FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE USED IN EDMUND SPENSER’S SONNET I
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FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE USED IN EDMUND SPENSER’S SONNET I
By
DewaGedeAgungBayuKertapati
JurusanSastraInggris
FakultasSastraUniversitasUdayana
ABSTRAK
Studi ini berjudul “Figurative Language Used in Spenser’s sonnet I,” seperti yang disebutkan dalam www.uni.edu,sonnets yaitu merupakan soneta pertama yang ditulis di Italia dengan bersajak cinta tradisionil. Sehingga ini menjadi sangat menarik untuk dijadikan obyek penelitian. Tujuan dari studi ini yaitu untuk mengetahui macam-macam bahasa kiasan apasaja yang terdapat dalam Edmund Sonnet I, serta menggambarkan arti dari bahasa kiasan tersebut dengan menggunakan “Theory of Literature” oleh Knickerbocker dan Reninger (1963) dalam bukunya yang berjudul “Interpreting Literature” dan “Theory of Meaning” oleh Leech dalam bukunya yang berjudul “Semantics.” Berdasarkan analisa, terdapat enam macam bahasa kiasan yang telah diketahui dalam Edmund Sonnet I yaitu: Simile, metaphor, personification, metonymy, allusion, dan paradox. Melalui analisa, bahwa bahasa-bahasa kiasan yang terdapat dalam “Edmund Sonnet I” memiliki arti konotatif dan menggunakan irama Pedalian. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode kualitatif yang mana datanya dikumpulkan langsung dari sumber data yaitu Edmund Sonnet I yang berfokus pada jenis kata kiasan yang terdapat dalam soneta tersebut.
Kata kunci: Soneta, Edmund Spenser, Bahasakiasan.
A sonnet is fundamentally a dialectical construction which allows the poet to examine thenature and ramifications of two constructive ideas, emotions, states of mind, beliefs, actions, events, images, etc. by juxtaposing the two against each other, and possibly resolving or just revealing the tensions created and operative between two (http://www.sonnets.org/casicforms.htm). A sonnet can be helpful when writing about emotions that are difficult to articulate. It is a short poem, so there is only so much room to work in. As well, the turn forces the poet to express what may not be normally expressible (http://www.uni.edu/english/craft/sonnet.html).
The sonnet can be thematically divided into two sections: the first presents the theme and raises an issue or doubt, and the second part answers the question, resolves the problem, or drives home the poem’s point. This change in the poem is called the turn and helps move forward the emotional action of the poem quickly, as fourteen lines can become too short too fast (http://www.uni.edu/english/craft/sonnet.html).
The sonnet that was analyzed here was from the popular sonneteer in England, he is Edmund Spenser’s “Sonnet I”. It was interesting to be an object of analysis because it was the first sonnet of the sonneteer, being his first idea to create the continuance of the other sonnets. It is interesting to identify the figurative language used in the sonnet. This is the reason for choosing the topic “figurative languages used in Edmund Spenser’s “Sonnet I”.
Based on the background above, there are two problems interesting in the study of sonnet. The problems can be formulated as follows:
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1. What types of figurative language are used in Edmund Spenser’s Sonnet I?
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2. What is the meaning of figurative language in Edmund Spenser’s Sonnet I?
Every scientific writing should have its own purpose and so does this study. Theoretically this study tries to establish the following aims:
To identify the types of figurative language describing the meaning of figurative language used in Edmund Spenser’s Sonnet I.
The last is an academic aim that is to apply the theory of literature studied in the English Department to write a scientific work which gives contribution to this Department, so this writing can be used as reference to help the student who writes the same topic.
The research method in this study covers three points of discussion; they are data source, data collection, and data analysis.
The primary data used in this writing were taken from Edmund Spenser’s Sonnet I.
The data were collected through library research by reading the Edmund Spenser’s Sonnet I very carefully, repeatedly and intensively to understand the content of the sonnet. It was done as many times as needed to understand the meaning of the sonnet. The repeated reading is mainly focused on the figurative language and it was written down in order to make identification process easier.
The analysis correlates to the problems that are formulated. The technique used in analyzing data is descriptive. The data were collected from the data source and through the data collection, the data were analyzed by using the theory of figurative language proposed by Knickerbockers and Reninger (1963) and another theory about meaning, Semantics proposed by Leech (1963).
The Amoretti by Edmund Spenser is a sonnet cycle or sequence composed of 89 sonnets. Edmund Spenser’s Sonnet I is in the form of the Spenserian sonnet, The Spenserian sonnet combines the Italian and the Shakespearean forms, using three quatrains and couplet. It is similar to the Shakespearean sonnet in the sense that its set up is based more on the 3 quatrains and couplet, a system set up by Shakespeare; however it is more like the Petrarchan tradition in the pact that conclusion follows from the argument or issue set up in earlier quatrains. In a Spenserian sonnet there does not appear to be a requirement that the initial octave set up a problem that the closing sestet answers, as is the case with a Petrarchan sonnet. (http://www.sonnets.org/basicforms.htm).
