AN ANALYSIS OF METAPHOR IN MAYA ANGELOU'S ..., Summaries of Poetry

Download AN ANALYSIS OF METAPHOR IN MAYA ANGELOU'S ... and more Summaries Poetry in PDF only on Docsity! Tell Journal, Volume 4, Number 1, April 2016 ISSN : 2338-8927 23 AN ANALYSIS OF METAPHOR IN MAYA ANGELOU’S “CAGED BIRD” AND “STILL I RISE” POEMS Akhbar Pradana Raharta1, Waode Hamsia2 Muhammadiyah University of Surabaya, akhbar.pradana25@gmail.com ABSTRACT This research explored the possible meaning of the metaphor in the poem of Maya Angelou. The researcher focused on metaphor forms found as the object to be analyzed in Maya Angelou’s poems. Metaphor is one part of figurative languages which is the most common and widely used in literary works such as poem. Poem is a media for a poet to express feeling and imagination based on condition of a poet’s life. The data of this research were Caged Bird and Still I Rise poems by Maya Angelou. This research used descriptive qualitative to analyze the data. The purpose of this research was to find out the type of metaphor based on Crystal, Lakoff and Johnson theory, know the reasons of the use of metaphor, and interpret the poem meaning based on explication and author’s biography. It was found that Maya Angelou used three types of live metaphor they are Conceptual metaphor, Mixed metaphor and Poetic metaphor. It was also found that each poem tells about the author’s personal opinion about the racial inequality between black races and white races in America at that time. Keywords: Poetry, Figures of Speech, Metaphor, Semiotic Poetry is one of literary works that have special values than the other works, because inside the word in poetry there is language that says more and says it more intensely than ordinary language (Perrine and Thomas, 1992: 3). It means the language in the poem needs more analysis. Every word in the poem has more meanings. So in the poem usually used various languages to enrich the meaning. The study about language is called Linguistics. Linguistics is scientific study deals with language and the only academic disipline that deals with language alone and is concerned (Matthews, 1997:vii). One kind of the study in linguistics which concern with meaning is called Semantic. Semantics is the study of the meaning of words, phrases, or sentences in the language or semantics is the study of linguistic meaning (Leech, 1981:2). There are two varieties of meaning in Semantics, linguistic meaning and speaker meaning. According to Leech, the linguistic meaning of an expression is simply the meaning or meanings of that expression in some form of language while speaker meaning is what a speaker means in producing an utterance (1981:8). Speaker meaning is divided in two different types, literal meaning and non literal meaning. Literal meaning based on the real or lexical meaning of utterance. In daily activity, a speaker does not always speak literally and means what his words mean easily, but sometimes the speaker speaks non literally to tell the listener another meaning of his word and his purpose. So non literal meaning is very important to understand to avoid missunderstanding of the meaning between speaker and listener. The language of poetry is needed in making literary work, especially poem. They are diction, imagery, figurative language, rhetorical device, and metaphor that is included to figurative languages. According to Matthews, Metaphor is one part of figurative language which is the most common and widely used. It is an implicit comparison in which the intended idea is compared with another idea through a similarity or likeness of characteristics, qualities or attributes between the two ideas and he defined metaphor as a figure of speech which a word or expression is normally used for one kind of object, action, and extended to another (1997:224). A poet usually uses figurative language such as metaphor to make a message in poem well. The metaphor enriches the meaning of the poem make the reader interested to imagine and understand the meaning of the poem. Maya Angelou as the poet do the same thing. She Tell Journal, Volume 4, Number 1, April 2016 ISSN : 2338-8927 24 uses a kind of figurative language, it is metaphor in her poems. Maya Angelou was an author of potery and scenarios, orator and actress of African-Americans. She was a female African- American first asked to read a poem of her work in the inaugural president of the United States in 1993. She had bad experiences about racial inequality and discrimination. Metaphor is used by the author to gives an illustration of the differance between the black race and the white race in her era in her poems. In this research the researcher is interested to analyze the metaphors that are found in poem. Poem is defined as a piece of writing in which the words are chosen for their sound and the images they suggest, not just for their obvious meaning (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 2010/2012). A poem is a media for a poet to express feeling and imagination based on condition of a poet’s life. There are many things that the poet wants to send message in the poetic words that have deep meaning. Most of ideas were taken by a poet is about happiness, sadness, beautiful things, etc. Those