FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE FOUND IN JAY Z’S ON THE BLACK
ALBUM: HIP HOP SONG
THESIS
Submitted as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Sarjana Degree of English Department Faculty of Arts and Humanities State Islamic University of SunanAmpel
Surabaya
By
Rullia Dwi Rahayu Reg. Number: A03213047
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF ARTS AND HUMAINITIES STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY SUNAN AMPEL
ABSTRACT
Rahayu, R. D. 2017. Figurative Language Found In Jay Z’s On The Black Album: Hip Hop Song. Thesis. English Department, Faculty of Arts and Humanities. State Islamic University of Sunan Ampel Surabaya.
The Advisor: Raudlotul Jannah, M. App. Ling
Key words: Figurative language, Songs, Jay Z, The Black Album.
This research focuses on analyzing the types of figurative language used by
Jay Z’s song on The Black Album: Hip Hop Song. The researcher proposes two
statement of the problem. Those are what are the types of figurative language found
in Jay Z’s on The Black Album: Hip Hop Song and what are the messages found in
Jay Z’s on The Black Album: Hip Hop Song. The researcher used Perrine theory of figurative language to analyze the type of figurative language that is used by Jay Z
on his song. The data are obtained through song ‘The Black Album’. To solve the
problem, the researcher uses qualitative content analysis approach because the data collected are in the form of words.
Finally, the researcher find out that there were eleven types of figurative language from 14 song they are simile, metaphor, personification, verbal irony, hyperbole, apostrophe, synecdoche, metonymy, allegory, paradox and symbol, but the researcher did not find understatement. The dominant type of figurative
INTISARI
Rahayu, R. D. 2017. Figurative Language Found In Jay Z’s On The Black Album: Hip Hop Song. Tesis. Jurusan Bahasa Inggris, Fakultas Seni dan
Humaniora. Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Ampel Surabaya. Pembimbing: Raudlotul Jannah, M. App. Ling
Kata kunci: Bahasa figuratif, Lagu, Jay Z, The Black Album.
Penelitian ini berfokus pada analisis jenis gaya bahasa yang digunakan oleh lagu Jay Z pada The Black Album: Hip Hop Song. Peneliti mengajukan dua pernyataan masalah. Apa saja jenis gaya bahasa yang ditemukan di Jay Z's The Black Album: Hip Hop Song dan apa pesan yang ada di Jay Z's The Black Album: Hip Hop Song. Peneliti menggunakan teori dari Perrine untuk menganalisis jenis gaya bahasa yang digunakan oleh Jay Z pada lagunya. Data tersebut didapat melalui lagu 'The Black Album'. Untuk mengatasi masalah tersebut, peneliti menggunakan pendekatan analisis kualitatif konten analisis karena data yang dikumpulkan berupa kata-kata.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Inside Cover ... i
Inside Title ... ii
Declaration page ... iii
Motto ... iv
Dedication page ... v
Thesis Advisor’s Approval ... vi
Thesis Examiner’s Approval ... vii
Acknowledgements ... viii
Table of Contents ... x
List of Appendices ... xiv
Abstract ... xv
Intisari ... xvi
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the Study ... 1
1.2 Statement of the Problems ... 7
1.3 Objective of the Study ... 7
1.4 Significance of theStudy ... 7
1.5 Scope and Limitation ... 8
1.6 Definition of Key Terms ... 8
CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 2.1 Semantic ... 10
2.3 Types of Figurative Language ... 15
a. Simile ... 15
b. Metaphor ... 16
c. Personification ... 17
d. Apostrophe ... 18
e. Synecdoche ... 19
f. Metonymy ... 19
g. Symbol ... 20
h. Allegory ... 21
i. Paradox ... 21
j. Hyperbole ... 22
k. Understatement ... 23
l. Verbal Irony ... 24
2.4 Definition of message ... 24
2.5 Definition of song ... 27
2.6 Jay Z ... 28
2.7 The Black Album ... 29
2.8 Review of related studies ... 30
CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research Design ... 34
3.2 Research Instrument ... 35
3.3 Data and Source of the Data... 35
3.4 Technique of Data Analysis ... 37
CHAPTER IV FINDING AND DISCUSSION 4.1 The Findings... 40
4.1.1 Types of figurative language ... 41
4.1.1.1 Simile ... 44
4.1.1.2 Metaphor ... 47
4.1.1.3 Personification ... 50
4.1.1.4 Synecdoche ... 52
4.1.1.5 Hyperbole ... 54
4.1.1.6 Apostrophe ... 57
4.1.1.7 Metonymy ... 58
4.1.1.8 Allegory ... 60
4.1.1.9 Paradox ... 61
4.1.1.10 Verbal Irony ... 62
4.1.1.11 Symbol ... 62
4.1.2 The Messages of Songs in Jay Z’s Song ... 63
4.1.2.1. Interlude ... 63
4.1.2.2 December 4th ... 64
4.1.2.3 What More Can I Say ... 64
4.1.2.4 Encore ... 65
4.1.2.5 Change Clothes ... 65
4.1.2.7 Threat ... 67
4.1.2.8 Moment Of Clarity ... 67
4.1.2.9 99 Problems ... 68
4.1.2.10 Public Service Announcement ... 69
4.1.2.11 Justify My Thug ... 69
4.1.2.12 Lucifer ... 70
4.1.2.13 Allure ... 70
4.1.2.14 My 1st Song... 71
4.2 Discussion ... 72
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION AND SUGGESION 5.1 Conclusion ... 75
5.2 Suggestion ... 76
REFFERENCE ... 78
1
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
This part introduces the present study. It describes background of the study,
statement of the problems, objectives of the study, significance of the study, scope
and limitation of the study, and definition of the key term.
1.1 Background of the study
Every human needs to have communication each other. Communication
helps people to deliver information with someone else. In doing communication,
some people deliver their utterances with direct meaning but the others may deliver
their utterances by using the words that cannot be understood directly. Some people
may deliver utterances to convey a certain meaning but the others interpret it with
another meaning. People might become difficut to understand about what speaker
says. Therefore, the message and the meaning of the utterances must be clear.
