An Oxymora Analysis of Romeo and Juliet Characters in Romeo and Juliet
Plays by William Shakespeare
THESIS
Submitted as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Sarjana Degree of English
Department Faculty of Arts and Humanities UIN SunanAmpel Surabaya
By
Achmad Fehrry Zulkarnaen
Reg. Number: A73210087
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF ARTS AND HUMANITIES
STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY SUNAN AMPEL
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background of Study
Oxymoron as one unique tropes or figurative language could be found in many popular poetry, novel and drama. Not many people knew if the used
oxymoron nowadays or they really did not knew if it called oxymoron, but many
people use it blindly to persuade people and make them interested as glitch for
their sale, research, etc. The researcher interested to conduct the research about
what is the real oxymoron and applied it on a literary work. Oxymoron itself
originally born from the antonym an could deliver some paradoxes effect at
phrase level.
Oxymoron as one kind of tropes, many researcher already been analyzing
some kinds of figurative language, including tropes itself, not only an oxymoron,
but metaphor, irony, tautology, etc., furthermore, to unresolved contradictions
specifying attitudes-in metaphor, irony, understatement, and tautology research.
Bertnsen and Kennedy (1996) argued that contradictions implied by the literal
meaning of a trope can be considered at least within at least three different
theoretical frameworks: (1) a consistency view in which the contradiction is to be
paraphrased to reveal underlying idea. (2) An image-schema view in which stored
perceptual experiences and deep conceptual metaphor form the basis of the
views, taken in isolation, is likely to offer a sufficient account of all kinds of
tropes.
Direct and indirect oxymora could become distinguish between oxymora
that using direct antonym or using hyponym to replace the direct word.
Momirovic, (2008) in an Intermedial Study of Figures of Speech and Ekphrasis. Found about the concept of the two types of oxymora in semantic and application
of it in a visual media: (1) the direct oxymora consist of two terms that are clear
contradictions, i.e. antonyms such as ‘cruel kindness’. Indirect oxymora have two
terms that are not completely antonymous: one of the terms is the hyponym of the
first term’s antonym. For example in dry tears the antonym of dry is wet, which is
also the hyponym of tears (Gibbs, 1994). (2) The analyzed features reveal
interconnectedness of various fields ranging from literature, linguistics to visual
media. The discussion thus gives way to the intermedial nature of communication.
Literary theory and new media indeed seem to come closer in the treatment of text
and image as an inseparable whole whether in the analysis of ‘imageness’ of texts
or in the analysis of ‘textuality’ of images.
The researcher finds at least several people who had research about
oxymoron especially in terms of figure of speech, grammatical and semantics
principle:
1. Sihombing (2010) Figure of Speech in Robert Frost’s Selected Poems,
thinks it is just same, because it is dealing with word and paragraph,
also line.
2. J. Gawryjolek (2009), also founded an approach for the detection of
oxymora is determining the syntactic relationships between individual
words.
3. H. Mehdi (2010) the journal studies about tropes analysis in stylistic
meaning in selected poems of John Donne’s poetry including
oxymoron. H. Mehdi explains that Semantic oddity means semantic
bizarreness of expression.
4. M. Flayih (2009) about a Linguistic study of Oxymoron already
observed more detailed about the oxymoron studies and all of the
aspects.
From all of those study, the researcher has the different discussion or
analysis. The researcher focused on the grammatical and semantics approach. The
researcher uses oxymora as the object, but the researcher uses drama for the
application of oxymora and analyzed it.
Thus, this research is intended to analyze and describe the kinds and
means of oxymora, a unique on of figure of speech that could be used up freely by
combining 2 opposite word to gain a beautiful literal meaning. The reason
because, nowadays many people use oxymora just for imitates something tragic,
ironic or something opposite from the fact. The researcher just found few
researches about how the real oxymora are applied in literary works as figure of
1.2 Statement of Problems
This study is conducted to answer the problems formulated in the
following questions:
1. What are the kinds of Oxymora used by Romeo and Juliet in “Romeo and
Juliet” plays by William Shakespeare?
2. What are Oxymora used and means by Romeo and Juliet in “Romeo and
Juliet” by William Shakespeare?
1.3 Objective of the Study
Every study has certain purpose or objectives to be obtained and avoid
deviation from what has been planned. The objectives of this proposal are:
1. To find out what kinds are Oxymora used by Romeo and Juliet in “Romeo
and Juliet” William Shakespeare
2. To find out what are Oxymora used and means by Romeo and Juliet in
“Romeo and Juliet” William Shakespeare
1.4 Significance of the Study
Through this study, the researcher wants to discover oxymora used in
“Romeo and Juliet” drama and to classify the oxymora in the drama that's been
used and means by Romeo and Juliet characters. The researcher hopes this study
explanation to the readers how to apply it in the drama scripts or plays with
several approaches. The researcher also expects this study can give contribution in
the research study of figurative language, especially in the English Letters
Department of UIN Sunan Ampel Surabaya. The last, the researcher will expect
this study is helpful to the other researchers or students who are interested in
doing further studies on the related topics.
1.5 Scope and Limitation
The scope of this research is an oxymoron or oxymora and the researcher
limits his study on oxymora that's been used by Romeo and Juliet only in “Romeo
and Juliet” drama by William Shakespeare.
1.6 Definition of Key Term A. Oxymora
Literary figure of speech in which opposite or contradictory words, terms,
phrases or ideas are combined to create a rhetorical effect by paradoxical
means (Morner and Rausch, 1997: 158).
B. Figure of Speech
Forms of expression in speech, word, phrase or sentence which had
literally meaning.
