Metaphors in Protest Songs: Analyzing Bob Dylan's Albums, Study notes of Poetry

Download Metaphors in Protest Songs: Analyzing Bob Dylan's Albums and more Study notes Poetry in PDF only on Docsity! 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This chapter provides the background of research, the reasearch questions, the research objective, the significances of research, the clarifications of terms, and the organization of writing. 1.1 Background of the Research Lyrics are words delivered through tones and songs. Lyrics have a rhyme, diction, and imagery that contains figurative language as a means of rhetoric. Then the dictionary turned into expression of feelings, state, or point of view of the writers. The song writers preach their experiences with words to create an appeal and distinctiveness to their lyrics, this rhetoric is reinforced by the vocal dynamics and figurative language. Song lyrics will be more touching because they are reinforced with melodies and music notations that are adapted to the lyric element of the song so that listeners can easily feel what the writer intended could have the theme of love, hatred, miss, politics, protest as well as social criticism. Lyrics according to Moeliono have two definitions, first is literary works (poetry) which contain outpourings of personal feelings; second is composition of songs (Moeliono, 2007). From these two explanations, the lyrics were placed in written texts that were closely related to literary works, especially poetry and voiced with composition of songs. This is a combinations of art music and literature. As claimed by Luxemburg (1989, p.175) lyrics or songs can be considered as poetry as well as the opposite and states, such as the definition of poetry texts not only 2 includes the types of literature but also advertisement, proverb, slogan, prayers and pop songs. Provided that it contains literary elements, moreover the lyrics that are elements and forms are commensurate with poetry. Poetry is a literary work in the form of lines and stanzas, which contain diction, rhythm, intonation, visual presentation, intention is the expression of feelings conveyed through figurative language. According to Wolosky (Wolosky, 2001) Poetry is language in which every element word and word order, sound and pause, image and echo is significant. Significant in that every element point toward or stand for further relantionships among and beyond themselves. The poetry generally employed in the utterances and writings reviews those that call for heightened intensity of emotion, dignity of expression, or subtlety of meditation. The expression is usually sublimated in figurative language as a means of rhetoric because figurative language is the heart of poetry. Poetry will be more effective and suggestive if it contains a figurative language and the author's mind will be more easily conveyed, especially from the meaning and attitude. The most important role figurative language in poetry is metaphor, because metaphors combining two comparisons in one analogy—convey messages explicitly. As claimed by Keraf, metaphor is a kind of analogy that compares two things directly, but in a short form: the flower of the nation, the crocodile, the baby, the souvenir, and so on. As a direct comparison, metaphors do not use words: like, like, like, etc., so the first point is directly related to the second point (1993, p. 139). 5 because no one songwriter has won the Nobel Prize for Literature before. Dylan is a natural but meaningful singer—the song is flat, but the lyrics that became important and influenced the minds of the people of that era with words that have more resonance than feelings, and the music helped to unite the masses of people in protests. He has come to feel the suffering of African-Americans or blacks expressed concern about fears of nuclear war, black rejection at universities, boycotts, and many other phenomena of the Civil Rights Movement conditions. The Civil Rights Movement is an African-American struggle for equality. As stated by Steven F. Lawson in Chapter Preface to “Who Played the Most Important Role in the Civil Rights Movement?”. (Lawson, 2005, p. 181) The Civil rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s radically al- tered the social, political, and economic conditions that affect all minorities in the United States. While the most conspicuous change was the abolishment of restrictions that kept blacks separated from whites, the freedoms gained extended into virtually every sphere of life. Through countless legal and political battles, African-Americans increased the black franchise, gained the right to acquire an equal education, to own property, to enjoy the protection of the law, and to participate in state and federal government in essence, to enjoy the rights and privileges once reserved for white Americans only. Perhaps most importantly, the civil rights movement laid bare forever the overwhelming barriers—many of which continue to plague minorities today—to full equality. The movement action with the application of radical love, Through nonviolent protest actions, Gandhi's nonviolence in connection with Christian love 6 seems to be African-Americans as a good base for invoke change. It broke through the pattern of racial segregation, the practice of the South through which Americans are not allowed to use the same schools, churches, restaurants, buses, and other facilities as white Americans. The movement is also intended to end discrimination against people because of their race. With a variety of phenomena in the Civil Rights Movement condition, the researcher will analyze the metaphor was an expression by Bob Dylan through the song lyrics called The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan and The Times They Are a-Changin’ Albums which portrays how African-Americans defend their rights to achieve equality. In a theory that can be used as a metaphor theory in which this theory views literature as an expression of the times that occur in society. Moreover, the metaphor of the researchers will relate to the social conditions of the civil rights movement in America. This paper provides the previous studies which has some similarities related to this research. The first analysis written by Sumolong (2003) Metafora Dalam Lirik Lagu Karya Adele. The papers analyzes the metaphor contains a certain meaning based on the context and each of them refers to a certain object of tenor and source. In contrast to what is observed by Sumolong, this study did not examine the meaning contained in the lyrics, but rather on the function and also meaning by using of metaphor approach contained in the lyrics. Researchers will only take the same model in researching works through metaphor approach, instead of looking for the message but rather to look for functions and meaning contained in the lyrics. 