Meaning in utterance is significant to understand because every word,
phrase and sentence without meaning is meaningless. Gaining meaning in utterance
is an important thing in order to understand the speaker’s intention. Lyons (1984)
stated that meanings are ideas or concepts, that can be transferred from the mind of
the speaker to the mind of the hearer by embodying them, as it were, in the form of
one language or another. It is the idea that is delivered to convey what speakers
says.
Meaning can be classified as either literal meaning or non-literal meaning
2
said that words or utterances which have literal meaning are easy to understood
because they have the real meaning. Meanwhile, non-literal meaning is the opposite
of literal meaning. As stated by Abcarican, R., et. al (1984), when the speaker
speaks something which indicates the different meaning that is non-literal meaning.
Non-literal meaning is called figurative language.
Figurative language is the type of language that uses words or expressions
with meaning that is different from the literal interpretation. That is why we cannot
interpret the meaning literally from the expressions. Figurative language has wide
definition. Every linguist has different explanation about the definition of figurative
language. Perrine (1987) said that figurative language is another way of saying
something more than the ordinary way. It can be said that figure of speech can give
different meaning to the object. Another definition of figurative language comes
from Dyer (1982), who defined that figurative language as an artful deviation in the
form taken by a statement. It is the language that creates feelings or image in the
mind of readers. From the definition above, it can be concluded that figurative
language is a type of language that aims to describe or tell something by using
uncommon sentences, which is contain meaning that need to be interpreted.
Figurative language refers to the use of selecting certain word. It makes
difficult to understand because we cannot find the meaning of figurative language
in dictionary just like the other vocabulary words that we usually use in our daily
conversation. To know the meaning of figurative language, we need to use our
3
According to Perrine (1992), there are four reasons of why we use figurative
language. Firstly, the use of figurative language in literary work can affords
imaginative pleasure. It means that people in the world have different imagination
when they making literary work. Secondly, figurative language is a way of bringing
additional imagery into verse, making the abstract concrete, and making literary
works more sensuous. It means that the author of the literary work can attract
reader’s imagination so the lyric can be looked more interesting. Thirdly, it is a way
of adding emotional intensity to otherwise merely informative statements and to
conveying attitudes along with information. It means that figure of speech can
appear his/her ideas, feeling and emotion into literary work. Fourthly, figurative
language is a way of saying much in brief compass. It means that figures of speech
need our skill to interpreting literary work to make good interpretations.
Figurative language can be used in variety of literary works, one of them is
song. Hornby (1986) added that song is short poem or number of verses set to music
and intended to be sung. It is a part of music that contain many beautiful words. It
usually played with various instruments like guitar, piano, etc. Song can give
pleasurable for the listener. It is the most general thing for human in daily life
because song can improve various effect to the listener. The words in a song are
called lyrics. Song lyric is a composition of creative and expressive word. Song
lyrics become mirror of the fact or ideal reality of social life and the experience of
the authors, and it is reproduce the imaginations of the authors (Asthiani, 2015). It
means that when the author arranges the word, he/she should think the various
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they should be creative in making the words by finding the stimulating words but
acceptable for many kinds of people too.
Talking about song, we know that song does not only contain set of lyrics
but also message that gives various impression to the listeners. Message is an idea
of speaker or writer that can be informed. In a song, message means information
from the author to others that tells something good or bad in a lyric that is presented.
By knowing and understanding the messages conveyed by the author, the listeners
can get the content of the song.
In understanding a song, we often find some lyrics that are difficult to
understand. They contain many types of figurative language and some terms that
we never find in daily conversation. Based on the explanations above, it is important
for us to know and to understand a whole of the lyrics by using figurative language
and by finding a message that exists in the lyric itself. This research has done to
analyze the types of figurative language and the messages on Jay Z song.
There are many famous singers, but Jay Z is chosen as the subject of the
research because his song is very unique and interesting. Jay Z was born in New
York City on December 4th, 1969. He is one of the financially succesful hip hop
artist in America. He is an American rapper, entrepreneur and investor.
Unfortunately, sometimes people usually get difficuty to know what the story tells
in the song, particularly in “ The Black Album” which consist of 14 songs.
The Black Album is eight studio album which was released on November
2003 by rapper Jay-Z. It was promoted as his final studio album, although Jay-Z
5
Album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Hip Hop Album. The
researcher choose this album because this is one of the most popular and bestseller
album. The concept of songs in this album mostly based on Jay Z previous
experience. The content of the story of his song is very interesting, and also there
are many unusual words or phrase that found. The songs of that album does not
only contain of imaginative word, but also has message that influences various
effect for the listeners. Unfortunately, they do not understand about it. They usually
do not know the meaning precisely, especially the literal meaning based on their
understanding of those song lyrics. So, in this research the researcher tries to
understand deeper meaning from Jay Z song by using Perrine’s theory.
In literary work or non literary work, figurative language plays significant
role because by knowing this figurative language we can develop more imaginative
words. Figurative language is unique phenomenon to analyze. There have been
several researches that analyze types of figurative language in different focuses. All
those researcher use various objects of their research with figurative language
theory, such as English Translation, novel, movie, fairy tales and so on. Anita
(2012) observed kinds of figurative language used in English Translation text of
Surah Maryam by Yusuf Ali. She identifies some figurative languages based on
Robert Frost’s theory, and then she also identifies the contextual meaning of those
expressions by using contextual theory and truth-conditioning theory. Saputri
(2014) focused on identifying the types of figurative language and the contextual
meaning used in Rick Riordan’s novel. The result shows that there are 93 sentences
6
Rohman (2015) explored six types of figurative language which are used in Harry
Potter movie. The writer found 20 utterances which contain of figurative language
in Harry Potter movie. Ayuningsih (2015) examined the use of figurative language
in Hans Christian Andersons fairy tales and concluded that there are seven types of
figurative language which were used in Hans Christian Andersons fairy tales. They
are simile, metaphor, paradox, hyperbole, personification, symbols and
synecdoche. The findings of their research are about what types of figurative
language used that occur in their subject on the research. The previous studies above
is really important to the researcher because they help the reseacher to find the right
book for this research.