C. Romeo and Juliet
Two main characters from Romeo and Juliet drama fiction by William
D. William Shakespeare;
Famous poets and writer that lived in Elizabeth era who made many
CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
The review of related studies is an essential part of any investigation. The survey of the related studies is a crucial aspect of the planning of the study. The advantages the related studies is to provide insight into the statistical methods through which validity of the results is to be established
2.1 Theoretical Framework
2.1.1 Oxymoron as Kind of Figure of Speech
Morner and Rausch, (1997) Oxymoron or Oxymora (plural) is a literary figure of speech in which opposite or contradictory words, terms, phrases or ideas are combined to create a rhetorical effect by paradoxical means. For example, despairing hope, tender cruelty, glad mourning and sad joy.
Watson, (2006) in studies of poetry said that the master of the oxymoron was William Shakespeare. Watson find many oxymoron or oxymora (plural) in William Shakespeare most of poetry and drama, like in “Midsummer Night’s Dream” In the Act 5 Scene 1, Theseus remarks about the choices for the entertainment in the evening: his love Thisby; very tragical mirth. Merry and tragical? Also could be found in “Romeo and Juliet” drama, Romeo has the poem;
“O loving hate,
O anything, or nothing first created! O heavy lightness, serious vanity,
Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms,
Still-waking sleep, that is not what it is!”
Loving and hate, anything or nothing, cold fire, sick health, etc. Above are some examples of an oxymoron in the William Shakespeare poem of Romeo character in the main drama. Almost all of Shakespeare works to enrich with oxymoron, that’s originally born from the antonym itself.
2.1.2 Grammatical Perspective of Oxymoron
Grammatically, oxymoron can be within a phrase level, and the words which are used together within a phrase can either be of different syntactic class (adverb+adjective) or of the same syntactic class (adjective+adjective). (Chuanyu. 2008: 9)
2.1.3 Semantic Perspective of Oxymoron
Oxymoron is defined as a figure of speech consisting of two elements which stand in opposition. Opposition is a semantic relation between the meanings of two lexical items (Shen, 1987:108).
2.1.4 The Rhetorical Effect of an Oxymoron
2.1.5 Drawing attention
The most commonly cited as rhetorical effect purpose of all literary devices, including oxymoron, is to draw attention to the idea that they are describing, and to lend weight to its place on the page. The idea is that if the author takes the time to describe something in an unexpected way, then it must be important. (Small, 2008:3).
2.2 Previous Study
Sihombing (2010) Figure of Speech in Robert Frost’s Selected Poems, although it is a study about figures of speech in poems, the writer thinks it is just same, because it is dealing with word and paragraph, also line. The thesis Figure of Speech in Robert Frost’s Selected Poems, Sihombing use the quantitative research to identify and collect the data of figurative language in the poems, then decide which is dominant, so it is using probability. At this stage Sihombing uses different method, is the qualitative method for his research. So, he must collect the data and classify it into the stylistic structural pattern device.
J. Gawryjolek also founded an approach for the detection of oxymora is determining the syntactic relationships between individual words. Propose a system for automated extraction of typed dependency parses of English sentences from phrase structure parses. There is a significant difference between these two types of parses. Phrase structure parses focus on capturing a nesting between multi-word constituents like clauses and phrases, whereas a dependency parse represents dependencies between individual words. Moreover, it assigns a grammatical relation to a dependency, such as subject, indirect object, adjectival modifier, etc. In addition, oxymoron is a type of rhetorical figure that concerns words located next to each other. In a text document consisting of N - words there are N - 1 pairs of neighboring words. If N is large, detection of all the oxymora in a document might be computationally infeasible. Hence, we first have to determine grammatical relations of dependencies in which an oxymoron might appear. We examined 49 expressions containing oxymora. So, J. Gawryjolek relates it not only with semantics approach, but to rhetorical approach too.
about the important concept to mention that there are two types of meanings: conceptual and connotative meaning. In this research, conceptual meaning is differentiated from connotative meaning. Conceptual meaning is the back bone of human language that is used in every day speech. In conceptual meaning, a semantic feature is the way of analyzing meaning in terms of semantic components.
M. Flayih (2009), these previous study focused about the general picture outlined in his journal indicates that oxymoron is a lexical device the syntactic and semantic structures of which come to clashes. It is a figure of speech that combines two words or ideas usually thought of as opposite or incompatible, intentional, short and self – contained, provides emphasis, kind of flexible employment of antonyms (direct oxymoron) or quasi – antonyms (indirect oxymoron), most widely known structure is attributive and used to produce various rhetorical functions. The frequency with which this device recurs is to be regarded as a key to the characters as it is used to express their mixed emotions and conflicting feelings. Finally, it could be said that oxymoron reflects the complexities and ironies of life itself and of things not being quite what they seem.
CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
In this part discussed the methodology of the research. It consisted of research design, research instrument, subject of the research, data source, technique of data collection, and technique of data analysis.
3.1 Research Design
This study will use Chaunyu grammatical perspective as the first step, then use Shen and Chuanyu semantics perspective to classified oxymora that’s been used by a Romeo and Juliet characters in Romeo and Juliet plays by William Shakespeare. The research will use qualitative design. In addition, this research would be descriptive to describe and interpret the data, so in the last analysis the researcher will use the direct-indirect oxymoron and rhetorical effect of oxymoron approach to answer the second problem in the study.
3.2 Technique of Data Collection
There are three points in technique of data collection. Those are source of data, instrument and procedure. The kinds of technique of data collection explained below.
