Figurative Language Analysis in Maya Angelou's 'Still I Rise' Poetry, Exercises of Poetry

Download Figurative Language Analysis in Maya Angelou's 'Still I Rise' Poetry and more Exercises Poetry in PDF only on Docsity! International Summit on Science Technology and Humanity International Summit on Science Technology and Humanity (ISETH 2018) Integrating Knowledge for Future Sustainable Development 19 ISETH p-ISSN: 2477-3328 e-ISSN: 2615-1588 The Analysis of Figurative Language Used in ‘Still I Rise’ Poem by Maya Angelou Muhammad Rauuf Oktavian Nur1 Faculty of Education and Teacher Training, Universitas Tidar, Indonesia Ririt Rachma Miranti, Faculty of Education and Teacher Training, Universitas Tidar, Indonesia Abstract: This study aimed to find out the kinds of figurative language in the selected poetry of Maya Angelou, entitled Still I Rise. The focus of this study is figurative language which involves: Metaphor, Personification, Hyperbole, Simile, Metonymy, Synecdoche, Irony, Antithesis, Symbolism, and Paradox. Qualitative approach with design of content analysis was used in this study. The researcher acted as the main instrument since he was the one who analyzed the figurative language. Moreover checklist was also used to support his data collection. The data was analyzed through three stages; 1). Data reduction, 2). Data representation, 3). Conclusion. The result of his study showed there were 14 sentences that containing figurative language in Still I Rise Poetry of Maya Angelou. They were; Metaphor (7 sentences), Personification (1 sentence), and Simile (6 sentences). The researcher conclude, if the figurative language used by Angelou to compare, or even symbolize the sentences to bring the meaning come up with beautiful language. Mostly of her poetries told about her experience in the past that rooted to history of the discrimination of American-African. Keywords: Figurative Language, Still I Rise Poetry, Maya Angelou INTRODUCTION Language is an important aspect in human being. By learning language people can communicate each other, get information from one to another and to interact. Language has big role in human life to make a relation in their environment. One of the expert states that language is used widely in communication between people who do not share the same first (or even second) language (Harmer, 2007). It indicates that language is very important to be learn in human life. In communication, people has two meaning inside their language, there are explicit and implicit. According to Hornby (1987) explain that language is common way to express the ideas, feeling and desiring by means as a system of sounds and sound symbol. It also can be said, by language people can share or deliver what in their mind. Because of the important of language, people should understand not only the form of language but also the meaning in it. There are many ways to deliver the feeling and ideas that can be catch and understand the meaning. One of the way is write a poem. Poem is one of the literary work that contain figurative language. Figurative language is language that used symbol to other things or event metaphor which means using a word to identify other words, so it cannot interpret based on literary view d also the reader cannot find those meaning in dictionary. Poetry might be defined as a kind of language that says more intensely than ordinary language (Laurence & Thomas, 1992). That’s why figurative language mostly find in the poetry, because it used the language that beyond the ordinary language. Researcher choose poetry as the object of study for several reason, which are poetry contain more figurative language than other literature devices. The other reason is poetry need more interpretation in order to understand the message that want to be delivered to the listener. The poetry writer usually uses many figurative language to express their feeling and ideas implicitly. Listener or reader should improving their critical thinking in order to understand the implicit meaning in every words in whole poetry. Poetry also has significance in education. By understanding poetry students can develop their reading comprehension, vocabulary mastery and critical thinking analyzing. Poetry is universal language used by the poets to express their ideas in beautiful word (Laurence & International Summit on Science Technology and Humanity (ISETH 2018) Integrating Knowledge for Future Sustainable Development International Summit on Science Technology and Humanity20ISETH p-ISSN: 2477-3328 e-ISSN: 2615-1588 Thomas, 1992). As a universal language, poetry has existed almost in all period. Poetry is unique medium of communication, it is created in the form of a brief language, and it is differ from other literary works. REVIEW There are ten of figurative language that researcher used in this study, they are stated by Arvius alm (2003); Pardede (2008); Dancygier & Sweetser (2014); Kennedy & Gioia (2002) Metaphor is kind of figurative language that made comparison between two things that different to identify one with another (Arvius alm, 2003). Metaphor is used in poetry to explain emotions, feelings, and relationship other elements that could not be described in ordinary language. For example of metaphor is her teeth are pearl. Personification consists of giving human characteristics to an object. Personification is a figure of speech that describes something that is not human as though it could feel, think, act, live, or die in the same way as people (Arvius alm, 2003). For example in Emily Dickinson‟s poem in the title “Ambition cannot find him”. Hyperbole