“Sonnet I”
By Edmund Spenser’s
Happy ye leaves! When as those lily hands, (1) Happy ye leaves! When as those lily hands,(a)
Which hold my life in their dead doing might, (2)
Which hold my life in their dead doing might, (b)
Shall handle you, and hold in love’s soft hand, (3)
Shall handle you, and hold in love’s soft hand, (a)
Like captives trembling at the victor’s sight
(4) Like captives trembling at the victor’s sight(b)
And happy lines on which, with starry light,
(5) And happy lines on which, with starry light, (b)
Those lamping eyes will deigne sometimes to look, (6)
Those lamping eyes will deigne sometimes to look,(c)
And read the sorrows of my dying sprite,(7) And read the sorrows of my dying sprite,(b)
Written with tears in heart’s close bleeding book.(8)
And happy rhymes! Bath’d in the sacred brook, (9)
Written with tears in heart’s close bleeding book.(c)
And happy rhymes! Bath’d in the sacred brook,(c)
Of Helicon, whence she derived is, (10) Of Helicon, whence she derived is,(d)
When ye behold that angel’s blessed look(11) When ye behold that angel’s blessed look(c)
My soul’s long lacked food, my heaven’s bliss. (12) My soul’s long lacked food, my heaven’s bliss. (d)
Leaves, lines, and rhymes seek her to please alone, (13) Leaves, lines, and rhymes seek her to please alone, (c)
Whom if ye please, I care for other none(14) Whom if ye please, I care for other none(e)
Figurative of speech is another way of adding extra dimensions to language. Figurative language is language that cannot be taken literally (www.csustan.edu). There are some types of figurative language found in Edmund Spenser’s Sonnet I as explained below.
Simile is a stated comparison of two similar things introduced by the word like or as (Knickerbocker and Reninger, 1963:367). In Edmund Spenser’s Sonnet I, simile was found in the following line:
Like captives trembling at the victors sight (L4)
It is called simile because the word ‘like’ in this sentence has the function to compare ‘leaves’ with ‘captives’.
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 (Knickerbocker and Reninger, 1963:367). In Edmund Spenser’s Sonnet I, the metaphor found is as follow:
Those lamping eyes will deign sometimes to look (L6)
In the sentence above “eyes” are compared with stares.
When ye behold that angel’s blessed look (L11)
In the sentence above being blessed and sacred, the beloved is compared to angel.
Personification is a type of metaphor in which a lifeless object, an animal or abstract ideas is made to act like a person and thereby gives animation, vividness and nearness of those things which are normally thought of as impersonal and aloof from human affairs or giving human characteristics to an object, animal, or an abstract idea (Knickerbocker and Reninger, 1963:367). In Edmund Spenser’s Sonnet I, the personification found is as follows:
And happy lines, on which with starry light, (5)
“lines” in the sentence above means lines of a poem. The lines of a poem are given qualities of human being able to feel happiness. Certainly, the lines of a poem cannot be happy like a human. The poet is saying that the pages on which his poem is written are lucky, since the hands of the woman he loves will be touching them.
Leaves, lines, and rhymes, seek her to please alone, (13)
In lines 13 above “leaves” means pages of a book, not leaves on a tree. “Leaves, lines, and rhymes” are given qualities of human being able to seek someone. Certainly, “leaves, lines, and rhymes” cannot seek someone like a human. So sentence gives the sense of personification.
Metonymy is a 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 or object closely associated with the word in mind for the word itself (Knickerbocker and Reninger, 1963:367). In Edmund Spenser’s Sonnet I, the found metonymy found is as follows:
Happy ye leaves! When as those lily hands (L1)
Those lamping eyes will deign sometimes to look (L6)
(Line 1) “hands” and (Line 6) “eyes” refer to the beloved.
Allusion is reference to some well-known place, event or person. Not a comparison in the exact sense, but a figure in the sense that it implies more them its narrow meaning (Knickerbocker and Reninger, 1963:367). In Edmund Spenser’s Sonnet I, an allusion was found as in the following line:
Of Helicon whence she derived is (L10)
“Helicon” is accordance with the name of the place “Mount Helicon”. Mount Helicon is important in Greek mythology because it is sacred to the nine Muses who inspire poetry and other arts. Muses were nine in number, they were daughters of Zeus. Each had a special field; calliope was Muse of epic poetry, Erato of love poetry, Polyhymnia of songs to the Gods, Euterpe of lyric poetry and so forth. (www.poetryconnection.net)
Paradox is a statement of which the surface or obvious meaning seems to be illogical, even absurd but making good sense upon closer examination (Knickerbocker and Reninger, 1963:367). In Edmund Spenser’s Sonnet I, there is found paradox as in the following lines:
Which hold my life in their dead doing might (L2)
“might” means “strength” or “power.” So “dead doing might” means “power to kill,” or “life-and-death power.”
Based on the analysis above, there are several things which can be concluded. There are six types of figurative language that can be identified in Edmund Spenser’s Sonnet I: simile, metaphor, personification, metonymy, allusion, and paradox.
Edmund Spenser uses love as the subject of his sonnet; courtly love convention. The rhyme scheme in Edmund Spenser’s Sonnet I is ababbcbccdcdce.
After interpreting all meanings of each particular figurative language in the context of respective sonnets, it was found that all the figures had carried a connotative meaning, in which the meaning on the figurative level was much deeper and more impressing than the literal or surface meaning.
Halliday, M.A.K. 1985. An introduction to Functional Grammar. London: Edward Arnold
Knickerbocker, K.L and Willard Heninger. 1963. Interpreting literature. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Leech, Geoffrey. 1974. Semantics. Middlesex: Penguin Books
Wellek, Rene and Austin Warren. 1962. Theory of Literature. New York: Harvest Inc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sonnet
http:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theme
http://www.orangeusd.k12.ca.us/yorba/figurative_language.htm
http://www.sonnets.org/basicforms.htm
http://www.uni.edu/english/craft/sonnet.html
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