CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of Study

Language is a communication tool for us to interact with other humans.

Without language we may not be able to interact, because language is the source for

the creation of human interaction with others. The language in the world is so many,

on average every countries has different language even though there are the same but

not many and not completely the same pronunciation as the English language support

instance there are UK and USA, after heard the pronunciation is very different.

In everyday language people sometimes use language that could be interpreted

or defined more than one meaning or intent. People often use language that can not be

interpreted as meaning lexical elements and the grammatical meaning. Examples in

the Indonesian language is Banting Tulang, Meja Hijau etc. In the Indonesian

language is called “Makna Kiasan”. In English this is called Idiom which is the

meaning of a unit of language (words, phrases or sentences) that "deviate" from the

meaning of lexical or grammatical meaning of its constituent elements. To know the

meaning of the idiom of a word (phrase or sentence) there is no way other than to

look in the dictionary.

Figurative speech is a distinction in traditional systems for analyzing

language. Literal language refers to words that do not deviate from their defined

meaning. Figurative speech refers to words, and groups of words, that exaggerate or

alter the usual meanings of the component words. Figurative speech may involve

analogy to similar concepts or other contexts, and may involve exaggerations. These

alterations result in figures of speech (http://en.wikipedia.org). Figurative speech is

often use in literally work such as, poem, song, short story, novel, movie even in

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daily activity etc. Figurative speech is also found in idiom, although idiom is one of

kinds of figurative speech.

Language is known as a means of communication which is used for

communicating each other. People can also express their feeling through language.

There are plenty of ways to express the feelings through language such as by writing

novels or poetries, or, moreover people can compose a song. As a means of

expressing feelings, a song seems interesting to be analyzed since it is a unique way to

express one’s feeling and it provides various combination of vocabulary and a unique

set of wordings which has its own function. The language of the song is built in such a

specific way; therefore, it becomes different from ordinary language. It is interesting

and usually written in beautiful and nice words to attract listeners and hold their

attention.

Song is one of the best forms of entertainment to be enjoyed, it is full of

melodious music, in which at the same time, present new world while the listeners

enjoy the day. At this stage, the listeners will have two advantages such as having a

pleasure and obtaining significant information whether about the situation of world or

about love feelings that are experienced by the composer of or rather by the figure or

the personal in the song. Moreover, the listeners can obtain the knowledge through

interpreting the words in song lyrics while they have more time to listen and explore

the deepest meaning of the song. There are plenty of variations in language which can

be found in the song, such as the figurative language etc, including idioms.

According to Meyer (1997:1), literature is a term used to describe written texts

marked by careful use of language, including features such as creative metaphors,

well-turned phrases, elegant syntax, rhyme, alliteration, which are aesthetically read

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or intended by the author to be aesthetically read and are deliberately somewhat open

in interpretation.

There are some similarities between a song and a poem. A song has to be

rhythmic and so does a poem. Rhythm is one of the important elements in both songs

and poetry. In fact, there is even a form of poetry which is made into music called a

lyric poem. They can be used in songs to express the thoughts and feelings of the

author. Music without words is poetry, only not in the generalized sense.

These days there were so many good songs with beautiful lyrics sung by new

comer singer. One of them is Adele. Adele is an English singer-songwriter and

musician whose works have topped music charts worldwide and received appraisal

from critics and numerous awards, including the Grammy. 19 is her first album

released in early 2008, meanwhile 21 is her second album released in early 2011.

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B. Problem of Study

Based on the above background, there are two problems that are formulated,

and they are as follows:

a. What types of figurative language as idiom are found in the song lyrics

by Adele?

b. What are the contextual meaning of the figurative language used in the

song lyrics by Adele?

C. Aims of Study

The aims of this study are related to the problems formulated above. They are:

a. To identify the types of figurative language as idiom found in the song

lyrics by Adele

b. To analyze and describe the contextual meaning of the figurative

language as idiom used in the song lyrics by Adele

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CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW

1. Idiom

An idiom (Latin: idioma, "special property", f. Greek: ἰδίωμα – idiōma,

"special feature, special phrasing", f. Greek: ἴδιος – idios, "one’s own") is an

expression consisting of a combination of words that have a figurative meaning.

The figurative meaning is comprehended in regard to a common use of the

expression that is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of

which it is made. Idioms are numerous and they occur frequently in all languages.

There are estimated to be at least 25,000 idiomatic expressions in the English

language.