This research is also similar to several other previous researches. It still talks
about the theory of figurative language but this research analyze the type of
figurative language in music genre hip hop song by Jay Z’s ‘The Black Album’.
This research analyzes the types of figurative language by using Perrine theory. By
this research, the researcher also aims at analyzing the messages contained in the
lyrics itself.
1.2Statement of the problems
According to the background explained above, there are some problems
that appeared in this research. The problems are :
1. What are the types of figurative language found in Jay Z’s on The Black
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2. What are the messages found in Jay Z’s on The Black Album: Hip Hop
Song ?
1.3Objectives of the study
Concerning with the problem above, this research is intended to achieve
some objectives:
1. To find out what figurative languages are in Jay Z’s on The Black
Album: Hip Hop Song.
2. To find out what messages which are found in Jay Z’s on The Black
Album: Hip Hop Song.
1.4 Significance of the Study
The significance of the study is expected to develop the study of English
especially in figurative language to help more understanding of the meanings
or messages in song lyric. For the readers, this study makes everyone knows
more and understands about figurative language, because when we study about
language especially song, we will find kinds of figurative language used in the
word to be more interesting.
1.5Scope and Limitation
The scope of this research focuses on semantic study, especially in
figurative language that is classified in twelve types based on Perrine’s theory:
8
metonymy, symbol, allegory, paradox, hyperbole/overstatement,
understatement, and verbal irony. The researcher limits the research only in
fourteen songs of Jay Z and the figurative language that are found in the album
of Jay Z’s song lyrics “The Black Album.
1.6 Definition of key term
The researcher gives some the definition of key term to make clear and
to avoid misunderstanding.
1. Figurative language is the type of language that cannot be taken literally
or a way of saying something more than ordinary (Perrine, 1987).
2. Literal language is the type of language that uses words or sentences that
do not differ from their exactly meaning. (Chaysin, 2011).
3. Song is short poem or number of verses set to music and intended to be
sung (Hornby: 1947).
4. Jay Z is one of the financially succesful hip hop artist in America. He is
an American rapper, entrepreneur and investor. (Simon, 2010)
5. The Black Album is the eight studio album by American rapper Jay Z.
This album was released on November 14, 2003 by Roc-A-Fella
Records. It was advertised as his final album before retiring, which is
also a recurring theme throughout the songs, although Jay Z resumed his
recording career in 2006.In 2005, The Black Album was nominated for
9
http://www.last.fm/music/Jay-Z/The+Black+Album/+wiki Retrieved
10
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter consist of many important aspects concerning the theoritical
framework those are definition of semantics, definition of figurative language,
types of figurative language, messages and so on.
2.1 Semantics
Semantics is a study of meaning in language. It deals with all linguistic
aspects such as words, phrases, clauses and sentences. Hornby (1972) defines,
semantics is branch of linguistics concerned with studying the meaning of words
and sentences. In simple definition, semantics is the study of linguistic units, words
and sentences in paticular.
There were three disciplines were concerned with the systematic study of
meaning, they are psychology, philosophy and linguistics (Kreidler, 1998). In the
other word, Philosophy, Psychology, and linguistics all claim a deep interest in the
subject. Psychologist in how humans learn, how they retain, recall or lost
information. Philosophies of language were concerned with how we know or accept
as true was related to other possible facts. And the last is about linguistic, linguistics
want to understand how language works.
Semantics is only focuses on the grammar and the vocabulary impart, it does
not account for any implied meaning. It does not pay attention to the syntactical
arrangement or pronounciation of linguistic object. As stated by Katz (1972),
11
parts or with their pronunciation. On the other word, semantics limits its study to
the nature of meaning only. From this definition, we have to understand what is
meant by meaning. Meanings are the ideas or concepts from the speakers’ mind to
the heares’ mind, that are able to be transferred in the forms of one language or
another (Fromkin, 1983). It means, meaning is the main purpose the speaker which
wants to conveys to the listener. By knowing the meaning people will understand
about the purpose or the topic is talking.
The varieties of meaning happened because a speaker may use a word that
different from what it denotes. Sometimes what is uttered by the speaker is different
from the literal meaning, thus the listener might become misunderstanding about
what speaker says. Hence, studying about meaning is needed because it will give
influence for us to understand about speaker’s mean or how far some information
can received by listeners.
From the definition above, semantics can be defined as part of linguistics
study that concern to interpret the meaning of words or sentences. This study also
tries to understand what meaning is as an element of language and how it is
constructed by language as well as interpreted by speakers and listeners of
language.
2.2 Figurative Language
Figurative language is the use of words or sentences that different from their
ordinary meaning. It occurs when the speaker speaks something different from
12
comparison interesting or by using words that have unusual constructions or
sounds. It is characterized by figure of speech that compares, exaggerates, or shows
the other sense of the first appearance meaning.
People may find many figurative language such as in daily conversation
rarely, articles in magazine, advertisements, novels, songs, etc. Perrine (1974:49)
defines figure of speech is the unusual way of uttering something which can be said
that the speaker intentionally refers to another meaning from one thing. In other
words, figurative language is a way of saying something from the uncommon way.
By using this type of language, the speaker wants to add some special effect to their
words.
Figurative language created by authors to provide aesthetics element in the
stories. The authors also express their thoughts, feeling, and ideas use figurative
language in order to make the reader may be interested. Brown Amanda (2006) said
that in written and spoken language there are certain effective ways of saying things
without saying them directly. That is called figures of speech or figurative
language, they are used to emphasize, clarify, and embellish what is being said.
Most figures of speech simply take what is well known and use it to depict what is
less familiar.
The function of using figurative language is to create an interesting images.
Wren (1981) states figurative language is a departure from the ordinary form of
language or the ordinary course of ideas in order to produce a better effect. It means
that figurative language is a language that can be substituted by the variations of
13
different from what it literally. Or the other words we can say that figurative
language is the expressive use of language in which words are used to give a
particular emphasis or to generate a special effect.
Figurative language is a kind of language that emphasize in language.
Kennedy (1979) stated that figure of speech may be said whenever a writer or
speaker, for the sake of emphasis or freshness, departs from the ordinary
denotations of words. From the above quotation, figurative language is a way to
reflect the characteristic of the film and the way the writer think. Figurative
language used not in usual literal sense but imaginative way. Figures of speech are
not devices to state what is demonstrably untrue. Indeed they often state truths, and
they lend emphasis.
