Analyzing Depression in Freddie Mercury's Songs: Poetic Devices & Symptoms in Hits, Schemes and Mind Maps of Poetry

Download Analyzing Depression in Freddie Mercury's Songs: Poetic Devices & Symptoms in Hits and more Schemes and Mind Maps Poetry in PDF only on Docsity! 1 DEPRESSION IN FREDDIE MERCURY’S SONG LYRICS: “BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY”, “SOMEBODY TO LOVE” AND “LOVE OF MY LIFE” Zaki Risqullah English Literature Program Faculty of Letters Dr.Soetomo University zakirisqullah@gmail.com Keywords: Depression, Freddie Mercury, “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Love of My Life”, and “Somebody to Love” Abstract This research deals with Depression in Freddie Mercury’s song lyrics. It is focused on the symptoms of depression implied in the song lyrics entitled “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Love of My Life”, and “Somebody to Love”. The objectives of the study are to find out the poetic devices in Freddie Mercury’s song lyrics entitled “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Love of My Life”, and “Somebody to Love” and to describe the depression symptoms portrayed in Freddie Mercury’s song lyrics entitled “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Love of My Life”, and “Somebody to Love”. The theories used to analyse the data are Aaron T. Beck’s depression and William Wordsworth’s theory of poetry. Pragmatic approach and qualitative research design were applied in conducting the study. The techniques of data collection and analysis covered close reading and content analysis. Findings show that “Bohemian Rhapsody” makes use of hyperbole, metonymy, situational irony, antithesis, repetition, and allusion as poetic devices. The depression symptoms undergone by the speaker of the song lyrics entitled “Bohemian Rhapsody” cover Low Self-Evaluation., Loss of Emotional Attachments, and Negative Feelings toward Self. The second song lyrics entitled “Someone to Love” employ repetition, hyperbole, and personification. The speaker of the song lyrics suffers from Reduction in Gratification. The song lyrics entitled “Love of My Life” make use of hyperbole, repetition, personification, and symbol as the poetic devices. The character ‘I’, in the song lyrics, suffer from Dejected Mood. 2 1. INTRODUCTION Music is part of human being’s life. People love music because sometimes it represents their feeling and emotion. Moreover, by listening to or resding song lyrics, people can get both enjoyment as well as moral lesson. Song lyric can be considere as literary work because it belonges to one of the forms of poetry. One of the facts of the seriousness of perception a literary work must fulfill is that literary should be able to portray the life human beings live in as it is stated by Hudson (1960: 10) in An Introduction to the Study of Literature that, “Literature is the expression of the life through the medium of language. It can be regarded as something essential since it contains real life”. Considering the two requirements of literary works as Hudson stated it, the thesis writer conducts a research aimed to seek out the portrayal of life in a literary work. Song lyrics as one of the poetry forms is chosen to be the source of data because Herbert Kohl (1999: 4) stated, in The Grain of Poetry, that “Poetry speaks more intimately, wildly, and provocatively than the manners of ordinary conversation allow.” Freddie Mercury’s song lyrics entitled “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Love of My Life”, and “Somebody to Love” are chosen because Freddie mercury is a legend having plenty of achievements. Secondly, the three song lyrics imply an interesting topic to analysie, that is depression. It is significant to discuss depression because depression is a common mental disorder. Globally, more than 300 million people of all ages suffer from depression. Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide, and is a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease. (WHO, 2018). This research aims to find out the poetic devices and to describe depression symptoms portrayed in Freddie Mercury’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Love of My Life”, and “Somebody to Love”. The critical approaches used cover psychological approach as stated by Rohrberger and Woods (1971: 13), that “the psychological approach involves the effort to locate and demonstrate certain recurrent pattern human psychology. This approach tries to find the human psychology such as human personality as well as psychological problems faced by human beings portrayed in the literary work.” The next approach is pragmatic approach as Abrams (1971: 15) stated “There is, of course, the greatest variance in emphasis and detail, but the central tendency of the pragmatic critic is to conceive a poem as something made in order to effect requisite responses in its readers.” Wordsworth’s theory of poetry mostly written in the Preface of Wordsworth’s poem collection book entitle Lyrical Ballads published in 1798 is used to analyze the topic. The theory of depression proposed by Aaron T. Beck is used to