3.2.1 Research Instrument
3.2.2 Procedure
The researcher would read the drama script of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, then classified and categorized all of oxymoron and oxymora used by the characters of Romeo and Juliet only in the drama script into two categorized:
1. Grammatical perspective 2. Semantics perspective
The researcher considers all acts and scenes in the drama script with a Romeo and Juliet characters only as the subject of this research, so the researcher just focused on two main characters only in the drama; Romeo and Juliet, then classify all acts and scenes as below:
a. ACT I. SCENE I-V b. ACT II SCENE II-VI c. ACT III. SCENE I-V d. ACT IV. SCENE I e. ACT V. SCENE III
3.2.3 Data Source
3.3 Technique of Data Analysis
CHAPTER 4
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS
This chapter presents the finding based on the questions. It shows the kinds of oxymora by Romeo and Juliet characters. The first is to answer kinds of
oxymora that been used by both main characters. The second is to answer the
means of oxymora by Romeo and Juliet characters.
4.1 The Findings
The data are classified and categorized by grammatical and semantics
perspective to be collected as the data sources of this research with research table.
4.1.1 Kinds of Oxymora by Romeo and Juliet Characters
After reading the data from “Romeo and Juliet” plays script, the researcher
focused in Romeo and Juliet characters oxymoron only in certain act and
scene. These findings, the researcher used grammatical perspective from China to
classified and categorize the oxymoron in phrase levels of syntactic class. This
research had a clue for to be known about different type oxymoron used by
Romeo and Juliet in a play that wants to analyze and the researcher would use a
research table for classified and categorized the oxymoron that been founded. So,
4.1.2 Act 1, Scene 1-5
The researcher classified and categorize oxymoron based on phrase levels and the words which are used together within a phrase can either be of different
syntactic class in a research table as below;
The Phrase Level and Syntactic
Class
The Oxymora
1. Adverb + Adjective
2. Adverb + Verb
3. Verb + Adverb
4. Adjective + Noun Romeo: Why, then, O brawling love,
O loving hate
Romeo: O heavy lightness, serious
vanity,
Romeo: , bright smoke, cold fire,
sick health,
Romeo: Still-waking sleep that is not
what it is!
Romeo: Being but heavy, I will bear
the light
Romeo: This holy shrine, the gentle
sin is this:
seeming forms,
Romeo: O, she is rich in beauty, only
poor
Romeo: And, touching hers, make
blessèd my rude hand
Romeo: To smooth that rough touch
with a tender kiss
6. Noun + Noun Romeo: Here's much to do with hate,
but more with love
Romeo: Feather of lead,
Romeo: Ay, mine own fortune in my
misery
Juliet: My only love sprung from my
only hate!
7. Subject + Predicate
8. Subject + Predicative Romeo: O anything of nothing first
create!
Romeo: A choking gall and a
preserving sweet
Romeo: To merit bliss by making me
despair
Juliet: Too early seen unknown, and
9. Subject + Object Romeo: Not having that, which
having, makes them short
Romeo: This love feel I, that feel no
love in this.
Romeo: She hath, and in that sparing
makes huge waste,
Romeo: Not mad, but bound more
than a madman is,
10. Predicate + Object
Complement
Romeo: Should, without eyes, see
pathways to his will!
Romeo: What is it else? A madness
most discreet
Romeo: Do I live dead, that live to tell
it now
Romeo: I'll go along, no such sight to
be shown,
Romeo: Sin from my lips? O, trespass
sweetly urged!
Juliet: That I must love a loathed
enemy.
In Act 1 above, the researcher founds 28 oxymora that being used by
4.1.3 Act 2, Scene 2-6
The Phrase Level and Syntactic
Class
The Oxymora
1. Adverb + Adjective
2. Adverb + Verb
3. Verb + Adverb
4. Adjective + Noun
5. Adjective + Adjective Juliet: Though news be sad, yet tell
them merrily.
Juliet: Is thy news good, or bad?
Answer to that!
Juliet: Let me be satisfied: is't good or
bad?
Juliet: Good night, good night! Parting
is such sweet sorrow
6. Noun + Noun
7. Subject + Predicate
8. Subject + Predicative
9. Subject + Object Romeo: Arise, fair sun, and kill the
envious moon,
Juliet: How art thou out of breath,
Juliet: Then love-devouring death do
what he dare.
10. Predicate + Object
Complement
Romeo: She speaks, yet she says
nothing. What of that?
Romeo: That's by me wounded. Both
our remedies
Juliet: They are but beggars that can
count their worth.
In act 2 above, the researcher founds less than the previous act, only 10
oxymora founded in this scene and most of them come from Juliet.
4.1.4 Act 3, Scene 1-5
The Phrase Level and Syntactic
Class
The Oxymora
1. Adverb + Adjective
2. Adverb + Verb
3. Verb + Adverb
4. Adjective + Noun Juliet: Beautiful tyrant,
Juliet: Wolvish-ravening lamb!
Juliet: A damnèd saint, an honorable
5. Adjective + Adjective Romeo: More light and light, more
dark and dark our woes!
6. Noun + Noun Romeo: O, I am Fortune's fool!
Juliet: Come, night. Come, Romeo.
Come thou day in night.
Juliet: fiend angelical!
Juliet: Dove-feathered raven!
Juliet: But I, a maid, die
maiden-widowed
Romeo: Night's candles are burnt out,
and jocund day
Juliet: But thankful even for hate that
is meant love.
7. Subject + Predicate Romeo: This day's black fate on more
days doth depend:
8. Subject + Predicative Juliet: Since arm from arm that voice
doth us affray,
9. Subject + Object Romeo: This but begins the woe
others must end.
Romeo: Alive, in triumph! And
Mercutio slain!
Juliet: O serpent heart, hid with a
Juliet: My husband lives, that Tybalt
would have slain,
10. Predicate + Object
Complement
Romeo: And in my temper softened
valor's steel!
Juliet: And learn me how to lose a
winning match
Romeo: I must be gone and live, or
stay and die
In act 3 above, the researcher founds slightly more from the previous act, it
is 19 oxymora and many of them come from Juliet than Romeo.