Figurative language is one which literally in compatible term, forces the
readers to attend the connotation rather than to the denotation. Kreidler affirms
(1998), the connotation is part of meaning, the effective or emotional associations
is elicits, which clearly not be the same for all people who know and use the word.
It is refers to the personal aspect of meaning, the emotional associations that the
word arouses. The denotation identifies the central aspect of word meaning, which
everybody generally agrees about. The words that have emotional meaning and
denotation meaning are combination of sounds.
The Webster‘s New World College Dictionary (1996) explains that
figurative speech is an expression (as metaphor or euphemism) that substitutes a
variation of points of view by which things or notions which is referred to as if it is
14
to be but so related to the expression successfully implies an intended meaning of
effect either or greatly different from what is utterly said.
Figurative meaning and vocabulary have a close relationship. Figurative
meaning and semantic also have a great relationship because without the
knowledge of the meaning of the word, even connotative meaning, it is difficult to
understand figurative meaning, sometimes people read the newspapers, the
magazines or novel, overlooked non – literal expressions and read them literally.
Of course, the meaning of the expression becomes odd or not understandable.
Therefore, figurative language becomes essential in the learning of vocabularies.
While, learning of vocabularies support the learning of semantics (Tarigan, 1995).
The use of figurative language on a certain language might be different from
another. Gibbs and Turner (1997) added that figurative language is the type of
language that helps convey exact meaning in an artistic manner. It may use colorful
words imaginatively or even make up new word. In other words, using figurative
language is very needed to make our sentences more beauty and artistic. It requires
much imagination because the sentence has hidden meaning behind the literal
meaning.
Figurative language uses "figures of speech" it is a way of saying something
other than the literal meaning of the words. In other words, language cannot be
taken literally. Literal and figurative language is a distinction in traditional systems
for analyzing language. Literal language refers to words that do not deviate from
their defined meaning. Figurative language refers to words, and groups of words,
15
language may involve analogy to similar concepts or other contexts, and may
involve exaggerations. These modifications result in figures of speech.
Form the explanation above, the researcher concludes that figurative
languages is a type of language that uses words or expressions different from the
literal meaning. It is one of many techniques are uses to express the inner feelings
of the people.
2.3 Types of Figurative Language
There are many kinds of figurative language. Each expert has their own
definition in each type of figurative language. In this research, the researcher
discusses the types of figurative language based on Perrine’s theory. Perrine
(1987:61-109) separated figurative language into twelve kinds, they are: simile,
metaphor, personification, apostrophe, synecdoche, metonymy, symbol, allegory,
paradox, hyperbole/overstatement, understatement, and verbal irony.
1. Simile
Simile is a kind of figurative language that essentially not the same but
thought to be similar in one or more respect is compared. Simile is also used to
add clarify to the language or make it more careful. Kennedy (1979) affirms
that simile is comparison of two things, indicated by some connective, usually
like, as, than or verb such as resembles. Generally, simile is defined as a type
of figurative language that used to explain the resemblance of two objects (in
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It can be said simile compares two unlike object that are regarded
similar or almost similar. It expresses a similarity. The object which are
compared have to be different type. Simile is usually using words like or as.
The example below is considered as simile:
Your eyes like the star
In that sentence, it uses the comparative word that is like. In short, it
compares the eyes with the star. It does not mean that your eyes like a star but
it means that your eyes so beautiful.
2. Metaphor
The second type of figurative language is metaphor. Metaphor is a kind
of figurative language that refers to something as being the same as another
thing for rhetorical effect. It may provide clarity or identity hidden similarities
between two ideas. Perrine (1987:61) states that there is a similiraty between
metaphor and simile. Both of them are comparison between two things that are
essentially not the same. The only distinction between them is the use of
connective words. In simile, the poet uses the connective word such as: like, as
than, similar to, resemble or seems, while in metaphor the comparison is
implied the figurative term is substituted for or identified with the literal term.
Metaphors are abstract relations which appear to be more convincing
and persuade the reader. Use of metaphor usually helps the reader to shape the
understanding of an activity as an extra ordinary activity that is not actually
happening. Writers use metaphors to communicate or transform complex ideas
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metaphor is figure of speech in which a word or phrase is taken out of its usual
setting and placed with another word to suggest a likeness. It is made more
vivid by transferring to it the name or attributes of some other objects.
Metaphors often provide only one perspective of an issue by blocking
or hiding other view points. In addition, meanings can be ambiguous with
context depending on the purpose of the user. Generally metaphors are also
used to describe some abstract concept in concrete form. It would help the
reader to describe the idea and perceive an imaginary idea in writer‘s mind
incompact form.
The example below is considered as metaphor:
Luna is an angel
In the expression above, shows us an example of metaphor. It is
comparing two nouns, Luna and angel. Possibly Luna is a kind person just like
an angel. So, the expression above means Luna is a kind person.
3. Personification
Personification is comparison between inanimate things and person. It
is a kind of metaphor, an impied comparison in which the figurative term of
the comparison is always human being. (Perrine, 1987: 64).
Personification gives human characteristics to inanimate objects,
animals or ideas. This can really affect the way the reader imagines things.
Personification is a depiction of objects or nonhuman (inanimate) whether
tangible or abstract which are treated as if they were human. Toner and
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is given a human characteristic because of some similarity between the thing
and a person. It is easy to remember because personification contains the word
“person” inside it.
From the opinions above it can be said that personification means
giving inhuman thing human qualities. It is a kind of figure of speech that
endows animals, ideas, abstraction and inanimate object with human form, and
the representing of imaginary creatures of things as having human
personalities.
The example below is considered as personification:
My heart was asleep
In here, ‘asleep’ as used to express human’s personal qualities. In this
expression means a condition that someone has no feeling.
4. Apostrophe
Apostrophe defined as addressing someone absent or something non
human as if it was a live and present and could reply to what is being said
Perrine (1987:65). Apostrophe is also a form of personification in which
nonhuman or in animate thing is directly addressed as if it were human or
animate..