identify the depression symptoms in the song lyrics. RESEARCH METHODS Qualitative research approach was applied in analyzing the topic as stated by Neuman (2007:89) that “Qualitative researchers use a language of cases and contexts, examine social processes and case in their social context, and look at interpretations or the creations of meaning in specific settings. Instead of trying to convert into variables or numbers. Qualitative data are empirical. They involve documenting real events, recording what people say (with words, gestures, and tones), observing specific behavior, studying written documents, or examining visual images.” Intrinsic and extrinsic approaches were also 5 No Lyrics Poetic Device Description 1 Ooh, each morning I get up I die a little Can barely stand on my feet Hyperbole The two lines imply hyperbolic expression in which the speaker is stating that he dies a little. Moreover, he is also saying that he cannot stand on his feet. Those are exaggeration. The fact is that he is still alive and he is in healthy condition because he is still able to do his work.. 2 Somebody (som ebody) ooh some body Repetition Repetition is used as poetic device in those lines. The word (somebody) Can anybody find me somebody to love? ‘somebody’ is repeated to to make an idea clearer and more memorable. 3 'Til the tears run down from my eyes Personification Personification is used as poetic device in that line. As a literary device, personification is the projection of characteristics that normally belong only to humans onto inanimate objects, animals, deities, or forces of nature. These characteristics can include verbs of actions that only humans do or adjectives that describe a human condition. The speaker personifies tears as human being who is capable of running. (Source: Primary Data) The lines “Ooh, each morning I get up I die a little” and “Can barely stand on my feet First thing in the morning” show the use of hyperbole as the poetic device. The two lines imply hyperbolic expression in which the speaker is stating that he dies a little. Moreover he is also saying that he cannot stand on his feet. Those are exaggeration. The fact is that he is still alive and he is in healthy condition because he is still able to do his work. Repetition is also used as the poetic device for the two last lines of the first stanza. Repetition is used as poetic device in those lines. The word ‘somebody’ is repeated to to make an idea clearer and more memorable. The repetition shows that the speaker desperately needs a person to love. Based on the speaker’s feeling portrayed by the song lyrics, it is apparent that that the speaker is lonely and desperate. 6 Personification is used when the speaker says, “'Til the tears run down from my eyes”. The speaker personifies tears as human being who is capable of running. The following table 3 shows poetic devices used in the third song lyrics entitled “Love of My Life” 1 Bring it back, bring it back, don't take it away from me Because you don't know what it means to me Personification The speaker uses personification to express his meaning. He personifies the feeling of love as a person who can be brought back. Repetition Repetition is also used as poetic device. The verb phrase ‘bring it back’ is repeated to emphasize the meaning Symbol Symbol, as poetic device, is employed also in that line. The pronoun ‘it’ that refers to the word ‘love’ symbolizes ‘someone precious. 2 Hurry back, hurry back, please bring it back home to me Repetition Repetition is used. Phrasal verb ‘hurry back’ is repeated. It is used to create rhythm and bring attention to an idea (Source: Primary Data) Based on what the speaker says through the song lyrics, the thesis writer concludes that the character ‘I’ in the song lyrics feel lonely and desperate from the very beginning. He is longing for his “Love of My Life”. He desperately needs the love of his lifetime. The dominant poetic device used in the song lyrics entitled “Love of My Life” is repetition. The line “Bring it back, bring it back, don't take it away from me” employs two poetic devices at once. The speaker uses personification to express his meaning. He personifies the feeling of love as a person who can be brought back. Repetition is also used as poetic device. The verb phrases ‘bring it back’ and ‘hurry back’ are repeated to emphasize the meaning. It is the feeling of lonely that the speaker intends to show to the readers or listeners. Moreover, the speaker needs a help very much to bring his love of his life back. 3.1 Depression Syndromes Implied in the Song Lyrics 1 Is this the real life? Is this just fantas y? Increased Dependenc y A person’s desire to have things done for him or her, to receive instruction and reassurance, is stronger Indecisiven ess Difficulty in making decisions, vacillating between alternatives, and changing decisions are depressive characteristics that are usually quite vexing to the patient’s family and friends as well as to the patient 2 Caught in Negative Expectatio ns. Viewing the future as black and hopeless 7 a landslid e, no escape from reality 3 Mama, life had just begun But now I’ve gone and thrown it all away Negative Feelings toward Self Patients state that they feel disappointed in themselves 4 I’m just a poor boy, I need no sympat hy Low Self- Evaluation Self-devaluation is apparently part of depressed patients’ pattern of viewing themselves as deficient in those attributes that are specifically important to them: ability, performance, intelligence, health, strength, personal attractive ness, popularity, or financial resources. Loss of E motional Attachme nts The loss of interest or of positive feeling may progress to indifference. 