is the term used that overstatement. This figure use by someone who has desire and expectation to the thing that happen to make object more great than the real object (Arvius alm, 2003). For example: “I will die if I don’t meet him tomorrow”, the word „die‟ is over expression if the reader want to thing that in the real life. Simile is the figure that make comparison between two different things, just like metaphor but in simile usually using the word as, than, like, seem, so, appear, more than. (Arvius alm, 2003). Christina also give an example of simile “He is as hard as nails” more specifically, the adjective here used to describe behavioral and attitudinal characteristics of person referred to as “he” via comparison with concrete, physical hardness of nails, which made of metal, typically steel. Metonymy is a word or complex expression that basically stands for one thing, or it also use for one lexical thing which connected with other through experience (Arvius alm, 2003). It also about part–whole relationships, the kind which allow the same word to be used in many languages for „hand‟ and „arm, ‟ or for „foot‟ and „leg‟. Synecdoche is a figure of speech that a part refers to the specify whole (Pardede, 2008). Synecdoche which expresses either more or less than it literary denotes. For example is “I got a new wheels from my father” Word “wheel” represent meaning car, so she got a new car. Irony statement are untrue, based reasoning that interpreted by the hearer from the speaker‟s meaning, if irony not praise but usually criticism (Dancygier & Sweetser, 2014). Example: “no doubt, you is the best person that ruined my life.” Antithesis is figure speech that combine two things which different or contradiction in one sentence or negation. Antithesis is a device for placing opposing ideas in grammatical parallel. Antithesis is results when a pair or more strongly contrasting terms are presented together (Pardede, 2008), Example: “Speech is silver, silence is golden”. Symbolism is a kind of figure speech that using symbol of animal, plants, or things for substitute something. Symbolism established from the result of personal; experience or fantasies” (Arvius alm, 2003). For example Word “Rose” is referent for beauty destroyed by time, sexuality, secrecy, and guilt, all seem drawn in by the implications of these words. Paradox is a figure speech that deliver two things which contradictory but this figure reveal the real fact that make sense even the speaker or the writer use a word that absurd, (Kennedy & Gioia, 2002). For example, “Experience is simply the name we give to our mistakes” by Oscar International Summit on Science Technology and Humanity International Summit on Science Technology and Humanity (ISETH 2018) Integrating Knowledge for Future Sustainable Development 23 ISETH p-ISSN: 2477-3328 e-ISSN: 2615-1588 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide, Welling and swelling I bear in the tide. Leaving behind nights of terror and fear I rise Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear I rise Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise I rise I rise Metaphor Metaphor CONCLUSION Based on research finding, the researcher found some figurative languages in “Still I Rise” poetry. The researcher concluded in several point. Since the researcher used ten categories of figurative language (Metaphor, Personification, Hyperbole, Simile, Metonymy, Synecdoche, Irony, Antithesis, Symbolism, and Paradox). First, the totals of figurative language found were 14 sentences. Metaphor consist of 7 sentences, personification consist of 1 sentence, and simile consist of 6 sentences. Secondly, not all of those indicators were found in the five selected poetry, among ten indicators, just three indicators that found in that poetry, because there were no sentences in that appropriate to categories of the others indicators. Lastly, selected poetry of Maya Angelou tell about confident, and survive, that can inspire most of peoples in the world, especially to peoples who interest to poetry. REFERENCES Dancygier, B., & Sweetser, E. (2014). Figurative Language. USA: Cambridge. Retrieved from http://www.gen.lib.rus.ec Given, L. M. (2008). The Sage Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods. In L. M. Given (Ed.), qualitative research methods. sage. Hayani, R (2016). Figurative labguage maya Angelou selected poetry. Samarinda: Samarinda University. Miles, M., & Huberman, A. (1994). Qualitative Data Analysis (second). California: Sage. Retrieved from gen.lib.rus.ec ABOUT THE AUTHORS Muhammad Rauuf Oktavian Nur: Undergraduate Student of English Education Program, Faculty of Education and Teacher Training, Universitas Tidar, Magelang, Indonesia. Ririt Rachma Miranti: Undergraduate Student of English Education Program, Faculty of Education and Teacher Training, Universitas Tidar, Magelang, Indonesia. International Summit on Science Technology and Humanity (ISETH 2018) Integrating Knowledge for Future Sustainable Development International Summit on Science Technology and Humanity24ISETH p-ISSN: 2477-3328 e-ISSN: 2615-1588 The Importance of Become Bilingual A Study of Bilingualism I Gusti Ngurah Wahyu Bawa Saputra,Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha, Bali, Indonesia Abstract: The aim is this study is to know the teacher from Junior High School and Senior High School that they are bilingual or not. There are also put the reason why they are considered that they are a bilingual. The qualitative research study is used in this research. The data were collected by the questionnaire. The participants were the 7 