The example below is considered as apostrophe:
Sweet Thames! Run soflty till I end my song.
The line above, the poet greets Thames River in London to flow gently
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5. Synecdoche
Synecdoche is a part that used to designate the whole. This is kind of
figurative language where a part of a particular object is employed throw light
on the whole thing. Synecdoche is the use of the part for the whole (Perrine,
1987:67). It is a kind of figurative language which states one thing partly
instead of its universe.
Actually synecdoche divided into two types:
- Pars pro toto (part for whole) means if there is noun mentioned in a
part, it means the noun mentioned in a whole.
Example : ‘White house’ means The U.S government
- Totem pro parte (whole for part) means if there is noun mentioned
in a whole, it means the noun meantioned in a part.
Example : ‘Our school get a cup of basketball champion’
6. Metonymy
Metonymy is the type of figurative language that uses a word that
closely related with the things that the poet actually meant. As mentioned by
Perrine (1987:67), metonymy is the use of something closely related to the thing
essentially meant It can be considered that metonymy is the substitution of a
word naming an object for another word closely associated with it. Djuanda and
Prana (2006) also said that metonymy is a figure of speech that equates a word
or name that has a relationship with another object which is the company’s brand
or trade, or stating something to direct its name.
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1. I enjoy Shakespeare immensely
2. The whole town turned out to welcome us
In the sentence above, the first sentence the word ‘Shakespeare’ means
the work of Shakespeare. The second sentence the word ‘Whole Town’ means
all the people living in the town.
7. Symbol
Symbol is what a word stands for itself and symbol usually stands for
something in reality. It is something represented by a word in poetry. Symbol
can be found by relating the word with something in real life. Perrine (1987:81)
defined symbol is defined as something that means more than what it is.
Symbol maybe best understood as an implied metaphor. Meanwhile, Diyanni
(2004) added that symbol is any object or action that represents something
beyond its literal self. An apple pie, for example, can represent an American
Lifestyle. Natural symbols like light and darkness, fire and water can stand for
contradictory things. The meaning of any symbol whether an object, an action,
or a gesture, is controlled by its context. A symbol can be defined simply as
any object or action that means more than itself.
The example below is considered as symbol:
You cannot teach an old dog new trick.
In here, not only talking about dog itself, but about living creatures of
any species and therefore speaking symbolically. An old dog can be understood
as old man that in his aged he cannot think likes he was young.
21
Allegory is description that has another meaning and seeing a whole
comparison. As mentioned by Perrine (1987:88), allegory is narrative or
description that has meaning beneath the surface one. It can be said that the
meaning beneath is different from its description. Djuanda and Prana (2006)
argue that, this figure of speech used in a series of narrative as a whole. It is
mean that almost all sentences in the speech was put on the comparison as a
whole and unified. Some comparisons are linked to one another to form a
unified whole.
The example below is considered as allegory:
He trew a pine cones at a jovial squirrel and he ran with chattering
fear.
The above sentence is allegory because the meaning in the sentence is
definitely different from its description.
9. Paradox
Paradox usually happens in a poem when there is a situation or
statement contrary to the usual situation, yet this situation or statement is
somehow true. Perrine (1987:101) said that paradox is an apparent
contradiction that is nevertheless something true. It maybe either situation or
statement.
Paradox is the statement seemingly self-contradiction or opposed to
what is commonly held to be true but which nevertheless contains a truth.
Nugiantoro (2010) stated that that paradox is the opinion or argument that
22
also said the paradox a wrong proportion that one but it also is true. Often
behind the surprising paradox, paradox hides the truth that can be maintained.
In this figure of speech, there are two markers that have opposing meanings.
Both markers appear, so do not be implicit. However, there was opposition
within the meaning of the word only, whereas in the paradox that live is not
often the opposition but rather to strengthen the meaning. The conclusion,
paradox is a figure of speech that looks as if there is any conflict.
The example below is considered as paradox:
And death shall be no more; eath thou salt die
For the poet, death will not exist again, because death will die, and the
poet has slept and will wake up forever, then there will be no more death and
the death has passed by.
10.Hyperbole/overstatement
Hyperbole derived from the Greek. It is from two words, they are hyper
which mean over and baleen which mean throw. So, hyperbole can be defined
as a figurative language, which exaggerates the number, size or quality of
something in order to emphasize certain point in a statement. When using
hyperbole, a writer draws attention to a particular idea by saying something
which cannot possibly true.
An exaggeration that is so dramatic that no one would believe the
statement is true. Tall tales are hyperboles. Wren (2005) stated that in
23
that hyperbole is figure of speech that states something or situation excessively
by using words contain greater meaning from the real taste or meaning.
Hyperbole is simply exaggeration out in the service the truth (Perrine,
1987:102). Hyperbole is a kind of figurative language which consist of an
exaggerated statement which is not mean to be literary. Hyperbole is also
known as overstatement.
The following expression is considered as hyperbole:
Jane has not seen his mom for ages
In that expression, the phrase ‘for ages’ indicates as an exaggeration.
The speaker wants to emphasize that Jane has never seen her mom for a long
time.
11.Understatement
Understatement is a figure of speech that uses the words in the opposite
sense or to reduce reality to humble their selves for making polite. It always
deliberate and with the intention of subtle emphasis. However, the
interpretation of litotes can depend on context, including cultural context. In
speech, it may also depend on intonation and emphasis. Perrine (1987:102)
states understatement is saying less than one means that may exist in what are
says or merely in how one say it. It is opposite of overstatement.
The example below is considered as understatement:
24
Here, he is speaking a quarrel between men armed with swords, as
though it were a promenade. The effect is to draw the readers into the heroic
calm of writer.
12.Irony
Irony is a kind of figurative language in which real meaning is
completely opposed to its surface meaning. It is a way of speaking or writing
by saying something while the meaning is another. It usually occurs in
sentences or expressions when they imply opposite meaning. Keraf (2009)
states that irony is figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that
their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words. In
simple words, it is a difference between the appearance and the reality.
Irony has a meaning that extends beyond its use merely as a figure of
speech. Mentioned by Diyyani (2004), irony almost arises from a contrast or
discrepancy between what happens and what has been expected to happen.