5 Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth Negative Expectatio ns Viewing the future as black and hopeless 6 Carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters Negative Feelings Toward Self Patients state that they feel disappointed in themselves 7 I someti mes wish I’d never been born at all Withdrawa l Wishes The wish to avoid or escape is manifested i n marked seclusiveness). 8 I'm just a poor boy and nobody loves me He's just a poor boy Low Self- Evaluation Self-devaluation is apparently part of depressed patients’ pattern of viewing themselves as deficient in those attributes that from a poor family are specifically important to them: ability, performance, intelligence, health, strengt h, personal attracti veness, popularity, or finan cial resources. (Source: Primary Data) When the speaker says ‘Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?, he just cannot think whether the life he is living in is real or just fantasy. He is asking that question, and by asking, it means that he needs someone to help him answering his doubt. In this case, the speaker is undergoing one of the depression symptoms that is Increased Dependency. The term dependency is used here to 10 Another depression symptom undergone by the character ‘I’ is Increased Dependency. The term dependency is used here to designate the desire to receive help or guidance. The dependent desire does not seem to be simply a by-product of the feelings of helplessness and inadequacy. The depressed person feels a craving for help. The repeated phrasal verb ‘hurry back’ indicates that the speaker needs help very much. In the song lyrics, the speaker needs help to bring his lover back to him. 3. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS After conducting data analysis, the thesis writer draws his conclusion based on the research findings. Referring to the first research question, the poetic devices used to convey the meaning of the song lyrics entitled “Bohemian Rhapsody” are hyperbole, metonymy, situational irony antithesis, repetition, and allusion. The second song lyrics entitled ‘Someone to Love’ employs repetition, hyperbole, and personification. The third song lyrics entitled “Love of My Life” makes use of hyperbole, repetition, personification, and symbol as the poetic devices. The dominant poetic devices used by the three song lyrics are hyperbole and repetition. By finding out the poetic devices used in the song lyrics, it is easier for the thesis writer to grasp the meaning of the song lyrics so that the second statement od the problem can be answered. Based on the meanings of the song lyrics that are strengthened by the use of poetic devices, the thesis writer finds out that the depression symptoms are portrayed by the use of poetic devices in the song lyrics. There are several depression symptoms undergone by the speaker of the song lyrics. Those symptoms are based on the depression symptoms proposed by Aaron T Beck. The depression symptom undergone by the speaker of the song lyrics entitled “Bohemian Rhapsody” cover Low Self-Evaluation., Loss of Emotional Attachments, and Negative Feelings toward Self. The speaker of the song lyrics entitled “Someone to Love” suffers from Dejected Mood, Increased Dependency, and Crying Spells. In the last song lyrics entitled “Love of My Life”. The character ‘I’ suffers from Increased Dependency and Dejected Mood After conducting analysis and finding out the results of the research, the thesis writer would like to present some suggestions to the readers of this thesis. For the students of Faculty of Letters both English and Japanese departments, the thesis writer suggests that after reading this thesis, the fellow students will be eager to conduct further research on song lyrics to better the findings of this research and to enrich the research on song lyrics. For the common readers, the thesis writer suggests this thesis as a guidance of how to enjoy songs by following the steps of analysis, the thesis writer suggests the readers to do the same whenever they listen to songs of any genre. After reading this thesis, at least the readers can think of the way of not only enjoying the rhythm of the music but also getting moral lesson from the song lyrics. 11 4. REFERENCES Abrams, M. H. (1971). The mirror and the lamp: Romantic theory and the critical tradition. London: Oxford University Press. Beck, A. T. (2009). Depression causes and treatment. Philadelphia, PA: Univ. of Pennsylvania Pr. Brooks, Megan. 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