teachers that teach English on their each schools. The result of the study is all of participants said that they are a bilingual. Because of their daily activity as a teacher make them always and almost everyday using English. This study might be pedagogical help and significance to teachers interested in bilingualism in EFL context. Keywords: Bilingualism, Bilingual, EFL teacher INTRODUCTION Nowadays we know that bilingual is really important in every country. But there still few countries is not a bilingual country. Indonesia is a one of bilingual country. We can see it from the tourism sector. So many tourism objects are available in Indonesia especially such as a tourism destination places like Bali, Raja Ampat, Maluku and many more. Therefore people who is stay on the tourism object will race to be a bilingual. Be a bilingual can make some money, we can be as the guide tour, a driver, or a service for the foreigner. Besides that Indonesia as a multilingual language also exist on it. Indonesia has their own language it is called Bahasa Indonesia. In addition in Indonesia also has their own ethnic languages by the minority groups such as Balinesse, Javanesse. in West Papua there are more than 100 languages exist. It is important the instructor to know themself have a good bilingual in second language (L2). In indonesia English is a dominant L2 that used in education, tourism and also electronic devices. So that in Indonesia English developed better than other languages except the mother language and ethnic language. The government also put English as one of basic learning study in all school. Therefore the aim of this study is to investigate the instructor English Foreigner Language (EFL) at Junior High School and Senior High School considered they are bilingual or not. And why they called themselves as the bilingual person or not. The significant of the study of this research is to know the instructor is bilingual or not and impact their ways how they teach in the classroom and how they speak in outside the school. The finding of this study will be help the instructor to make them less concerned about the grammar and focused on communication, and the instructor will explain their student that they will be an bilingual. The research question of the study 1. Do you think that you are bilingual? 2. Do you use your bilingual every day? 3. Is bilingual useful in daily life? LITERATURE OF THE STUDY The recent studies have investigated bilingualism psychological correlates including verbal abilities in low and highly proficient bilinguals (Andreou&Karapetsas, 2004), cognitive control in different age groups (Bialystok, Craik, Klein, &Viswanathan, 2004), and contrasting quality of bilinguals and monolinguals’ lives (Thumboo, Cheung, Machin, et. al., 2005). The issue of bilingualism has also been searched in terms of gender. The research show that the man more bilingual than women. In contexts where gender relations are hierarchical, the International Summit on Science Technology and Humanity International Summit on Science Technology and Humanity (ISETH 2018) Integrating Knowledge for Future Sustainable Development 25 ISETH p-ISSN: 2477-3328 e-ISSN: 2615-1588 more privileged group, typically men, may appropriate the language practices of value, such as becoming bilingual (Harvey, 1994; Holmes, 1993). When the gender relations are equal, then it is possible to say that valued language practices may be taken up by both of them (Mascarenhas-Keyes, 1994). Titone (1972) argues that who defines bilingualism as an individual’s capacity and ability to follow the concepts and structures of a second language other than paraphrasing from the mother tongue. Bilingual is one of the most important study in the world right now. Every single human wants their self as a bilingual. It can be their advantages as a bilingual for their future. Mohanty (1994) who defines bilingualism from a socio-cultural perspective, as one’s ability to meet communicative demands in society and interact with other speakers in two or more languages. The benefits of bilingualism have been examined. For instance, Bialystok (2011) stated that bilingual individuals consistently outperform their monolingual counterparts on tasks involving executive control. Her paper reviews a number of the evidence for this conclusion and relates the findings to the effect of bilingualism on cognitive organization and to conceptual issues in the structure of executive control. Evidence for the protective effect of bilingualism against Alzheimer’s disease is presented with some speculation about the reason for that protection. It is also possible that language practices may have a different value for different language groups; this difference may also result in gendered bilingualism, whereby one group chooses to shift to the second language and the other to remain more or less monolingual (Herbert, 1992; McDonald, 1994). Accordingly, the key to understanding and explaining gendered patterns in differential bilingualism lies, above all, in the meanings assigned to particular linguistic practices, changing from generation to generation. In addition bilingual also mean different thing to different people. Bloomfield said that bilingualism like as native-control of two language. However this definition excludes many people who speaks more that language but do not have native-like control of one or both of their language. In another study, Verhoeven and Vermeer (2002) explored personality characteristics and communicative competence with 144 monolingual and 46 bilingual children in the Netherlands by using a new scale