The example below is considered as verbal irony:
Your handwriting is very good so i can not read it
The expression above can be considered as verbal irony when the
expression want to say that his handwriting is very bad.
2.4Message
Message is the content of the communication process. Communication is
effective only when the message is understood and when it stimulates action or
encourages the receiver to think in new ways. It is the information conveyed by
25
blogspot (2011), message is a communication passed or sent by speech, in writing,
by signals, etc. Usually short communication transmitted by words, signals, or other
means from one person, or group to another.
Based on Oxford advance Learner’s dictionary, message is a written or
spoken request, piece of information, etc. That is passed from one person to another
indirectly, it is also an idea or statement from a writer or religious group, which is
thought to be of political, moral or social important. In spoken, message is a piece
of information that you give to a person when you cannot speak to them directly.
While in written, it is the most important idea in a book, film or others.
Message may include verbal content and non verbal content. Verbal content
refers to written or spoken words, sign language, e-mail, text messages, phone calls,
etc. And non verbal content may include body movement and gestures, eye contact,
artifacts and clothing, timing, etc. The verbal message is of course an important part
of our communication, but the way we communicate nonverbally is equally, and
sometimes more important.
Often our verbal and non-verbal messages are consistent, but they can
sometimes be inconsistent. If someone’s words conflict with their tone of voice
and/or non-verbal behaviours, we often mistrust the words and tend to believe the
non-verbal clues instead. It’s not very convincing, for example, when someone tells
you they’re not angry at you, but they avoid eye contact, have an angry expression
on their face, can barely force out the words, and slam their fist on the table while
26
Message is converted into a code (language) by a sender and transferred as
a discourse (text) via a particular channel to a receiver. Although it is commonly
the main stimulus to initiate an act of communication, humans more often than not
interact without any clearly defined and/or preplanned message or purpose, esp. in
casual meetings (e.g., congratulating, condoling, expressing gratitude). In many
such stereotypical situations, certain aspects of contact (appearance, initial
reactions, acceptance/rejection) rule over content and interlocutors, in order to
liberate themselves from the strain of the situation, select from the stock of some
ready-made prefabricated formulae, such as greetings, congratulations,
condolences, apologies, thanks, etc..
Various types of message correlate with certain features of the structure of
communicative events, codes, channels and textual properties. For example,
messages with high information density (research articles, monographs, statutes)
utilizing elaborate language are printed out (journals, statute books) and stored in
libraries for future reference. In contrast, messages with relatively low information
density (mundane conversations or casual narratives) invite the use of spoken verbal
code along with some non-verbal codes (gestures).
Based on the statements of message above, it is considered that message is
an idea of speaker or a writer it can be informed. In a song, message means a
message or information from the author to others either directly or which can be
heard in written form in a lyric that be present. By knowing and understading the
27
2.5 Song
A song is an artistic form of expression based on sound, generally
considered a single (and often stand alone) work of music with distinct and fixed
pitches, pattern, and form. Quinn (2006) states song is a term for a type of lyric
poem, not necessarily designed to be set to music. It means that song can be orally
with music or without music.
The word of song are typically of a poetic, rhyming nature, although they
may be religious verses or free prose. A song may be for a solo singer, a duet, trio,
or larger ensemble involving more voices. Songs with more than one voice to a part
are considered choral works. Songs can be broadly divided into many different
forms, depending on the criteria used. One division is between "art songs", "pop
songs", and "folk songs". A song is a piece of music for accompanied or
unaccompanied voice/voices or the act or art of singing.
As a part of literary work, song can entertain the listeners by its music and
is performed by singing. Song of course consists of lyrics. Song lyric is an
arrangement of beautiful, imaginative and meaningful word. It is usually used to
express the feeling based on either the writer’s or the other people’s experiences. It
also has a powerful emotion that gives impact in listeners’ mind. The impact of
song usually makes the listeners feel the story in the song as theirself story and the
messages of song give the inspiration for them. Song writer usually creates song
related to the love story, social, education and the philosophy of life and even the
28
2.6 Jay Z
Jay Z was born on 4th December 1969, in Brooklyn New York City. He is
an American rapper, entrepreneur and investor. When he was only 11 years old, his
father abandoned the family and he was independently raised by his mother. The
family lived in the drug infested ‘Marcy Projects’, where vionlence and gun-culture
were also prevalent. It was in this short of a neighborhood that he was also raised.
He studied at George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High
School, Eli Whitney High School and Trenton Central High School. Here, he was
classmates with future performers, Busta Rhymes and The Notorious B.I.G. His
interest in music was sparked from very early on when he received a boom box for
his birthday from his mother. he began free styling, scripting lyrics and tailed the
music by many populer artist of the time.
He is not only one of the most sucessful rappers but also a sucessful
entrepreneur who owns an entertainment company named ‘Roc Nation’. As an
entrepreneur, he owns the 40/40 Club, Def Jam Records, Roc Nation Sports,
Roc-A-Fella and he is also a qualified NBA sports representative. Recently, Jay-Z was
ranked as one of the most successful artists of the millennium and was also placed
next to the likes of iconic rappers including 50 Cent, Nelly and Eminem. Most of
his works reflect bits and pieces of his troubled, drug-ridden childhood. Despite
coming from a very run-of-the-mill background, Jay-Z is a millionaire artist today
29
relationship with singer/actress Beyonce Knowles under wraps. He is currently
married to her and the couple has a daughter. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Z)
2.7The Black Album
The Black Album is the eight studio album by American rapper Jay Z. This
album was released on November 14, 2003 by Roc-A-Fella Records. It was
advertised as his final album before retiring, which is also a recurring theme
throughout the songs, although Jay Z resumed his recording career in 2006.
When The black album was released, it received widespread acclaim from
critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from
mainstream publications, it received an average score of 84, based on 19 reviews.
In its first week, the album debuted at number one on the Billborad 200, and selling
463,000 copies in the United States. By July 2013, the album had 3,516,000 copies
in the Us. In 2005, The Black Album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best
Rap Album. It was also ranked number 349 in Rolling Stone’s list of the 500
greatest albums of all time. Pitchfork ranked The Black Album at number 90 on its
decade-end list of the top 200 albums from the 200s, while Slant Magazine ranked
it seventh best on a similar list. In 2012, Complex named it one of the classic records
of the previous decade.