7 Second, First, the journal was done by Selvia Neilil Kamaliah (2013), Linguistics major at English Language and Literature Study Program, Indonesia University of Education Bandung. The title of this research is Conceptual Metaphor in Mylo Xyloto Album by Coldplay. The aim of this research is to find out that the dominant conceptual metaphor used in the song lyrics. The qualitative method especially a case study is used. The result of this study is conceptual metaphor used in the Mylo Xyloto, dominantly about life, changes, and love. Those include life is journey, changes are movement, purposes are destination, love is s unity, love is war, love is struggle, states are location, and less is down. This research only focuses on the dominant conceptual metaphor which belongs to structural metaphor. This is different from what the writer studies, because the writer analyzes the type of metaphorical expression, not only structural metaphor, but also the three types of metaphor. Third, An Analysis of Metaphor In Cradle of Filth’s Song Lyric’s. The thesis analyzed by Fitria Helena (2008). In this study the author discusses the use of metaphors in the lyrics of Cradle of filth and focuses on the types and meanings contained in the lyrics of Cradle of Filth. By using referential method and distribusional method to decipher the lyrics’s that has meaning metaphor and parables in Cradle of Filth’s song lyric’s. Research conducted by Ady Putra with this paper is the same in terms of researching the meaning in the metaphor. Researchers take the example of a model study of meaning through metaphor approach. 10 1. To examine the conceptual metaphor of the United State Civil Rights Movement contained in the lyrics of Bob Dylan selected song. 2. To know the relationship between the metaphors in the lyrics on the Bob Dylan’s selected song. 1.4 Significance the Research This research is expected to be useful both theoretically and practically. Theoretically, this research can be useful as a reference and enrich the concept of science widely and from research in accordance with the field of science in a study. Especially in the field of literature that uses moral concept of metaphors about targets and sources put forward by Lakoff and Johnson. While practically, this research can provide knowledge about the meaning of metaphor in semantic study especially for readers, and can motivate them to do research about metaphor by using different object, and to make the reader literate metaphor expressed by the singer in the song. 1.5 Clarifications of Terms There are the clarifications of the key terms used in this research. The researchers clarify the key point, as follow: • The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan album which first released on May 27, 1963, and The Times They Are a-Changin’ album realeased on Janury 13, 1964, in New York City by Columbia Records. (Wikipedia, 2019) • Robert Dylan is American singer, song writer, musician, painter, and writer. He has been influential in popular music in and culture for more than five decades. (Columbia Records) 11 • Metaphor is pervasive in everyday life, not just in language but in thought and action. Our ordinary conceptual system, in term of which we both think and act, is fundamentally metaphorical in nature. (Lakoff and Johnson) • Lyric is in the modern sense, any fairly short poem expressing the personal mood, feeling, or meditation of a single speaker (who may sometimes be an invented character, not the poet). In ancient Greece, a lyric was a song for accompaniment. (Oxford, 2010: 143) • The Civil rights movement conditions are the state of society of a country at a given moment. • The Civil rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s radically altered the social, political, and economic conditions that affect all minorities in the United States. While the most conspicuous change was the abolishment of restrictions that kept blacks separated from whites, the freedoms gained extended into virtually every sphere of life. Through countless legal and political battles, African-Americans increased the black franchise, gained the right to acquire an equal education, to own property, to enjoy the protection of the law, and to participate in state and federal government in essence, to enjoy the rights and privileges once reserved for white Americans only. Perhaps most importantly, the civil rights movement laid bare forever the overwhelming barriers—many of which continue to plague minorities today—to full equality. (Lawson, 2005) 1.6 Organization of Writing This research is divided into five chapters and the description are as follows: 12 Chapter I. In the chapter one, there is an introduction of the research and the reasearchers will explain about background of the research, the research quetions, the research objective, significances of the research, the clarifications of terms, and the organization of writing. Chapter II. This chapter contains about theoritical foundation that are relevant to the research and divided into eight sub-chapters, there are: The civil right movement, understanding metaphor, metaphor in song lyric, understanding song lyric, song lyrics as a poetry, Bob Dylan, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan Album, and The Times They Are a-Cangin’ Album. Chapter III. The third chapter explain about methodology used in the research, that consists of the research method, the source of data, the data, the technique of collecting data, and the technique of analyzing data. Chapter IV. The fourth chapter is finding discussions and explain the result of the research clearly, that consists of the research findings and the explanation of the research questions. Chapter V. The last chapter in this research contains about the conclusion and the suggestion of the research.