Gear. J and Gear. R ( 2002: 83 ) states that an idiom is a group of words that

together have different meaning from the individual words. Remember that, the

meaning of idiom cannot figured out by putting together the meaning of the

individual word. instead, the group of words as a whole has a special meaning

which need to learn.

Burger ( 2007: 803 ) says that a pure idiom must have constituent element

which overal the meaning of the whole is not deducible. Whereas some of idiom

having both meaning can be found in various language, there are also idiom from

the same semantic field which resist develoving a secondary meaning. Idiom is

able to associate it constituents parts with the corresponding parts of its actual

meaning.

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Idiom is very important for us in mastering English. With idiom we can create

lyric of song more beautiful. Meantime, Idiom is also useful to make colorful of

conversation.

The following sentences contain idioms. The fixed words constituting the idiom in

each case are bolded:

a) She is pulling my leg. - to pull someone's leg means to tease them by

telling them something fictitious.

b) He took me to the cleaners. - to take someone to the cleaners means to

cause them to lose a lot of money.

c) When will you drop them a line? - to drop someone a line means to write a

letter.

d) You should keep an eye out for that. - to keep an eye out for something

means to watch for it.

e) I can't keep my head above water. - to keep one's head above water means

to manage a situation.

Each of the word combinations in bold has at least two meanings: a literal

meaning and a figurative meaning. Pulling someone's leg means either that you

literally grab their leg and yank it, or figuratively, it means that you tease them by

telling them a fictitious story. Such expressions that are typical for a language can

appear as words, combinations of words, phrases, entire clauses, and entire

sentences. Idiomatic expressions in the form of entire sentences are called

proverbs[citation needed], if they refer to a universal truth e.g.

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a) The devil is in the details.

b) The early bird gets the worm.

c) Break a leg.

d) Waste not, want not.

Proverbs such as these have figurative meaning. When one says "The devil is

in the details", one is not expressing a belief in demons, but rather one means that

things may look good on the surface, but upon scrutiny, problems are revealed. In

linguistics, idioms are usually presumed to be figures of speech contradicting the

principle of compositionality. This principle states that the meaning of a whole

should be constructed from the meanings of the parts that make up the whole. In

other words, one should be in a position to understand the whole if one

understands the meanings of each of the parts that makes up the whole. The

following example is widely employed to illustrate the point: Fred kicked the

bucket. Understood compositionally, Fred has literally kicked an actual, physical

bucket. The much more likely idiomatic reading, however, is non-compositional:

Fred is understood to have died. Arriving at the idiomatic reading from the literal

reading is unlikely for most speakers. What this means is that the idiomatic

reading is, rather, stored as a single lexical item that is now largely independent of

the literal reading.

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2. Figurative Language

Figurative Language is expressing that uses creative comparison of some sort

in order to convey special meaning. For example, his head is hard like stone, so

many people hit him. The morpheme is “Stone” the means is a man who would

not another advice and hard stone. But this sentence just wants to compare the

behavior and stone. Some Figurative Language includes, Hyperbole, metaphor,

personification and simile. Hyperbole is a Figurative Language in which

exaggeration is used emphasis or effect. Meantime, Metaphor is a Figurative

Language in which an expression is used to refer to something that it does not

literally denote in order to suggest a similarity. Simile is a comparison between

two different things, interesting, emotional, or other effect often using words such

as “like” or “as”. In addition, personification is a Figurative Language in which an

inanimate object or abstraction is given human.

2.1. 20 Top Kinds of Figurative speech

20 Top Kinds of Figurative speech are as follow:

1. Alliteration

The repetition of an initial consonant sound.

Examples--

"World Wide Web"

"Find four furry foxes"

2. Anaphora

The repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of

successive clauses or verses. (Contrast with epiphora and

epistrophe.)

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Examples:

"I don't like you sucking around, bothering our citizens,

Lebowski.

I don't like your jerk-off name. I don't like your jerk-off face.

I don't like your jerk-off behavior, and

I don't like you, jerk-off."

(Policeman in The Big Lebowski, 1998)

3. Antithesis

The juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases.

4. Apostrophe

Breaking off discourse to address some absent person or thing,

some abstract quality, an inanimate object, or a nonexistent

character.

5. Assonance

Identity or similarity in sound between internal vowels in

neighboring words.

6. Chiasmus

A verbal pattern in which the second half of an expression is

balanced against the first but with the parts reversed.