(http://www.last.fm/music/Jay-Z/The+Black+Album/+wiki)
2.8 Review of related studies
30
figurative language theory, such as English Translation, novel, movie, and so on.
Here, the researcher review them to make-sure that it can help the researcher in
doing her research to guide her and also to avoid duplicating or copying similar
previous research about the topic since the research conducted by the researcher
must be original.
First is from Anita (2012). She observed kinds of figurative language used
in English Translation text of Surah Maryam by Yusuf Ali. She identifies some
figurative languages based on Robert Frost’s theory, and then she also identifies the
contextual meaning of those expressions using contextual theory and
truth-conditioning theory. The result of her reseach shows that there are eighteen kinds
of figurative languages found in English translation text of Surah Maryam and the
dominant type of figurative language is symbol.
The second is from Yuri and Rosa (2013). Both of them focused their study
in analyzing the types of figurative language in internet advertisements and were
classified into male and female products. The findings of this study showed that the
use of figurative language in the internet advertisement gives big influence in
promoting the product.
The third is Saputri (2014). Her research focuses on identifying the types of
figurative language and the contextual meaning used in Rick Riordan’s novel. The
method used in this research is documentation method. Meanwhile to analyze the
types of figurative language she used theory proposed by Leech. In the result of her
research shows that there are 93 sentences that have figurative language and the
31
this novel uses simile to explain circumstances, to describe the characters, to
express emotion of the characters, and to make his writing more vivid and
entertaining.
The fourth is Rohman (2015). In his research, he explored six types of
figurative language which are used in Harry Potter movie. In his research, he also
used Kennedy theory to classify the types of figurative expressions. Rohman
classified 10 figurative expressions in three categories, comparative, contradictory,
and relation. The result of his research showed that there were 20 utterances
contains figurative language in Harry Potter movie and the most figurative
languages used is Simile, so Simile is the dominant figurative language of the
utterances used by the selected characters.
Then, the last previous research also has done by Ayuningsih (2015). She
proposes two research problem, those are the kinds of figurative language and the
reason of figurative language in Hans Christian Andersons fairy tales. In her
research, she used Perrine’s theory to found and classification the types of figurative
language that appeared in the Hans Christian Andersons fairy tales. She concluded
that there were seven types of figurative language which were used in Hans
Christian Andersons fairy tales. They are simile, metaphor, paradox, hyperbole,
personification, symbols and synecdoche. She counted the data and found the most
often used figure of speech in her research is hyperbole.
In conducting this research, a review from a journal about figurative
language is also needed to give more overview about it. The only journal reviewed
32
Representation of their Affective Domain through Figurative Language in a
Web-Based Learning Environment” from journal Stefaniamanca (Distance Education)
(Melbourne: May 2007). This journal explains the study that investigates how the
participants of an online learning course employ figurative language to express their
emotions and feelings during the learning experience. It purposes to analyze the
distribution of figurative language across the course to understand if the figurative
language elicits the creation of new figurative language, and to classify recurring
types of conceptual categories. The result shows that figurative language use
increases in coincidence with crucial, social event; it does not necessarily encourage
the production of further figurative language; and it allows participants to represent
their affective domain and to conceptualize the learning environment in an original
manner. Stefaniamanca’s journal analyzes the affective domain of figurative in a
website, while in the present study only the meaning of figurative language is
analyzed.
However, in practice, the research of their research has differences with my
study because in addition to the source data and different data. In the current
research the researcher used types of figurative language related to Jay Z’s hip hop
songs especially ‘The Black’ Album. It is because this research used Jay Z’s hip
hop Songs On The Black Album as the data source, this album contained many
types of figurative language thus the researcher uses it as a restriction to categorize
34
CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD
This part discusses the methodology of the research. It consist of research
design, research instrument, data and data source, technique of data collection, and
technique of data analysis.
3.1 Research Design
In conducting this research, the researcher used qualitative content analysis
because the data of this research were taken from the utterances that produced by
Jay Z in his song lyric which are contained of figurative language. Krippendorff
(1980) mentioned that content analysis as a research technique for making
replicable and valid inferences from data to their content. The content itself refers
to words, meanings, pictures, symbols, themes or any message which can be
analyzed. Meanwhile, the text is anything from written or spoken that serves as a
medium for communication. Hence, content analysis is the proper research
technique because this research aims to examined the types of figurative language
in the lyric by understanding, interpreting and describing the content to gain the
data finding of the research.
Content analysis is qualitative research technique which widely used.
According to Moloeng (2010), qualitative method is a research procedure that
obtains descriptive data in written or spoken form from the people and their
behavior which is being observed. According to him, the aim is a holistic picture
35
purposed to understanding of a phenomenon or other certain problem by focusing
on the total picture rather than breaking it down into variables.
In addition, this research also used descriptive research design in analyzing
the data. This approach used to described the types of figurative language which
found in the lyrics of Jay Z’s songs with the second purposed of the research that
wants to analyzed the messages in the lyrics of Jay Z’s Songs. The data of this
research were not in the form of number but description and explanation about Jay
Z song’s lyrics.
3.2 Research Instrument
The main research instrument of this research is the researcher herself. The
researcher who as the participant collected and analyzed the data, in order to
produce the valid result. The researcher collected and analyzed the data by finding
the types of figurative language and the messages in the Jay Z’s Songs. Therefore,
the researcher can be as the main instrument of her research.
3.3Data and Data Source
The data source of this research was taken from the eight studio album of
Jay Z’s song “The Black Album” which was released on November 2003. Then, the
data of this research were taken from the utterances that produced by Jay Z in his
song lyric which are contained of figurative language. In this research, the data was
taken from sources in website. It was downloaded by the researcher herself from
36
3.4Techniques of Data collection
In collecting the data, the researcher conducted some steps:
1. Searching the song lyric of Jay Z. The lyric for the song was taken from
http://jayzweb.yaia.com/lyricstheblackalbum.html accessed on February
20, 2017.