themes interpret everything happened at the time. Caged Bird by Maya Angelou was first published in her book, "Shaker, Why Don't You Sing?" in 1983. The poem is a metaphor illustrating the differences between African- Americans and Whites during the civil rights era in 1965-1999. The civil rights era act of 1964 discrimination in a wide of social environtment (Maloney, 2002). The author is a woman of black races who grew up in America during this era, she is expressing her experiences and feelings about the discrimination that she faced during her life. Her first autobiography published in 1970 is titled, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" Still I Rise is the one poem of Maya Angelou that shows her identity that she is the black woman. This poem published on 1978 is about the black woman who lives among whites. Maya Angelou is one of the most celebrated American Poets of our time. Born in 1928, and she also ever experienced a racial inequality and discrimination, she dedicated her life to struggling for racial equality for the African American because during in twentieth century the African American still experienced a racial inequality and discrimination although in ninetieth century black races were freed from slavery and began to enjoy their rights as citizens (Maloney, 2002). Her confident is influenced by Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In this poem, Angelou gives the motivation to the African American who faced the discrimination experience. The researcher decides to analyze about metaphor in Maya Angelou’s selected poems which have the same theme of racial inequality and discrimination. Hopefully, this research used theory of metaphor will give contribution in linguistic especially in figurative language or non-literal meaning. Theoretical Review Poetry is the form of literature that used as language and almost ancient. As a life’s communication, poetry describes or express something from people’s feeling and history by figure of speech. Poetry can be used to express of social human life aspetcs. “Poetry is a term applied to the many forms in which man has given a rhythmic expression to his most imaginative and intense perceptions of this world, himself, and the interrelationship of the two”(Holman, 1978:403). Meaning seems at once the most obvious feature of language and the most obscure aspect to study. The thing one intends to convey meaning they are about something especially by language or extension of a word or phrase. The term of “meaning” is built from the simply word “mean”. (Lyons, 1977:2) Speaker meaning. The speaker sometimes speaks non-literally, therefore, means something different from what the words mean. (Palmer, 1976:34-36). Furthermore speaker meaning is some utterances that speaker produced with the purpose of speaker’s meaning. Tell Journal, Volume 4, Number 1, April 2016 ISSN : 2338-8927 27 namely sadness or depression. Then, the concept of orentational metaphor is ‘mistreated is down’, there is ‘mistreated’ as target domain has an abstract domain from persecute effect of stalk that orientated by spatial orientation ‘down’ as source domain. Furthermore, this orientational metaphor is used to illustrate an expression of a bird which mistreated by the condition of its cage which narrow. There is a structural metaphor that is found in the verse his bars of rage (L4). This expression shows form of metaphor by using noun bars for its object rage. The word bars literally means ‘a band of color or light’ while rage literally means ‘anger or aggression associated with conflict rising from particular situation’. The word bars is officially used to color or light. But in this form, the noun bars is used to rage that typically the form of anger feeling or emotion which have different structure from color or light. Based on the metaphorical mapping, the target domain is ‘rage’ which have the concept of ‘emotion’ is conceived in source domain by the word ‘bars’ which have the concept of ‘color or light’. So ‘emotion is color or light’ is the concept of structural metaphor expression because it compares the word rage that is a form of feeling to the word bars like a color and light. Here, this structural metaphor that is found issused to illustrate the anger feeling expression of a bird in cage. Then, the verse can seldom see through his bars of rage (L3-4) is containing another strutural metaphor expression. This expression shows form of metaphor by using verb ‘see’ for its object verse ‘his bars of rage’ as the structural metaphor that means a symbol of the anger feeling. The word see is combined with the word through become a phrasal verb in literally, it means ‘not be deceived by, detect or finding the true nature of something’. Phrasal verb see through is officially used to find or knowing something happened. But in this case, phrasal verb see through is used to anger feeling and unknown when that feeling happened. From the metaphorical mapping, the word see through which have the concept of ‘finding’ as the target domain is conceived in source domain ‘feeling’ from the verse ‘his bars of rage’. So ‘finding is feeling’ is the concept of structural metaphor is for illustrating that a bird which rarely found or see