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SEMANTIC CUEING SYSTEM ON SHAKESPEARE’S NEW COINED

WORDS IN MACBETH

Pratiwi Rosmawati Priadhi

English Department of Faculty of Letters and Culture Udayana University

Abstrak:

Artikel ini berjudul Semantic Cueing System on Shakespeare’s New Coined Words in Macbeth. Artikel ini menjelaskan tentang kata – kata baru di drama Macbeth dan makna dari kata – kata tersebut. Makna menjadi hal penting dalam karya sastra karena penggunaan bahasa dapat menimbulkan interpretasi ganda. Oleh karena itu, studi tentang makna dapat membantu pembaca menemukan pesan dari karya sastra tersebut. Sumber data dari penelitian ini adalah naskah drama Tragedy of Macbeth atau yang dikenal dengan Macbeth yang ditulis oleh William Shakespeare. Objek analisis dari artikel ini adalah kata – kata baru dalam dialog dari Babak I hingga Babak III. Metode studi pustaka digunakan dalam pengumpulan data. Dialog yang berisi kata – kata baru diambil sebagai data dan dianalisis dengan menggunakan metode deskriptif. Studi ini menerapkan teori neologisme oleh Haham, teori miscue analysis oleh Goodman (1973) dan teori tipe – tipe makna oleh Leech (1974).

Studi ini bertujuan untuk menemukan kata – kata baru di dalam naskah drama Macbeth dan menemukan makna dari kata – kata tersebut. Hasil dari studi ini menunjukkan bahwa (1)terdapat 14 kata – kata baru yang ditemukan oleh Shakespeare dari babak I hingga Babak III. Kata – kata tersebut adalah assassination, incarnadine, surmise, vantage, metaphysical, unsex, unmake, wassail, dauntless, (to) drug, fitful, stealthy, unruly, dan unreal. (2) terdapat lime tipe makna yang ditemukan di naskah drama Macbeth. Tipe – tipe tersebut adalah makna denotatif, makna konotatif, makna afektif, makna reflektif dan makna stilistik. Terlihat bahwa makna denotatif adalah makna yang paling sering muncul dalam penelitian ini.

Kata Kunci: sistem penaksiran semantik, tipe – tipe makna, kata – kata baru

  • 1.    Introduction

The meaning of a word is determined through its contextual use. The words in the sentence that surround the word which is tried to define will give contextual clues to help the readers define the word’s meaning. A word is defined within the context of a sentence. Contextual analysis is a method of deriving the meaning of an unknown word from the surrounding context. Unlike graphophonic analysis and morphemic analysis, which both develop meaning about a word from the word in question, contextual analysis focuses on observing context clues found before and after the unknown word.

Ken and Yetta Goodman’s work on miscue analysis showed us that all proficient readers use three major subsystems or cueing systems of language in order to construct meaning from text: the semantic, syntactic, and graphophonic systems (Turbill,2002). The semantic cueing system is based upon meaning within context. This technique is also known as the contextual cueing system. The semantic cueing system is based upon meaning within context. Semantic understanding is largely determined by the reader's vocabulary or lexicon. A reader must be able to attach meaning to words and have some prior knowledge to use as a context for understanding the word. They must be able to relate the newly learned word to prior knowledge through personal associations with text and the structure of text. Semantic cues are gained through using knowledge of known words which precede or follow the unknown word.

Shakespeare, with the right and might of a true poet, and with his peculiar royal privilege as king of all poets, has minted several words that deserve to become current in English language. He coined them for his own special use to express his own special meanings in his own special passages. However, they are so expressive and so well framed to be exponents of certain particulars in meaning common to us all, that they deserve to become generally adopted and used. In order to find the meaning of those words, we can use semantic cueing system. By relating the newly learned word to prior knowledge through personal associations with text and the structure of text, the readers can reveal and therefore understand the meaning behind those coined words found by Shakespeare in his work, Macbeth.

This study tries to reveal the real meaning of new coined words found by Shakespeare in his drama, Macbeth, by analyzing it contextually especially by using semantic cueing system. There are two problems being discussed in this article. First is the new coined words in Macbeth and second is the meaning of those words. The source of the data in this research is a drama script written by William Shakespeare entitled The Tragedy of Macbeth or widely known as Macbeth. The dialogues in the drama from Act I to Act III are the population of the data and taken as the sample of

the new coined words found by Shakespeare Not all new coined words were analyzed in the way being mentioned. The samples were taken by choosing the new words randomly.