2. Downloading song lyrics of Jay Z and saving 14 songs of Jay Z’s The
Black Album in her laptop.
3. Reading and get understanding in the content of the lyrics.
4. Collecting data by finding the types of figurative language and the
messages from 14 songs in the Jay Z’s Songs On The Black Album. The
researcher highlighted the lyrics that include the types of figurative
language in order to mark the lyrics. The function of this step is to make
easy in classifying the data into the twelve types of figurative language.
37
: Simile : Synecdoche :Paradox
: Metaphor : Metonymy :Hyperbole
: Personification : Symbol :Understatement
: Apostrophe : Allegory :Verbal Irony
What More Can I Say
3.5 Data analysis
After collecting the data from data source,the researcher did some steps to
analyze the data. In doing analysis the researcher uses procedures as
follow:
1. The researcher identified words, phrases and sentences of Jay Z’s
song lyrics that contained the types of figurative language.
2. The researcher analyzed the types of figurative language used theory
38
twelve types of figurative language. Those are simile, methapor,
personification, apostrophe, synechdoche, metonymy, symbol,
allegory, paradox, hyperbole, understatement, and verbal irony).
Then, the researcher gave explanation of the data about the messages
which contained in the song.
3. After finding the types of figurative language and the messages in
the Jay Z’s songs lyrics, then the researcher classified the data in
each the categorized based on the types of figurative language. The
data is firstly classified in the table based on the existence of the data.
Example for the table :
Table of Categorize
No Type of figurative language Data
Simile Encore (2)
Dirt of your Shoulder (3) Threat (5)
Methapor ... ...
Personification ... ...
39
From the table above, the researcher was able to know what types of
figurative language which are used by each title of song lyrics. There are 14
songs as well. Hence, the researcher can see what the types of figurative
language which are often used by Jay Z’s in his song lyrics.
4. The researcher made a conclusion and suggestion. The conclusion were
obtained from the results of the data and the suggestions were made for
34
CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD
This part discusses the methodology of the research. It consist of research
design, research instrument, data and data source, technique of data collection, and
technique of data analysis.
3.1 Research Design
In conducting this research, the researcher used qualitative content analysis
because the data of this research were taken from the utterances that produced by
Jay Z in his song lyric which are contained of figurative language. Krippendorff
(1980) mentioned that content analysis as a research technique for making
replicable and valid inferences from data to their content. The content itself refers
to words, meanings, pictures, symbols, themes or any message which can be
analyzed. Meanwhile, the text is anything from written or spoken that serves as a
medium for communication. Hence, content analysis is the proper research
technique because this research aims to examined the types of figurative language
in the lyric by understanding, interpreting and describing the content to gain the
data finding of the research.
Content analysis is qualitative research technique which widely used.
According to Moloeng (2010), qualitative method is a research procedure that
obtains descriptive data in written or spoken form from the people and their
behavior which is being observed. According to him, the aim is a holistic picture
35
purposed to understanding of a phenomenon or other certain problem by focusing
on the total picture rather than breaking it down into variables.
In addition, this research also used descriptive research design in analyzing
the data. This approach used to described the types of figurative language which
found in the lyrics of Jay Z’s songs with the second purposed of the research that
wants to analyzed the messages in the lyrics of Jay Z’s Songs. The data of this
research were not in the form of number but description and explanation about Jay
Z song’s lyrics.
3.2 Research Instrument
The main research instrument of this research is the researcher herself. The
researcher who as the participant collected and analyzed the data, in order to
produce the valid result. The researcher collected and analyzed the data by finding
the types of figurative language and the messages in the Jay Z’s Songs. Therefore,
the researcher can be as the main instrument of her research.
3.3Data and Data Source
The data source of this research was taken from the eight studio album of
Jay Z’s song “The Black Album” which was released on November 2003. Then, the
data of this research were taken from the utterances that produced by Jay Z in his
song lyric which are contained of figurative language. In this research, the data was
taken from sources in website. It was downloaded by the researcher herself from
36
3.4Techniques of Data collection
In collecting the data, the researcher conducted some steps:
1. Searching the song lyric of Jay Z. The lyric for the song was taken from
http://jayzweb.yaia.com/lyricstheblackalbum.html accessed on February
20, 2017.
2. Downloading song lyrics of Jay Z and saving 14 songs of Jay Z’s The
Black Album in her laptop.
3. Reading and get understanding in the content of the lyrics.
4. Collecting data by finding the types of figurative language and the
messages from 14 songs in the Jay Z’s Songs On The Black Album. The
researcher highlighted the lyrics that include the types of figurative
language in order to mark the lyrics. The function of this step is to make
easy in classifying the data into the twelve types of figurative language.
37
: Simile : Synecdoche :Paradox
: Metaphor : Metonymy :Hyperbole
: Personification : Symbol :Understatement
: Apostrophe : Allegory :Verbal Irony
What More Can I Say
3.5 Data analysis
After collecting the data from data source,the researcher did some steps to
analyze the data. In doing analysis the researcher uses procedures as
follow:
1. The researcher identified words, phrases and sentences of Jay Z’s
song lyrics that contained the types of figurative language.
2. The researcher analyzed the types of figurative language used theory
38
twelve types of figurative language. Those are simile, methapor,
personification, apostrophe, synechdoche, metonymy, symbol,
allegory, paradox, hyperbole, understatement, and verbal irony).
Then, the researcher gave explanation of the data about the messages
which contained in the song.
3. After finding the types of figurative language and the messages in
the Jay Z’s songs lyrics, then the researcher classified the data in
each the categorized based on the types of figurative language. The
data is firstly classified in the table based on the existence of the data.
Example for the table :
Table of Categorize
No Type of figurative language Data
Simile Encore (2)
Dirt of your Shoulder (3) Threat (5)
Methapor ... ...
Personification ... ...
39
From the table above, the researcher was able to know what types of
figurative language which are used by each title of song lyrics. There are 14
songs as well. Hence, the researcher can see what the types of figurative
language which are often used by Jay Z’s in his song lyrics.
4. The researcher made a conclusion and suggestion. The conclusion were
obtained from the results of the data and the suggestions were made for