the clarity of every detail of his anger feeling in the clause. Mixed metaphor is a combination of more than one kind of metaphor in one clause (Beckson & Ganz, 1975:142). Based on the discussion of structural metaphor above, there are some mixed metaphor expressions that found in the verse can seldom see through his bars of rage (L3-4) because there are two structural metaphors in one verse from combination between phrasal verb see through and verse his bars of rage that intended to give more specific illustration about the anger feeling of a bird in the second stanza. Stanza 3 : The caged bird sings with fearful trill of the things unknown but longed for still and his tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom This clause contains structural metaphor where one concept is conceived and metaphorically structured in the another term, target concept which has abstract form is provided by source domain which has rich knowledge structure (Kovecses, 2010:37). This expression shows form of structural metaphor by using verb sings for its object things unknown. The word sings officially for the thing of voice such as tone or song, but in this case the word sing used to things unknownas the process of knowing something. By metaphorical mapping the word sing as the target domain ‘singing’ is conceived in source domain ‘knowing’ by phrase things unknown. So the concept of structural metaphor expression that is found by metaphorical mapping is ‘singing is knowing’. Therefore, metaphorical expression is used to illustrate the Tell Journal, Volume 4, Number 1, April 2016 ISSN : 2338-8927 28 caged bird knowing. The phrase longed for literally means ‘strongly wished for or desired’ while combined with the word still means ‘deep silence and quite situation’, it means that the caged bird wished the silence situation There is metaphorical expression that is found in the phrase sings of freedom. Structural metaphor is a kind of conceptual metaphor, where one concept is conceived and metaphorically structured in the term of another, target concept which has abstract form is provided by source domain which has rich knowledge structure (Kovecses, 2010:37). This expression shows form of metaphor by using verb singfor its object freedom. The word sing officially uses to the thing of voice such as tone or song, but in this form it is used to freedom literally means ‘the power or right to act’. The target domain from the word freedom which have the concept of ‘power’ is conceived in source domain from the verb sing which have the concept of ‘song’. So the concept of the structural metaphor that structured by metaphorical mappings is ‘power is song’. Therefore, this metaphorical expression is used to illustrate what caged bird sing is. Stanza 4 : The free bird thinks of another breeze and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn and he names the sky his own. In the clause The free bird thinks of another breeze and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees(L1-2) the word thinks of literally means ‘take into consideration when deciding on a possible action’ while breeze means ‘a gentle wind’, or a movement of the ‘wind’ which have the metaphorical meaning like in the first stanza. The word trade literally means ‘a stream of the wind’, but based on the phrase from metaphorical dictionary a Jack of all trades means ‘an amateur who can turn his hand to anything’, the word trade metaphorically means the turn of something. The word winds in this stanza not as noun but as verb means bellows the stream which has an adjective soft as the typical of a verb with literally means ‘of a person weak and lacking courage’, but based on the phrase from metaphorical dictionary to soft-pedal means ‘to restrain oneself’. So the word soft metaphorically means ‘a weakness or restrain expression’. The word sighing trees literally means ‘a sound of trees that made by a wind’ as the sadness expression. The word sky has a metaphorical meaning ‘a hope’ like it is explained in the first stanza. Stanza 5 : But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing In the clause But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams (L1) the word stands on literally means ‘rely or believe on something’. The Structural metaphor (Kovecses, 2010:37) is found in the phrase the grave of dreams and it is showed by using noun grave for its object dreams. The word grave literally means ‘a hole dug in the ground to receive a coffin or corpse, typically market by a stone or mound’ and officially used as an allusive term for death, but in this form the noun grave is used to dreams literally means ‘a series thoughts, images and sensations occuring in a person’s mind during sleep’. So the word dreams which has the concept of ‘mind’ as the target domain is conceived in source domain from the word grave which has the concept of ‘death’. Therefore, the concept of the structural metaphor that structured by metaphorical mappings is ‘mind is death’, and it is used to illustrate the dreams or hopes that have been dead and gone. Tell Journal, Volume 4, Number 1, April 2016 ISSN : 2338-8927 29 In the main clause his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream (L2) contains a kind of conceptual