7. Euphemism

The substitution of an inoffensive term for one considered

offensively explicit.

8. Hyperbole

A great exaggeration used to emphasize a point, and is used for

expressive or comic effect. A hyperbole is not to be taken

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literally. Example: "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." We

know that eating an apple every day will not keep you from ever

getting sick and having to go to the doctor.

9. Irony

The use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning.

A statement or situation where the meaning is contradicted by the

appearance or presentation of the idea.

10. Idioms

Idiom are groups of words whose meaning is different from the

ordinary meaning of the words. The context can help you

understand what an idiom means. For example: "Put a lid on it."

Our teacher tells us to put a lid on it. She's not really telling us to

put a lid on something but to be quiet and pay attention.

11. Litotes

A figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an

affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite.

12. Metaphor

A metaphor compares two unlike things. "My baby sister's a

doll," you might say, compares your sister's size and sweetness to

that of the perfection of a doll. At another time you might say,

"My brother is a rat." This compares your brother to the nastiest

little creature you can think of. In both cases you would be

making a metaphor - a form of comparison that directly

compares two unlike things. A metaphor wastes no time in

getting to the point.

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13. Metonymy

A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for

another with which it is closely associated; also, the rhetorical

strategy of describing something indirectly by referring to things

around it.

Ex: In “Out, Out--,” Robert Frost uses metonymy when he

describes an injured boy holding up his cut hand “as if to keep /

The life from spilling . . . .” Literally he means to keep the blood

from spilling.

14. Onomatopoeia

The use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the

objects or actions they refer to. In its simplest form,

onomatopoeia is produced by a single word that sounds like the

thing it refers to: "Six burgers were sizzling on the grill." "A

snake slithered through the grass."

15. Paradox

A statement that appears to contradict itself.

16. Personification

A figure of speech in which an inanimate object or abstraction is

endowed with human qualities or abilities.

Ex: When Keats describes autumn as a harvester “sitting careless

on a granary floor” or “on a half-reaped furrow sound asleep,” he

is personifying a season. Also, in the Dickinson poem mentioned

earlier, Dickinson describes frost as a “blond assassin.” As a

result, she is personifying frost.

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17. Pun

A play on words, sometimes on different senses of the same word

and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words.

18. Simile

A stated comparison (usually formed with "like" or "as") between

two fundamentally dissimilar things that have certain qualities in

common.

If you said, "My sister is like a doll," or maybe, "My brother's

good as gold," you would be making a simile - a form of

comparison in which one thing is compared to another unlike

thing by using specific words of comparison like like, as, and

resembles. Poets try to find unusual metaphors and similes

19. Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole

(for example, ABCs for alphabet) or the whole for a part

("England won the World Cup in 1966").

20. Understatement

A figure of speech in which a writer or a speaker deliberately

makes a situation seem less important or serious than it is.

Implying more than is said.

Ex: Frost’s “Birches”: One could do worse than be a swinger of

birches.”—The end of the poem suggests that swinging on a

birch tree is one of the most satisfying activities in the world.

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CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHOD

In order to further analyze the data and solve the problems, the appropriate

methodology is greatly required. The methodology in this study covers the data source, the

method and technique of collecting data and the method and technique of analyzing data.

a. Data Source

The data were taken from some song lyrics from Adele‟s two albums. One is

song entitled, Make You Feel My Love from her first album entitled 19 and three

are songs entitled Rolling in the Deep, Set Fire to the Rain, and Turning Tables

from her second album entitled 21. One song entitled, Make You Feel My Love

from her first album entitled 19, which was released in early 2008 and three songs

entitled Rolling in the Deep, Set Fire to the Rain, and Turning Tables from her

second album entitled 21, which was released in early 2011.

b. Method and Technique of Collecting Data

This is a library research. First, the lyrics of the songs are copied from

http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/a/adele/

c. Method and Technique of Analyzing Data

The method applied in this study is the qualitative method. The data is

descriptively analyzed. After finding the occurrences of figurative language in the

data source and jotting them down, the first step in the analysis is identifying the

types of figurative languages found by using the theory of figurative language

types by Knikerboker and Reninger (1963). Theory from Halliday (1978) were put

to support the understanding of linguistic context from the song lyrics. Each song

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was separately analyzed and the background information related to the songs was

obtained from some reliable sites and presented to support the analyses of the

contextual meaning of the figurative languages found.