based on the NEO Personality model. Contrary to this definition, which includes ‘perfect bilinguals’ Macnamara (1967) asserts that a bilingual is a person who has “a minimal competence in only one of the four language skills, listening comprehension, speaking, reading and writing, in a language other than his mother tongue. (Hamers& Blanc, 2000, p.6.) Grosjean (1989) points that a bilingual ‘is not two monolinguals in one person’, however some bilinguals use a ‘monolingual mode’ (Grosjean, 2001). A bilingual person is more than two persons. However, people generally hesitate to accept themselves bilingual. For this case, Grosjean (2013) exemplified it as Noam Chomsky said: “I’m about as monolingual as you come, but nevertheless I have a variety of different languages at my command, different styles, different ways of talking, which do involve different parameter settings.” Most of people describe bilingualism as ‘to speak two languages fluently and acquire both of them simultaneously’. Thus, they may restrict their understanding of bilingualism. To thwart it and reshape the meaning of bilingualism, there is a need to learn the psychological dimensions of bilinguality as related to following ones: 1. Relative competence; 2. Cognitive organization; 3. Age of acquisition; 4. Exogeneity; International Summit on Science Technology and Humanity (ISETH 2018) Integrating Knowledge for Future Sustainable Development International Summit on Science Technology and Humanity28ISETH p-ISSN: 2477-3328 e-ISSN: 2615-1588 field are crucial elements while studying bilingualism. The EFL teachers as bilingual have the onus of being a good model while teaching second language. This study may help EFL teachers to improve their understanding of bilingualism and encourage them to use L2 more effectively and consciously in their teaching environments, and raise their self-esteem as non- native speakers of English. The study may also help instructors to make them less concerned about the grammar and focus more on communication, and explain their students that they would be bilingual too. REFERENCES Andreou, G. &Karapetsas, A. (2004). Verbal abilities in low and high proficient bilinguals. Journal of Psycholinguist Research, 33 (5), 357-364. Baker, C. (2011). Foundations of bilingual education and bilingualism (5th ed.). Ontario: Multilingual Matters. Bialystok, E. (2001). Bilingualism in development: Language, literacy & cognition. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Bialystok, E., Craik, F. I. M., Klein, R., &Viswanathan, M. (2004).Bilingualism, aging, and cognitive control: Evidence from the Simon task. Psychology and Aging, 19(2), 290-303. Creswell, J. W. (1994). Research design qualitative & quantitative approaches. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Grosjean, F. (2001). The bilingual’s language modes. In J. Nicol (Ed.), One Mind, Two Languages: Bilingual Language Processing (pp.1–22). Oxford: Blackwell. Hamers, J.F & Blanc, H.A. (2000). Bilinguality and bilingualism (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Harvey, P. (1994). The presence and absence of speech in the communication of gender. In P. Burton, K. Dyson & S. Ardener (Eds.), Bilingual women. Anthropological approaches to second-language use (pp.44–64). Oxford/Providence: Berg. Herbert, R. (1992). Language, gender, and ethnicity: Explaining language shift in Thongaland. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Linguistic Society of America, Los Angeles, CA. Holmes, J. (1993). Immigrant women and language maintenance in Australia and New Zealand. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 3, 159–179. Kalayci, S. (2012). “A Journey to Bilingualism” A Case Study of German-Turkish Bilingual Family. Educational Process: International Journal, 1 (1-2), 29-38. Mascarenhas -keyes, S. (1994). Language and diaspora: The use of Portuguese, English and Konkani by Catholic Goan women. In P. Burton, K. Dyson & S. Ardener (Eds.), Bilingual women. Anthropological approaches to second-language use (pp.149–166). Oxford/ Providence:Berg. Mcdonald, M. (1994). Women and linguistic innovation in Brittany. In P. Burton, K. Dyson & S. Ardener (Eds.), Bilingual women. Anthropological approaches to second-language use (pp.85–110). Oxford/Providence: Berg. Mohanty, A. (1994). Bilingualism in a multilingual society: Psychological and pedagogical implications. Mysore: CentralInstitute of Indian Languages. Titone, R. (1972). Early bilingualism. Bruxelles: Charles Dessar. Thumboo, J., Cheung, Y. B., Machin, D., Feng, P. H., Boey, M. L., Thio, S.T., & Fong, K. Y. (2005). Being Bilingual in English and Chinese Influence Changes in Quality of Life Scale International Summit on Science Technology and Humanity International Summit on Science Technology and Humanity (ISETH 2018) Integrating Knowledge for Future Sustainable Development 29 ISETH p-ISSN: 2477-3328 e-ISSN: 2615-1588 Scores?Evidence from a prospective, population based study. Quality of Life Research, 14 (2), 529-538. Verhoeven, L., & Vermeer, A. (2002). Communicative competence and personality dimensions in first and second language learners. Applied Psycholinguistics, 23 (3), 361-374. ABOUT THE AUTHOR My Name is I Gusti Ngurah Wahyu Bawa Saputra,S.Pd. I was born in June 17th 1994. Iam the first children of two brothers. Now Iam 24 years old. Iam a students of Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha, Singaraja, Bali, Indonesia. Iam also a teacher in junior high school of SMPN 2 Selat in Karangasem regency in Bali. My hobby is playing football. I think that’s all about me. Thankyou for your attention.