4.1.5 Act 4, Scene 1 and Act 5, scene 3
The Phrase Level and Syntactic
Class
The Oxymora
1. Adverb + Adjective
2. Adverb + Verb
3. Verb + Adverb
4. Adjective + Noun
5. Adjective + Adjective
6. Noun + Noun Juliet: That is no slander, sir, which is
7. Subject + Predicate
8. Subject + Predicative
9. Subject + Object Romeo: Good gentle youth, tempt not
a desperate man!
10. Predicate + Object
Complement
In Acts 4 and 5 above, the researcher confirm that in the last two acts in
the drama just contains two oxymora by Romeo and Juliet characters.
4.2. Reveal the Means of Oxymora by Romeo and Juliet Characters
After the researcher found all the necessary data, the researcher wants to
reveal for the data that been found by Romeo and Juliet in the certain act in drama
script in semantics and rhetorical effect ways. Moreover, in semantics way to
analyze by Shen was in the syntactic class like adjective+noun, noun+noun, etc.
So, for the oxymora that form in phrase level like subject+predicate,
subject+object, etc., will be taken to the next step of analysis in rhetorical effect of
oxymoron by Chuanyu;
4.2.1 Act 1
As the Shen (2007) stated about direct and indirect oxymoron in
semantically way, the indirect oxymoron, on the other hand, can be
dryness. Intuitively, the oxymora's two terms in each of these cases are not direct antonyms; whistle[ing] in not the direct opposite of silence, sun[ny] is
not the direct opposite of coldness and water[y] is not the direct opposite of
dryness. In order to define in a more precise way the indirect antonym relation
in those cases, another type of sense relation, hyponymy, should be
considered. Hyponymy is the relationship that obtains between specific and
general lexical items, such that the former is included in the latter. For
instance, whistle is a hyponym (or type) of sound, water is the hyponym of wet
(since water is a member in the set of wet entities), sun is the hyponym of hot (sun
is a member in the set of hot entities). Given the sense relation of hyponymy,
the indirect oxymoron can be defined as an oxymoron in which one of the
terms is not the direct antonym of the other but rather the hyponym of its
antonym. In whistling silence, whistle[ing] represents the hyponym of sound,
which is the antonym of the head noun of the oxymoron in question- silence.
In the act 1 the Adjective+Noun forms of oxymoron that comes from
Romeo character which is brawling love represents the Romeo love feeling. The
brawl was the hyponym of hate and hate actually antonym of love. However,
because of Romeo not using word hates instead of brawl, so it is indirect
oxymoron.
Next, Loving hate is direct oxymoron, because love was antonym of hate
and no doubt about it. Heavy lightness is direct oxymoron too, because light was
the antonym of heavy and it is applied to the next oxymoron which is serious
worthless, etc. Serious vanity also directs oxymoron, because vanity is the direct
antonym of serious. Bright smoke is an indirect oxymoron because bright was the
hyponym of dim and dim should be the direct antonym of smoke, not bright.
Cold fire is the indirect too, because fire was the hyponym of hot here,
and hot should be the direct antonym of cold. Sick health is the direct one
because of the clearance of two antonymous words, sick is the direct opposite of
health. Still-waking sleep, is direct oxymoron, because of the two opposite
words, waking is directly opposite of sleep.Being but heavy, I will bear the light,
heavy and light here absolutely a direct one, because the direct antonym of heavy
is light. The Gentle sin is the indirect one, because the hyponym of sin here was
cruel, cruel is suitable direct opposite of gentle.
In the forms of Adjective+Adjective; a Misshapen chaos of well –
seeming forms are an oxymoron in which there are two adjectives, misshapen and
well – seeming. Since these adjectives are antonymous to each other, the
oxymoron is a direct one. Next, in “O she is rich in beauty, only poor”, rich and
poor here certainly a direct one because rich is the direct opposite of poor.
“And, touching hers, make blessed my rude hand”, blessed my rude here
is an indirect oxymoron, because rude is the hyponym of cursed, cursed is the
direct antonym of blessed. “To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss”,
smooth that rough is direct oxymoron, because smooth is a direct antonym of
In the forms of Noun+Noun syntactic class, the oxymoron Feather of
lead, is a phrase in which the words feather and lead are entirely different and
have very diverse meanings. Although, combining those two words together
makes it more likes an oxymoron, it is direct oxymoron. Feather and lead are
polar opposites. “Ay, mine own fortune in my misery”, fortune and misery here
originally are direct antonym, so it makes a fortune and misery a direct oxymoron.
4.2.2 Act 2
In the act 2 in forms of Adjective+Adjective; “Though news be sad, yet
tell them merrily”; sad and merrily here is an indirect oxymoron because merrily
is hyponym of happiness, which is a direct antonym of sad. “Is thy news good, or
bad? Answer to that!” is direct oxymoron, because good is directly opposite of
bad.
In a form of Noun+Noun syntactic class; “Good night, good night!
Parting is such sweet sorrow”, Semantically, the second term, sorrow is as an
example of the "bitter entities" category; then bitter is the antonym of sweet.
So, sweet sorrow is an indirect oxymoron.
4.2.3 Act 3
In the act 3 in forms of Adjective+Noun; Beautiful tyrant the statement
that is spoken by Juliet when she knew if Romeo had slain her cousin Tybalt, the
an indirect oxymoron. Tyrant itself was the hyponym of “ugly entities”. Ugly is
the direct antonym of beautiful.
“Wolvish-ravening lamb!” is consisting of two antithetical words such as
wolf and lamb. Wolf related to something ugly and black, while lamb could be
related to something innocence and white. So, wolf here could be considered as
the direct antonym of lamb, it is absolutely a direct oxymoron.
Damnèd saint, is an indirect oxymoron, because saint is not likely to be referred to as damned, damned merely could be connected to a devil. The devil
can be taken as the direct antonym of saint. Next, honorable villain; is another
indirect oxymoron because villain cannot be honorable, because honorable will
suitable for a noble or a hero, then a noble or a hero is the direct opposite of a
villain.