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CHAPTER IV

FINDING AND DISCUSSION

1. The Analysis Of Figurative Language and Contextual meaning In Song Lyric

Rolling In The Deep

It is important to firstly outline the context of situation. After knowing some

information about the song, the field, tenor, and mode are analyzed based on

Halliday’s theory. Tenor refers to the relationships between the people involved in the

interaction. The relationship here is love relationship between Adele (the author and

singer) and her ex-boyfriend. This is indicated by the occurrences of the sentence

indicating that the love relationship is over, that is “the scars of your love remind me

of us”. The word “scars” indicates a lasting effect left by an unpleasant experience.

Field refers the subject matter. This song is about the feelings of the singer towards

her ex-boyfriend. Adele expresses her love memories and feelings through the

combination of literal and figurative language with the most frequent figurative

languages used in this study are metaphors, hyperboles and personifications. They are

used to beautify the song and convey deeper meaning than that of the literal one. The

literal language used supports the analysis of the figurative language used in the song

lyrics. The mode can be spoken if this song is sung and written only if the lyrics are

not sung.

a) Personification in Rolling in the Deep

Personification, like other types of figurative languages plays an

important role to beautify the lyrics. From the Rolling in the Deep, there

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are some personifications found in the first verse and the bridge of the

lyrics.

Personifications appear in the chorus:

The scars of your love remind me of us

They keep me thinking that we almost had it all

The scars of your love, they leave me breathless

From those lines, we can see that love is treated like a human being.

Love is something abstract, which we feel with heart. It is clear that the

above underlined lines belong to personification because love, an abstract

idea, inanimate object, is described as if it were human.

b) Hyperboles in Rolling in the Deep

The use of exaggeration is quite common in literary works. Many

songs use exaggeration to elevate and stir feelings. From the Rolling in

the Deep lyrics, there are some hyperboles found and they are presented

as follows:

You had my heart inside your hand

This line is identified as a hyperbole because we cannot really have a

heart inside of our hands. This line literally means that she really loved

him, that her love was only for him.

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2. The Analysis of Figurative Language in the Song Lyrics Make you Feel My Love

After knowing some information about the song, the context of situation, the

field, tenor, and mode based on Halliday‟s theory need to be determined. Tenor refers

to the relationships between the people involved in the interaction. The relationship

here is a relationship between a woman and a man. The woman loves the man deeply.

This is indicated by the occurrences of many hyperbolic sentences indicating that she

would do anything to make him be her love. This is clearly indicated through the title

of the song, Make You Feel My Love. Field refers the subject matter. This song is

about the feelings of the woman towards the man that she loves. The mode can be

spoken if this song is sung and written only if the lyrics are not sung.

a) Metaphors in Make You Feel My Love

Metaphor is the type of figurative language which is mainly found in

the Make You Feel My Love lyrics. The first and the second ones used in

the first verse are underlined and presented as follows:

When the rain is blowing in your face

And the whole world is on your case

I could offer you a warm embrace

To make you feel my love

The “rain” in this line does not literally mean “rain”. It represents the

hardship. This interpretation is supported by the lines following this

metaphor. The next line, “And the whole world is on your case” also

contain metaphorical meaning. When we say "someone is on my case", it

means that "someone is meddling with my affairs". Therefore, in this

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case, "the whole world is on your case" is a metaphor that means "the

whole world is looking at you, judging you, and meddling with your

everyday life. In this context, the author would with all her heart embraces

and support her love. This is indicated by the line following this metaphor

“I could offer you a warm embrace”.

b) Hyperboles in Make You Feel My Love

Hyperbole is the second most frequent type of figurative used in Make

You Feel My Love lyrics and they are presented along with the analysis

below:

When the evening shadows and the stars appear

And there is no one there to dry your tears

I could hold you for a million years

To make you feel my love

This is clearly a hyperbole. No one can really live that long. Humans in

general can only live for 70-80 years. Therefore, it can be said that „a

million years‟ here means „as long as the author lives‟. The use of

hyperboles in the lyrics along with the use of metaphors creates a special

effect. The listeners would be blown through the use of the suitable

exaggeration.