This study applied note taking technique as the technique to collect the data. First, the script was downloaded from http://www.william-shakespeare.info/script-text-macbeth.htm. Then the script was printed and read thoroughly. After that the new coined words were identified and collected using note-taking technique. The method of analyzing data was qualitative since it described the meaning of the new coined words using the theory and how the theory could help us to find the meaning of the words. The study was using theory of neologism proposed by Haham (In: Zhakhanova and Luchkova,2013), theory of miscue analysis proposed by Goodman (1973) and theory of types of meaning by Leech (1974).

  • 2.    Discussion

After the study was conducted, there were 14 new coined words found in Macbeth from Act I to Act III. They are assassination, incarnadine, surmise, vantage, metaphysical, unsex, unmake, wassail, dauntless, (to) drug, fitful, stealthy, unruly and unreal. Three new coined words were chosen randomly to be discussed as the examples.

  • 2.1    Incarnadine: Act II Scene II

In Merriam-Webster Dictionary, incarnadine means "to make the color of flesh," although it's more commonly used to mean "to redden"(2003:628). It derives from Middle French incarnadin, from Old Italian incarnadino, from incarnato which means flesh-colored, from Late Latin incarnates. In this dialogue, Macbeth felt that there is not enough water in the sea to cleanse his hands, but instead the blood on them will stain the ocean red.

According to Haham, incarnadine is categorized as new coined word because the form is new, but the meaning has already existed in some other words.

Shakespeare loaned the word from French and Italian which rooted from Latin and used it to express to stain with red. However, instead of using incarnadine, people tend to use to redden. Both of the words have same semantic features; they are +transitive +have something to deal with flesh colour +turn something into red colour.

After finishing and killing King Duncan, Macbeth became paranoid of every thing. It is clearly described in first and second line of the dialogue “Whence is that knocking?How is't with me, when every noise appals me?” The utterances mean Macbeth was afraid of simple thing like noise, even of the sound of knocking. The following utterances explain the bitterness of the assassination of the king. His guilt haunted him so bad that when he looked at his hands, he felt they could pluck out his eyes. The guilt bore so deep in his mind that the blood of King Duncan would not be able to be cleaned from his hands. Instead, the blood would turn water into red.

The unknown word is incarnadine. What is missing from line “The multitudinous seas incarnadine” is verb. In the frame of semantic cueing system analysis, an action that can turns something into red or to redden is incarnadine. It is clearly described in the last line Making the green one red. Word blood in Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood also can be clue for referring incarnadine as something that deals with red colour.

According to Leech (1974) incarnadine has both denotative meaning and connotative meaning.

The multitudinous seas incarnadine

(The blood would turn water into red) ………… 1

(Macbeth’s action of killing King Duncan would tarnish his image)…..2

The denotative meaning of incarnadine is to make the ocean turn into red. However, the connotative meaning of the word is to taint his image. Macbeth’s crime of assassinating King Duncan was really bad that when he tried to cleanse his guilt and the proofs of the crime, he could not get rid of it. Instead, the guilt and the proofs would stay forever and tarnish his image.

  • 2.2    Unsex: Act I Scene V

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Unsex means “deprive of sex or sexual powers”(2003:1372). Noun sex itself derives from late 14th century which means "males or females collectively," from Latin sexus "a sex, state of being either male or female, gender," of uncertain origin. Prefix un- was attached as the marker that it has the opposite meaning of the noun.

According to Haham, unsex is categorized as new coined word because both meaning and form are new. The prefix un- is attached as the marker of the opposite meaning of its original meaning. However, the derivation changes word class of the word. Semantic features of sex show that it belongs to noun as the word class. They are –animate +state +something to deal with gender. Meanwhile, semantic features of unsex show that it belongs to verb. They are +transitive +have something to deal with gender –increase characteristics of certain gender. The meaning is also new since Shakespeare used it to express the willingness of Lady Macbeth who wanted to decrease minor characteristics which are attached with her gender.

As the messenger informed Lady Macbeth that King Duncan would come to her fortress, she decided that it would be the place where he would get his life ended. However, she felt her womanhood was the barrier from her ambition. Therefore, she asked bad spirits to make her less like a woman and to fill her body and heart with cruelty. She did not want any human compassion would prevent her to accomplish her plan. She wished demons would turn her breast milk into poisonous acid. If she could, she would summon the darkest smoke of hell so that heaven could not see her to obstruct her action.