In the forms of Adjective+Adjective; “More light and light, more dark
and dark our woes!” even it is repeated in Romeo in the drama, light and dark
absolutely a direct oxymoron, because the direct opposite of light is dark.
In the forms of Noun+Noun, “O, I am Fortune's fool!!” considered as an
indirect oxymoron, because fortune cannot be fooled. Fool here related to
something bad or misery, so misery is more suitable as the direct opposite of
fortune.
“Come, night. Come, Romeo. Come thou, day in night”, is absolutely a
Fiend angelical is another a direct oxymoron, Juliet might have compared Romeo
to an angel, but after killing her cousin, she considers him as a fiend despite
she cannot forget the angel behind the fiend that her lover has become,
because the direct opposite of a fiend is an angel itself.
Dove-feathered raven, considered as a direct oxymoron because dove
could derive something beautiful and majestic, while raven derive something ugly
and bad omen. Dove is a direct antonym of a raven.
“But I, a maid, die maiden-widowed”, is the expression of Juliet when she
knew if her lover Romeo will be banished by the prince and judge herself in the
future will become a maiden-widowed at the same time. Maiden itself is a direct
antonym of widow, so it’s a direct one.
4.2.4 Act 4
In the Act 4 within a form of Noun+Noun; “that is no slander, sir, which
is a truth” is an indirect oxymoron, because slander is connected to “lies
entities”. A lie is suitable as a direct opposite of a truth.
4.2.5 Rhetorical effect of Romeo and Juliet oxymoron
In the Act 1 until 5 the researcher founds many oxymora in phrase and
syntactic level and the researcher want to analyze it with rhetorical effect by
Chuanyu (2008, 16); the power of imagination and inference of human beings and
context in various forms, as shown in the above examples, are important factors
of oxymoron, thus it is being accepted. Rather than simply making sense, the
rhetorical use of oxymoron usually creates strong rhetorical effect. In addition, the
researcher will try to connect it to one of the cause in how the rhetorical effect felt
by Small ‘drawing attention’ of the rhetorical function below;
A) Act 1, scene 1
In Romeo dialogue; “O anything of nothing first create!” we will not
fully understand of what Romeo had to think when he pour that two antithetical
words in his dialogue, so we will see the explicit context before and after that
dialogue to gain the certain understanding. In the long dialogue of Romeo below;
O brawling love! O loving hate! O anything of nothing first create! O heavy lightness, serious vanity!
Misshapen chaos of well – seeming forms!
Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health! Still – waking sleep, that is not what it is!
This love feel I, that feel no love in this. (Act I, Scene 1)
We could see above in a larger context if Romeo had expressed his true
love feeling for Rosaline, although it is rejected by Rosaline, maybe it is first time
Romeo falls in love for somebody so much and then rejected painfully. Rosaline
does not love Romeo back and his heart is broken. When Romeo's friend,
Benvolio comes to talk to him, Romeo is forlorn. Benvolio tells Romeo to forget
meaning that his thoughts are consumed with Rosaline and cannot make sense of
his emotions so he uses oxymoron to express himself. Romeo shows that being
apart or rejected from someone you love can be a painful experience (Olson,
2008: 61).
Then followed by the next dialogue which is Benvolio wanting to reveal
more of Romeo expression, then Romeo strength his expression as below;
Why, such is love's transgression.
Griefs of mine own lie heavy in my breast, Which thou wilt propagate to have it pressed With more of thine. This love that thou hast shown Doth add more grief to too much of mine own. Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs, Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes; Being vexed, a sea nourished with loving tears; What is it else? A madness most discreet, A choking gall and a preserving sweet. Farewell, my coz.
(Act 1, Scene 1)
As the two oxymora above, we could see in the larger context that Romeo
really questioning about the love that he got which is ended painfully, because
rejected by his love Rosaline. Romeo feel I like a madness most discreet, madness it is totally a lost control person in something, in this case Romeo totally
get lost control with his love feeling, but when it is standing by the word discreet,
with something wise and carefully. Madness cannot stand with discreet. The
researcher thinks if combined that two antithetical words would bring strong
feeling of pain of Romeo itself, especially when it is used in a literary work like a
drama.
As followed by the next oxymoron a choking gall and a preserving
sweet, choking here already as bitter as poison, but strength by word gall which is
making it more bitter than before. Preserving sweet itself also had a meaning of
above the sweet or very sweet. Romeo combined two illustrations above for
imagine something opposite like an oxymoron as same as love with hate. Love
and hate are twin sons of different mothers, separated by birth. They have a
doubleness. This ambiguity is reflected throughout Romeo and Juliet, whose
language is riddled with oxymora. Like the poles of an electrical circuit between
which runs the high voltage of emotions, love and hate create a dialogue and
dialectic, a dynamic tension which power the action and generates heat. (M.
Flayih, 2009: 37)
“O, she is rich in beauty, only poor” another Romeo dialogue when he
tried to imagine how beauty the Rosaline it was. Moreover, Rich cannot be poor
and poor also cannot be rich, but there is a clue after the dialogue;
“That, when she dies, with beauty dies her store”
After finding the clue in the next context, the researcher could conclude if
Romeo used the oxymora to describe how sad the beauty of Rosaline it was, that
other words, maybe Romeo wants to say if the beauty of Rosaline cannot last long
forever.
The next oxymora about Romeo feeling still continues, and Benvolio told
Romeo if it is could be good if the virginity of Rosaline will always long last
forever. Romeo continues his love expression on the virginity of Rosaline;
She hath, and in that sparing makes huge waste, For beauty, starved with her severity,
Cuts beauty off from all posterity. She is too fair, too wise, wisely too fair To merit bliss by making me despair. She hath forsworn to love, and in that vow Do I live dead, that live to tell it now.