3. Analysis Of Figurative Languages In “Set Fire To The Rain”

Based on information about the background of the writing of the song, the

field, tenor, and mode based on Halliday‟s are determined. Field refers to the subject

matter. This song is about the conflicting elements in a love relationship. Tenor refers

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to the relationships between the people involved in the interaction. The relationship

here is a love relationship between Adele (the singer) and her ex-boyfriend. The mode

is spoken if the song is sung and written if the lyrics are not sung.

a) Metaphors in Set Fire to the Rain

Four metaphors are found throughout the lyrics to the song Set Fire to

the Rain. Below are the data followed by an analysis for each figurative.

I let it fall, my heart,

And as it fell you rose to claim it

It was dark and I was over

Until you kissed my lips and you saved me

Verse 1 of the lyrics describes an event in which the writer felt alive

again with the presence of a lover. The first two lines are parallel in

meaning with the last two lines. First, the writer felt dead inside, which is

expressed by the lines “I let it fall, my heart” and “It was dark and I was

over”. Suddenly, someone came and he brought her back to life again,

which is expressed by the lines “And as it fell you rose to claim it” and

“Until you kissed my lips and you saved me.” Here, the writer is

comparing a dead, meaningless life to letting her heart fall and being in

the dark and further still, the “death” was made clearer by the statement “I

was over”. She was not really dead of course, but she was comparing her

life with that of a dead person (i.e. having no feeling and being in the

dark). Next, the lover saved her from such life by rising to claim her heart,

which means he made her able to feel again. Of course all the actions in

this verse did not happen literally.

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b) Personification in Set Fire to the Rain

The writer also uses personifications in the lyrics of Set Fire to the

Rain. Followings are the data followed by an analysis for each

personification:

That heart you caught must be waiting for you

Whenever an inanimate object or abstraction is given human qualities

or abilities, a personification occurs. In the coda in the second line, the

writer gives an abstract object (her heart) the ability to perform an action

(to wait for someone, that is, her ex-lover).

4. The Analysis of Figurative Languages in the Song Lyric of Turning Tables

After knowing some information about the song, the field, tenor, and mode

based on Halliday’s theory need to be determined. Field refers to the subject matter.

This song is about the breakdown of a relationship. Tenor refers to the role

relationships between the people involved in the interaction. The relationship here is

love relationship between a woman (Adele, the author) and her ex-boyfriend.

a) Personification in Turning Tables

A personification occurs in the first line of the coda.

When the thunder calls for me,

Here, the thunder, which is an inanimate object, is given human qualities

or an ability that is the ability to call for someone. Therefore, this is called

a personification. In relation to the contexts of situation, the line “the

thunder calls for me” would be best interpreted as representing the

writer‟s courage and readiness to end her relationship with her boyfriend.

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b) Hyperbole in Turning Tables

Hyperbole quite frequently occurs in the lyrics of Turning Tables. The

whole Verse 1 is full of hyperbolic statement, and so are the third and

fourth lines of Verse 2.

Close enough to start a war

All that I have is on the floor

God only knows what we're fighting for

All that I say, you always say more

Hyperboles are scattered throughout the entire verse. Firstly, it occurs

in the use of the word „war‟. This word is hyperbolically used to mean

merely a fight. Then, there is the expression that all that the writer has is

on the floor. While it is true that during the fight which involves a party

turning the tables things would fall onto the floor, but obviously they are

not “all” that the writer has. The line “God only knows what we're

fighting for” gives emphasis that both parties are no longer sure what the

cause of their problem is. Finally, there is the statement “All that I say,

you always say more” which serves to explain that the quarrel has become

very intense and seemingly endless.

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CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

There are three kinds of figurative languages found in four songs of Adele

such as: personification, metaphor, and hyperbole. These kinds of figurative

languages are used by the writer in order to make her creation in this case the songs

look alive so we can feel the condition that the writer tries to show in that song. The

use of the contextual meaning in this study also opens up all the meanings and the

purposes from four song lyrics by Adele. The words that firstly look complicated can

be elaborated in the contextual meaning so that they can be better understood. So, by

using the figurative languages and their contextual meaning, the writer wants to

attract our attention and slowly leads us to the theme.

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REFERENCES

Halliday, M. A. K. 1978. Language as social semiotic: The social

interpretation of language and meaning. Maryland: University Park Press.

Knickerbocker, Kenneth Leslie & Harry Willard Reninger. 1963. Interpreting

Literature. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston inc.

Meyer. 1997. What is Literature? A Definition Based on Prototypes. Work

Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics. North Dakota: University of

North Dakota. Volume 41 1 Online. available from URL

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