metaphor. Ontological metaphors is kind of conceptual metaphor which enable speakers to conceive of their experiences in terms of objects, substances, and containers in general, without specifying further the kind of object, substance, or container. (Kovecses, 2010:37). This expression shows form of metaphor by using verb shoutsfor its object shadow. The verb shout literally means ‘to utter a loud cry, typically as an expression of a strong emotion’ and officially used to express the emotion, but in this clause is used to shadow which has a literally meaning ‘partial or complete darkness’ and it has different typical form with emotion. The word shadow as the target domain which has the concept of ‘darkness’ is conceived in source domain by the word shout as the concept of ‘emotion’. So the concept of ontological metaphor in this clause is ‘darkness is emotion’, it is used to gives an illustration that darkness like an emotion which can be expressed. Based on the analysis from each stanza, there is structural metaphor. This expression is showed by using for its object free bird and caged bird. The verbs leaps, dips, dares and claim are officially used by people activity, but in this form they are used to ‘free bird’ and ‘caged bird’. So the target domain are ‘free bird’ and ‘caged bird’ which have the concept of ‘bird’ is conceived by the verbs leaps, dips, dares and claim which have concept of ‘people’. So the concept of structural metaphor that is found in this poem is ‘bird is people’ that used to give an illutration of the differences action, feeling and expression of certain people. This poem also used the mixed metaphor like in the second stanza. This poem describes the contrast between the free bird and the caged bird as the human races with their different characteristic and also emphasizing an illustration of caged bird expression. Firtsly, the author invites the reader to imagine the stregth of free bird and whatever he is doing for the circumstance in the first stanza. After that, in the second stanza there is a caged bird as another typical of people with his poor condition and no hopes, but it still tries to express the freedom and the expression of caged bird which have a freedom feeling feels very sad in the third stanza. In the fourth stanza, the free bird feels what caged bird feels and try to shows up that all hopes are his own. The fifth stanza describes that the free bird knew it was necessary to have a voice and finally sing for their freedom. Still I Rise Stanza 1 : You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I'll rise. The word You literally means ‘second person singular or plural’ that is used in exclamations to address one or more people by the speaker. The word me is used by the speaker to refers herself as the object of the verb or preposition. In the clause You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies,(L1-2) containing the conceptual metaphor which is the simplest type of metaphor which compares one idea to another idea to illustrate an idea which can be expressed in other ways (Beckson & Ganz, 1975:142). Structural metaphor is a kind of conceptual metaphor, where one concept is metaphorically structured in the other term, target concept which has abstract form is providedby source domain which has rich knowledge structure (Kovecses, 2010:37). This expression shows form of structural metaphor by using verb write for its object me. The verb write literally means ‘mark on a surface, typically paper, with a pen, pencil, or similar implement’ and it is officially used to letters, words, or other symbols. However, in this form used to the object me literally means ‘as a pronoun, first person singular’ and it is used by a speaker to refers to himself or herself as the object of a verb or Tell Journal, Volume 4, Number 1, April 2016 ISSN : 2338-8927 32 There is a kind of conceptual metaphor, where one concept is metaphorically structured in the term of another by a target concept which has abstract form is provided by source domain which has rich knowledge structure, it is namely structural metaphor (Kovecses,2010:37). There is structural metaphor in the clause Out of the huts of history's shame(L1). This expression shows form of metaphor by using the word huts literally means ‘a small, simple, single-storey house or shelter’ and it is officially used as a building, but in this form the noun hut is used to history literally means ‘the whole series of past events connected with a particular person or thing’ while is combined with shame means ‘a painfull feeling of humliation or distress caused by the conciousness of wrong or foolish behaviour’. So the word history’s shame which have the concept of ‘events’ as the target domain is conceived in source domain from the word hut which has the concept of ‘building’. Therefore the concept of the structural metaphor that structured by metaphorical mapping is ‘events is building’, it is used to illustrate the events just like as like the building that we can get in or out. The word up literally means ‘towards a higher place or position’. There is other structural metaphor (Kovecses, 2010:37) in the clause Up from a past that's rooted in pain(L3). This expression shows form of metaphor by using