(Act 1, Scene 1)
Hath and waste above express Romeo feeling if the virginity of Rosaline
could not be waste, it is very precious for him, but after realizing if he is actually
rejected by Rosaline he really feel not fair and express it in certain oxymora of
merit bliss and despair in one place. Merit bliss related for something valuable
and precious, but lead to despair, because in the next context tell if Rosaline
swore not to love anymore. Romeo felt his dream lead to despair, his dream to live
happily ever after with Rosaline. Next oxymoron of love and dead actually tell us
if Romeo feeling totally between live and dead that he cannot accept the fact of
B) Act 1, scene 2
“Not mad, but bound more than a madman is,” Romeo told Benvolio
about his feeling after the rejection of Rosaline followed by next context;
Shut up in prison, kept without my food, Whipped and tormented, and
(Act 2, scene 2)
Romeo felt totally empty by express the oxymoron if he is not mad but he
felt much madder than madman, like a prisoner without food and very tortured.
Next oxymoron between fortune and misery lead to Romeo rejection to read the
letter from his servant with says if he still in despair state and cannot read his
future ahead when had misery feeling in a same time. Moreover, Romeo spoke
another oxymoron; “I'll go along, no such sight to be shown” after Benvolio
persuade Romeo to attend the feast at the Capulet house after reading the letter
from Rosaline and Romeo go along with it as followed by next context “But to
rejoice in splendor of mine own” which make the clear explanation of the
oxymoron before it, if he will attend that feast invitation just for the sake of
Rosaline.
C) Act 1, scene 5
The last scene of act 1, Romeo and Juliet firstly meet and fall in love in a
first sight. Romeo expresses his wonderful feeling after seeing Juliet and get
close to her, then Romeo kisses Juliet and want to kiss her more and more “Sin
my sin again. [kisses Juliet]” Romeo actually tells Juliet that so sweet she spoke
about the Romeo sin by kissing her. Moreover, to taking back that sin Romeo
wants to kiss her again and retake the sin, in the other way it is just a kiss blindly
from uncontrolled feelings of love from two adults.
My only love sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late! Prodigious birth of love it is to me,
That I must love a loathed enemy.
(Act 1, scene 5)
As the dialogue from Juliet above, after knowing if Romeo is the son of
Montague, most enemy her parents, Juliet feeling getting very complicated and
she express it through several oxymora. “My only love sprung from my only
hate!” represent Juliet complicated feeling at that time when using two
antithetical words in one place, love and hate. Moreover, “Too early seen
unknown, and known too late!” Juliet also strength her regrets about why she
didn’t know it in a first place, if Romeo is a Montague. In the end, Juliet clearly
stated her love feeling by using oxymoron; “That I must love a loathed enemy”
that declare if she must continue her love feeling on Romeo, despite if Romeo is
the enemy she most hated.
D) Act 2, Scene 2
In the scene 2 actually tell about Romeo behavior after leaving the feast at
Capulet house. In order to avoid Mercutio searching for him, Romeo has hidding
Romeo becomes out of control and so he spoke about oxymoron “She speaks, yet
she says nothing. What of that?”. Moreover, to know about Romeo feeling that
time while seeing Juliet we need to see the larger context below;
But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief That thou her maid art far more fair than she. Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven, Having some business, do entreat her eyes have To twinkle in their spheres till they return. What if her eyes were there, they in her head?
(Act 2, Scene 2)
The oxymoron may be confusing in the first time, but we see the context
before and after, it is likely Romeo tends to be very awkward of his position that
time, while he went to greet Juliet but it would be not very polite. Romeo pretends
Juliet is saying something, but he did not hear it all because of the distance. The
next oxymoron about putting the fair sun and envious moon in one place derived
something polar opposite, about the fair sun that connect to something beautiful to
kill the envious moon or the ugly and enmity thing. Romeo tries to express his
love and adore feeling to Juliet through the oxymoron above that the beauty of
Juliet would kill the black of night at that time.
E) Act 2, Scene 3
This scene merely told about a Romeo conversation with the Friar, and in
order to explain the truth of Romeo feeling of Juliet than to Rosaline, the
oxymoron occurs by Romeo;
I'll tell thee ere thou ask it me again. I have been feasting with mine enemy, Where on a sudden one hath wounded me That's by me wounded. Both our remedies Within thy help and holy physic lies. I bear no hatred, blessèd man, for lo, My intercession likewise steads my foe
(Act2, Scene 3)
The word wounded and remedies are two antithetical words, the wound is
directly opposite of remedy. Romeo tries to persuade his feeling to the Friar about
the new love he had, wounded seems if explain about Romeo hard feeling to
Despite, in the word remedies tell about Romeo solutions to those matters by
gathering two enemies together in the marriage bond of him and Juliet.
F) Act 2, Scene 5
“How art thou out of breath, when thou hast breath” oxymoron about
Juliet rush feeling toward her Nurse answer from Romeo make up two antithetical
words that clearly explain about how a person could out of breath if the person it
is still alive, and Juliet scold it to her Nurse directly, as we knew in the next
context below:
How art thou out of breath, when thou hast breath To say to me that thou art out of breath?
The excuse that thou dost make in this delay Is longer than the tale thou dost excuse. Is thy news good, or bad? Answer to that! Say either, and I'll stay the circumstance! Let me be satisfied: is't good or bad?
(Act 2, Scene 5)
The Nurse wants to play with her information about Romeo answer, Juliet
did not like it and she really mad at that time to her Nurse by saying such
devouring death do what he dare”. The researcher tries to find the clue with the
Amen, amen! But come what sorrow can, It cannot countervail the exchange of joy
That one short minute gives me in her sight. Do thou but close our hands with holy words,
Then love-devouring death do what he dare. It is enough I may but call her mine.
