning) in order to appeal to the readers emotions. He may decide to use figurative language to make his writing more effective. If the poem uses images or symbols, he must carefully choose concrete words that will convey the image or suggest the multilevel meanings of symbols. (Hogins, 1974: 14-15) 2.2.1.2 Imagery The purpose of imagery is to communicate meaning, not merely to serve as a graceful embellishment. If we understand this distinction before we investigate imagery furthers, our study can become a genuine pleasure instead of an academic chore. For most poets imagery actually becomes away of thinking, or t16ranslating abstractions into concrete experience. Indeed, imagery is the chief means the poet has for creating reality- his own sense of the reality of the inner and outer world and their relationship. ( Knickerbocker, 1963: 358)
15 2.3 Theoretical Framework In writing a scientific work, which has the form as a thesis, the writer must adopt a certain theory for analyzing the data in order to arrive at a result which can be scientifically accepted. The main theory of this writing is taken from the book written by Knickerbocker and Reninger (1963). This book explains about general concepts and procedure to understand figurative language. They state that It is customary that at this point in most books on the nature of poetry to describe in abstract terms the reason for using the figurative language. Knickerbocker and Reninger (1963) expose the figurative language by stating that Figurative language is sometimes called metaphorical language or simply metaphor because its Greek ancestor metepherein means to carry meaning beyond its literal meaning. The kinds of figures proposed by Knickerbocker and Reninger (1963:367) include simile, metaphor, personification, synecdoche, metonymy, hyperbole, irony, dead metaphor, allusion, paradox. 1. Simile Simile is a state of comparison of two dissimilar things introduced by like or as. It also can be considered as a statement of similarity. (Knickerbocker & Reninger, 1963:367):
16 For example: Jhon heard that Marry have been turned and singing like a canary. It is called simile because the word like in this sentence has a function to compare Marry with Canary. The comparison is explicit and it is a common method to describe how some one sings by comparing her with birds. Birds are considered creatures that can produce a wide rage of sounds, from a harmonious chant to a complete disaster of melody. Canary is a species of bird, small in shape and yellow in color, with a beautiful song, often kept in a cage of pot. 2. Metaphor Metaphor is an implied comparison, or an expression that is used in a new sense, on the basis of similarity between its literal sense and the new thing or situation to which it is applied, with like or as omitted, For example: That guy is a rat. In this example the similarity of the guy to rat is not on terms of physical details but of the feelings that person and the rat rouse. The writer has special purposes to employ a certain metaphor in his poem, and one of the purposes is to make a good sound and also to create a great sense when the reader read the poem. A metaphor that is commonly used may lose in our mind the element of similarity that originally prompts it.
17 3. Personification Personification is a metaphor in which a lifeless objects, an animal or abstract ideas is made to act like a person and thereby gives animation, vividness and nearness those things which are normally thought of as impersonal and aloof from human affairs. It is used a great deal in our every day language or expressions. This device is almost the same as simile and metaphor, but both simile and metaphor do not necessarily involve comparison to or with living or human being. This becomes the specific characteristic of personification. For example: Adam was awakened by the sun hitting his face This example is certain to be a personification. The sun is given the qualities of human, able to hit one s face. Certainly, the sun does not hit Adam s face literally but rather the sun emits rays of light and falls on his face. There is a sensation of heat after being hit. Thus, the sun light on the face eventually makes the person feel the heat. It is appropriate to state that the sun is hitting the face. 4. Synecdoche Synecdoche is figure of speech showing the use of part for the whole. Synecdoche substitutes some significant detail or aspect of experience for the experience itself. For example:
18 Fifty winters passed him by It is called synecdoche because the word winter using a part for the whole sentence. And this sentence means fifty years passed him by. 5. Metonymy Metonymy is figure of speech describing one thing by using the term for another thing closely associated with it. Metonymy is characterized by the substitution of a term naming an object closely associated with the word in mind for the word itself. For example: Ask for a fiat or an Alfa Romeo This sentence shows that the metonymy is represented by in the words fiat and Alfa Romeo. Actually, these words are the names of cars. 6. Hyperbole Hyperbole is a figure of speech which employs an exaggeration that is used for special effect. For example: I ll die if I don t pass this course It is called hyperbole because the word die in this sentence is impossible; no one in the world would die just because of not passing the course. So in this sentence the word die is an overstatement.
19 7. Irony Irony is figure of speech which contains a statement in which its real meaning is completely opposed to its professed or surface meaning. For example: You picked a fine time to leave me, darling From the example above we have to acknowledge the atmosphere of the statement. The condition is when a man says to his wife or his girlfriend who has abandoned him. Thus, we conclude that the above expression implies the irony between the words a fine time and leave. Because how can it be, in such a grief situation when someone is abandoned by his wife or girlfriend, still, he can say that it is a fine time for her to leave him. 8. Dead Metaphor Dead Metaphor is a metaphor, which has its figurative meaning but which has lost its figurative sense through endless use. For example: The face of the lock It is called dead metaphor because it gives more stress to the thing which is talked about. The face of the clock shows the specific part of the clock, which becomes the central part of the topic.
20 9. Allusion Allusion is a reference to some well known place, event or person. Not a comparison in the exact sense, but a figure in the sense that is implies more than its narrow meaning. For example: One for all and all for one It is a popular motto found in the novel The Three Musketeers written by Alexander Dumas, a French author. This motto implies that some people will be together during both happy and sad situations. 10. Paradox Paradox is a statement whose surface, obvious meaning seems to be illogical, even absurd, but which makes good sense upon closer examination. For example; Death shall be no more. 11. Symbol One thing is used stand for, to represent another thing. The word s Greek Ancestor is symballein meaning to compare by throwing together. A symbol can stand on its own feet by representing through continued use and
common understanding a simple object or a complex pattern of association or ideas. 22