the word rooted literally means ‘the part of a plant which attaches it to the ground or a to support’ and is officially used to plants, but in this form the word rooted is used to past literally means ‘the time before the moment of speaking or writing’. So the word past which have the concept of ‘time’ as the target domain is conceived in source domain from the word rooted which have the concept of ‘plants’. Therefore the concept of the structural metaphor that structured by metaphorical mapping is ‘time is plants’, it is used to illustrate that the time is like a plant which have the source to support. There is a structural metaphor (Kovecses,2010:37) where one concept is structured by target domain which is conceived by source domain. In the clause I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,Welling and swelling I bear in the tide(L4-5). This expression is showed by using the word black ocean which comparing withthe word I literally means ‘first person singular’ and it is used by the speaker to refer to herself, but in this form it is used to black ocean literally means ‘a very large expanse of sea’. So the word I which have the concept of ‘person’ as the target domain is conceived in source domain from the word black ocean which have the concept of ‘sea’. Thus the concept of the structural metaphor that structured by metaphorical mapping is ‘person is sea’, it is used to illustrate that the speaker is like a sea. Other structural metaphor (Kovecses,2010:37) where one concept is structured by target domain which is conceived by source domain. In the clause Leaving behind nights of terror and fear(L6). This expression is showed by using the word nights for its object terror and fear. The word nights is offcially used to refer darkness, but in this form it is used to terror and fear literally means ‘exteme fear’. So the word terror and fear which have the concept of ‘fear’ as the target domain is conceived in source domain from the word nights which have the concept of ‘darkness’. Therefore the concept of the structural metaphor that structured by metaphorical mapping is ‘fear is darkness’, it is used to illustrate that the fear of the speaker like a night which typically dark. Structural metaphor is a kind of conceptual metaphor, where one concept is conceived and metaphorically structured in the term of another, target concept which has abstract form is provided by source domain which has rich knowledge structure (Kovecses,2010:37). In the clause I am the dream and the hope of the slave(L12). This expression is showed by using the word the dream and the hope which comparing with the word I literally means ‘first person singular’ and it is used by the speaker to refer to herself, but in this form it is used to the dream and the hopeliterally means ‘a series thoughts, images and sensations occuring in a person’s mind during sleep’ and ‘a feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen’. Tell Journal, Volume 4, Number 1, April 2016 ISSN : 2338-8927 33 So the word I which have the concept of ‘person’ as the target domain is conceived in source domain from the word black ocean which have the concept of ‘sea’. Thus the concept of the structural metaphor that structured by metaphorical mapping is ‘person is mind’, it is used to illustrate that the author is the mind of slave. Conclusion. Caged Bird and Still I Rise are the poems of Maya Angloeu, well-known all over the world. Those poems were published by the author in her era, Caged Bird on 1983 and Still I Rise on 1978 and convey not only explicit meaning but also many implicit meaning to the readers. Since Maya uses a kind of figurative language, it is metaphor that she is used in her poems. The researcher has found forms of metaphorical expression in the poems. Types of metaphor show how metaphor influence the verse and clause meaning. First, the researcher has found the types of metaphor which are used in the poems. There are three types of live metaphor includes conceptual metaphor, Mixed metaphor and Poetic metaphor. Three general kinds of Conceptual metaphor are Structural metaphor, Orientational metaphor, and Ontological metaphor. Second, the researcher has found the meanings of metaphor that were used. Therefore, the reasons of the using metaphor by Maya Angelou because she has the power to make the ordinary language and give a special illustrations abouut her experience, feelings, thoughts, in her poems, and create a new meaning by conceiving one thing in terms of another, such as she is ‘caged bird’ and the people is ‘free bird’ in Caged Bird poem and she is ‘ a black ocean’ in Still I Rise poem. Third, it can be concluded that the meaning of each metaphor that is found in Maya Angelou’s poems provide an interpretation on each poem based on the explication which shows the living conditions experienced by Maya in that era. The interpretation of each poems tells about Maya’s feeling as the African-American experienced the racial inequality between blak races and white races in America. References Abrams, M.H. 1999. A Glossary of Literary Terms, Seven Edition. Massachusetts: Heinle & Heinle, . Beckson, K. & Ganz, A. 1975. Literary Terms: A Dictionary. 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