(Act 2, Scene 6)
The oxymoron about love and death indeed an indirect oxymoron, death
itself could relate to hate, sorry or bad omen. Romeo really in a blind love for
Juliet with spoke such words and pretend to ready with all cost that will occur in
the future after his marriage with Juliet.
“They are but beggars that can count their worth” the following
oxymoron about Juliet love feeling after meeting again with Romeo, beggars
cannot be worth, worth here related to “wealth entities”, wealth just for noble.
Juliet uses the Beggars illustration to tell Romeo if her love feeling grown bigger
than before.
H) Act 3, Scene 1
In this scene, all about the fight between Mercutio and Tybalt, which
ended with injured of Mercutio, then Romeo spoke an oxymoron;”And in my
temper softened valor's steel!” for we see in the larger context below;
In my behalf. My reputation stained With Tybalt's slander. Tybalt, that an hour
Hath been my cousin! O sweet Juliet, Thy beauty hath made me effeminate
And in my temper softened valor's steel!
(Act 3, Scene 2)
As we could see above before the oxymoron line between soft and steel
express if Romeo really regrets about something happen in his face by looking
Mercutio badly injured. Romeo blind love feeling to Juliet makes him weaker
though did not take serious problems between house of Montague and house of
Capulet that lead to Mercutio sorrow.
Next two oxymora follow after Romeo knowing about Mercutio dead from
Benvolio, as below;
This day'sblack fate on more days doth depend: This but begins the woe others must end.
(Act 3, Scene 2)
Romeo expresses his rage feeling to Tybalt by using two antithetical
words; days and black that representation about the good day after his marriage
with Juliet begin to blackness and sorrow, then the following context he intends it
with words begin and end. Romeo demands to take Tybalt life as the equal
change of Mercutio dead for the sake of his beloved cousin. “Alive, in triumph!
And Mercutio slain!” Romeo shouted to tybalt with using oxymoron of alive and
fact, the tragedy occurs when Romeo involved in the match between them, the
rage of Romeo makes him blindly like a madman has become.
I) Act 3, scene 2
The scene after Romeo kill back Tybalt with the rage of his own hands.
Juliet in her house filling with a huge love for Romeo and imagines many things
after the marriage as below in larger context;
Lovers can see to do their amorous rites
their own beauties. Or, if love be blind, It best agrees with night. Come, civil night,
Thou sober-suited matron all in black,
And learn me how to lose a winning match Played for a pair of stainless maidenhoods. Hood my unmanned blood, bating in my cheeks,
With thy black mantle till strange love grow bold, Think true love acted simple modesty.
(Act 3, Scene 2)
Juliet feels truly happy with her marriage with Romeo and thinking of
spending the most of her life in happily ever after, despite it is the first time Juliet
felt this much love feeling to someone. Juliet pretends to be shy about herself
afterwards by using two antithetical words about lose and winning as her
oxymoron of expression. It is shown how awkward the Juliet has become after the
In the following oxymora after knowing the death of her cousin Tybalt by
Romeo hand, Juliet feels really down and cannot think clearly about of what will
go on in the future and express it in several oxymora as below;
O serpent heart, hid with a flowering face! Did ever dragon keep so fair a cave?
Beautiful tyrant, fiend angelical!
Dove-feathered raven! Wolvish-ravening lamb! Despisèd substance of divinest show!
Just opposite to what thou justly seem'st.
A damnèd saint, an honorable villain! O nature, what hadst thou to do in hell When thou didst bower the spirit of a fiend
In mortal paradise of such sweet flesh? Was ever book containing such vile matter
So fairly bound? O, that deceit should dwell In such a gorgeous palace!
(Act 3, Scene 2)
In the first line Juliet use two antithetical phrases of oxymora, serpent
heart meaning of the evil heart lay a serpent, then put it together in one place with
a flowering face, which means the face that truly bring much happiness just like a
blossom flower in a spring season to express her love feeling to Romeo that start
to be weaker at that time, strengthens by several oxymora such as beautiful tyrant,
to understand the situation by using oxymoron between lives that represent to
Romeo and slain that related to “died entities” that represent the death of her
cousin Tybalt. In the end Juliet using the expression to how if she still cannot
accept the fact that actually happen that time. Juliet felt there were no easy choices
between Romeo as her husband, even Tybalt.
J) Act 3, Scene 5
The last scene of act 3, Romeo spent his night in the Juliet bedroom after
taking a suggestion from the Friar and the Nurse. The dawn has come and waking
up the two young lovers from their sweet night ever. Romeo stated the situation if
he should go out from Mantua and express his fear through oxymoron to Juliet; “I
must be gone and live, or stay and die” Romeo stated his situation now not far
from life or death, then he must run for his life or stay and face the death. It is
very hard for Romeo to leave Juliet alone, but the time is very critical from him
after the prince announcement of his banishment.
Juliet answer the feeling of Romeo with the same type of oxymoron;
“Since arm from arm that voice doth us affray”, to gain full understanding of
Juliet oxymoron feeling we will see in the larger context as below;
It is, it is! Hie hence, be gone, away! It is the lark that sings so out of tune,
Straining harsh discords and unpleasing sharps. Some say the lark makes sweet division.
Some say the lark and loathèd toad changed eyes O, now I would they had changed voices too,
Since arm from arm that voice doth us affray, Hunting thee hence with hunt's-up to the day.
O, now be gone! More light and light it grows.
(Act 3, Scene 5)
Juliet hence Romeo to leave her room as fast as possible to save his life
and using arm to arm and affray polar opposite words to strength her feeling.
Arm to arm means the togetherness of both of them, while affray means separate.
Juliet wants to express his feeling that the voice from the lark forcibly divided
them away until the time they will meet again.