In the frame of semantic cueing system analysis, unsex in the dialogue means decrease her woman’s characteristics with man’s characteristic. Drove by her devilish ambition, Lady Macbeth would do every thing to make her husband as a king. However, in her opinion, her womanhood, which is symbolized with breasts and milk, prevented her to do violence and cruelty, which she associated with manliness. It is uttered in unsex me here and fill me from to the crown to the toe topfull of direst cruelty. She begged to the devil to turn her breast milk into poisonous

acid. Milk, which is usually used to symbolize the life since it can feed baby, is turned into poison that can bring death to human. Lady Macbeth was so controlled by her ambition that the nature’s blessing was turned by her to be a fatal weapon. Hence, word “unsex” here means not to change her sex from woman into man but to decrease the characteristics that are usually associated with woman, (e.g. hesitation, weakness) into characteristics which are usually associated with man (e.g. bravery, cruelty).

The word unsex has affirmative meaning since it coveys the feeling of language user that it shapes the use of language (Leech, 1947). Lady Macbeth used the word to express her eagerness to help her husband killing the king. However, in her opinion, it is the women’s characteristics that prevent her to do it. She associated her womanhood with inferiority like weak and easy to be scared. Thus, she prayed and wished to demon that they would make her having superiorities like men have.

  • 2.3    (to) drug: Act II Scene II

According to Oxford Dictionary, drugged or (to) drug means “to give a person or an animal a drug, especially to make them unconscious or to affect their performance in a race or competition” (2005:471). It derives from Middle English, from Old French drogue, possibly from Middle Dutch droge vate, literally dry vats, referring to the contents (i.e. dry goods).

According to Haham, drug is categorized as new coined word because the meaning is new but the form has existed before. Shakespeare used it as verb to explain the act to put a substance into food or beverage to decrease the condition of someone who eat or drink it. Semantic features of drug show that it belongs to noun as the word class. They are -animate +thing +edible +for the sake of health. Meanwhile, semantic features of drug show that it also belongs to verb. They are +transitive –for the sake of health +put additional substance into food or beverage.

Lady Macbeth helped her husband to kill King Duncan by made the servants drunk. However, the alcohol that made them drank gave no effects to her. Instead, the same liquor which is drunk by them had fired her up. When she heard an owl

shrieked, she considered it as a sign that Macbeth already killed the king. She made Macbeth’s job easier by putting so many drugs in the servants’ drinks so they were unconscious thus made the doors to Duncan’s chamber left unguarded. She mocked the servants by telling their unawareness was a joke to their task because they were sleeping instead of protecting the king. They slept so tight people could not tell whether they were alive or dead.

It is easy to know the meaning of “drugged” if readers know it comes from word “drug” with suffix “-ed” attached to make passive form of the word. However, not all readers know it. Then, the second method will be used. Lady Macbeth do something to the drinks so the servants slept thus left the doors of Duncan’s chamber opened. In order to make them unconscious, she add drug into their drink. As she said the doors are open, and the surfeited grooms do mock their charge with snores. The drunken servants make a mockery of their jobs by snoring instead of protecting the king. Therefore, Macbeth could kill King Duncan.

According to Leech (1974) denotative meaning is the basic propositional meaning which corresponds to the primary dictionary definition. Thus, drugged has denotative meaning since the meaning of the word in the dialogue is similar with the meaning in the dictionary which is to put drug into someone’s food or beverage to make him/her unconscious.

  • 3.    Conclusions

From the previous analysis, there are two points that can be concluded. First, there are 14 new coined words by Shakespeare in the play Macbeth from Act I to Act III. They are assassination, incarnadine, surmise, vantage, metaphysical, unsex, unmake, wassail, dauntless, (to) drug, fitful, stealthy, unruly, and unreal.

Second, theory of neologism by Haham was used as the parameter for new coined words. After that, semantic cueing system was applied in order to find the meanings of the new coined words based on the theory of miscue analysis by Goodman (1973). Then, the theory proposed by Leech (1974) was used to determine types of meaning of those new coined words. There were five types of meaning found in drama script. They are denotative meaning, connotative meaning, affective

meaning, reflective meaning and stylistic meaning. From the study which was conducted, denotative meaning is type of meaning which mostly appear.

References

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Goodman, K.S. (1979). Reading: A psycholinguistic guessing game. In H. Singer & R. B. Ruddell (Eds.). Theoretical Models And Processes Of Reading. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.pp. 259-271

Hornby, A.S. 2005. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English.

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