K) Act 5, Scene 3
The last act of Romeo and Juliet drama, Romeo and the Noble Paris had a
fight between each other near Juliet tomb. Romeo without knowing about Juliet
fake death rushed through Juliet tomb and encounter Noble Paris in the middle of
his way. Romeo denied Paris command to get arrested, “Good gentle youth,
tempt not a desperate man!” as we could see in the larger context below;
By urging me to fury! O, be gone! By heav'n, I love thee better than myself,
For I come hither armed against myself. Stay not, be gone, live, and hereafter say
A madman's mercy bade thee run away.
(Act 5, Scene 3)
Romeo shouted to Paris using two antithetical phrases, good gentle youth
means god wise youth that pretend to accept the fact that happen, even Juliet
death, while a desperate man means of someone in deep despair of losing
someone his or her most beloved. Romeo thinks if Paris really wants to take
revenge on Juliet death by arrest him that think if Romeo was the main culprit of
every sorrow that occurs in Mantua recently.
4.3 Discussion
There are so many oxymora in the Romeo and Juliet plays, almost all the
characters in the drama used it. The researcher use grammatical and semantics
approaches to find out what are kind of oxymora being used by Romeo and Juliet
characters only in the drama. At the syntactic level of oxymora, The researcher
found 28 oxymora in act 1, 10 oxymora in act 2, 19 oxymora in act 3, and the rest
is 2 oxymora in act 4 until 5. Total 59 oxymora founded by Romeo and Juliet
characters in the plays.
It is different from the syntactic meaning. The phrase meaning is the terms
were used in the text, so a whole dialogue of a character or even the dialogue of
different character before and after it in a larger context could also be a clue. In
this case, the researcher used rhetorical effect of oxymoron by Chuanyu to reveal
oxymoron meaning in phrase level. Thus, in this discussion is interesting and
unique to be learned.
The direct and indirect oxymoron that researcher analyze originally found
from phrase level. The reader could interpret many kinds of various
meanings from the syntactic class of an oxymoron, because it is could be
supported by the whole dialogue, including before or after an oxymoron occur in
the text, it is connected.
Furthermore, the previous studies are different with this research. The
study of Sihombing entitled Figure of Speech in Robert Frost’s Selected Poems.
He focused on figure of speech generally. Next, J. Gawryjolek entitled
automated annotation visualization in rhetorical figures. He focused on oxymora
and rhetorical figures, although it has just been applied to mathematics subject.
Another study just focused on the tropes analysis in stylistic meaning in selected
poems of John Donne’s poetry than oxymoron by H. Mehdi. The last is
previous study from journal which is written by M. Flayih, the journal was
very complete and complex to know all about oxymora, besides the research still
not been applied to some literary works and just adopt some literary work as the
From the previous studies and this research, the researcher hopes
this research gives contribution to develop our knowledge about oxymoron
especially in linguistics field. Then, the researcher hopes after read this
research the reader can understand well about the oxymora and its
CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
After analyzing and discussing the problem in the previous chapter, the
researcher would like to present a conclusion. Beside, the researcher also gave
suggestions.
5.1 Conclusion
After analyzing the oxymora that being used by Romeo and Juliet
characters above, the researcher made a conclusion. From total of 59 oxymora
founded by Romeo and Juliet characters in the plays. Romeo and Juliet characters
oxymoron mostly in the syntactic class of adjective+noun, adjective+adjective,
noun+noun, subject+predicate, subject+predicative, subject+object, and
predicate+object complement.
The semantically meaning of Romeo and Juliet characters oxymoron here
could be done by using direct and indirect oxymoron by Shen. The meaning by
using the method is very clear as example loving hate, which is direct oxymoron.
It is using antonym and hyponym to reveal the meaning from it. In addition, the
oxymoron that used this method clearly means to deliver strong sense or
incredible sense from the normal meaning. Loving hate means very hateful,
brawling love means very loving, etc.
The researcher could be discussed that the oxymora used by Romeo and
feeling about their struggle love. Romeo and Juliet love feeling is accidentally
wrong in the first place, because their parents hate each others. In order to make
their happily ever after dreams comes true, they use every dangerous approach,
like early married without everyone knows about it, but their effort just leads to
several tragedies. In the end, the biggest tragedies of their love happen with their
death. The researcher itself feels his interpretation could be different from the
reader, because these interpretations could lead to unlimited meaning according to
the reader’s understanding, especially in a larger context.
5.2 Suggestion
In the signing of the research and the result of the research, the researcher
proposes some suggestion. The researcher expects that this research is useful for
the further researcher, especially the young researchers of the English Letters
Department at State Islamic University Sunan Ampel Surabaya. It was important
for further researcher to conduct their research to expand deeply the analysis
about oxymoron itself, especially as one kind of figure of speech that been used
by many various famous poets and writers. The researcher gives a way for
analyzing oxymoron in the Romeo and Juliet plays, not only “Romeo and Juliet”
plays, but also the other field like poetry, short story, and novel. First of all, the
researcher reading the data source in certain act and scene of Romeo and Juliet
characters. Third, find and collect the oxymoron by Romeo and Juliet characters
from the data source. The last, the data to be arranged systematically in
defines about the grammatical perspective meaning of oxymoron, and the second
explained about semantically perspective meaning of oxymoron.
After the data collected, the researcher analyze in the following steps. First
of all, the researcher classifies and categorizes the data into two perspectives.
Then, the data for each category would be presented, analyzed and concluded. To
analyze the data, the researcher identifies each of the data. Secondly, the
researcher explained the meaning of the oxymora used in that plays by both main
characters. Next, describing the kinds of grammatical and semantics by referring
to the theory. Finally, drawing the conclusion based on the result.
Finally the researcher realizes that this researcher was still far from being
perfect. So, the researcher will listen to all of good criticism and suggestion about
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