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ABSTRACT
Dalam Tugas Akhir ini, saya menganalisis empat puisi James Laughlin yang berjudul “The Visitor”, “Fata Morgana”, “The Search” dan “The Invisible Person”.
Empat puisi tersebut memiliki benang merah yang sama yaitu cinta tetapi memiliki aspek-aspek yang berbeda mengenai hubungan percintaan antara pria dan wanita.
Di dalam Tugas Akhir ini, saya menganalisis tema dari empat puisi yang sudah saya sebutkan sebelumnya. Tema-tema yang saya analisis kebanyakan diambil melalui pilihan kata.
Puisi pertama yang berjudul “The Visitor” memiliki tema suatu hubungan percintaan membutuhkan saling komunikasi. Puisi kedua yang berjudul “Fata
Morgana” memiliki tema cinta tidak dapat langgeng tanpa komitmen. Sedangkan,
puisi ketiga yang berjudul “The Search” memiliki tema komunikasi adalah hal yang
terpenting di dalam suatu hubungan percintaan. Dan puisi keempat yang berjudul
“The Invisible Person” memiliki tema sungguh mustahil mencintai seseorang yang
tidak bisa mengambil keputusan.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ………...i
TABLE OF CONTENTS ………...ii
ABSTRACT ………...iii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Background of the Study ………..1
Statement of the Problem ………...2
Purpose of the Study ………...2
Method of Research ………..3
Organization of the Thesis ………3
CHAPTER TWO: ANALYSIS OF THEME IN FOUR OF JAMES LAUGHLIN’S POEMS ………...4
CHAPTER THREE: CONCLUSION ………15
BIBLIOGRAPHY ……….18
APPENDICES: Poems ………..20
20 were your laugh and your sparkle?
21
FATA MORGANA
Like the weather, her visits were uncertain. Often I would wait for weeks, fearing I had lost her.
Then, toward midnight, there would
be a scratching at my door. She 5
23
THE INVISIBLE PERSON
Life kept rolling her over like a piece of driftwood
in the surf of an angry sea she was intelligent and beau-
tiful and well-off she made 5 friends easily yet she wasn’t
able to put the pieces to- gether into any recognizable
shape she wasn’t sure who
she wanted to be so she 10
ended up being no one in par- ticular she made herself al-
most invisible she was the person you loved so much who
24
Biography of James Laughlin
James Laughlin (1914-1997) was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., U.S. on October 30, 1914. Beside being a poet, he worked as a U.S. publisher. He was born to a wealthy family. Laughlin founded New Directions press in 1936 after graduating from Harvard University. He established the company initially to publish the works of ignored yet influential writers, including William Carlos Williams and Ezra Pound, a friend and major influence on his life and work. Laughlin studied for several months
in Rapallo, Italy at the “Ezuversity” for learning and reading. He studied together with Ezra Pound. Over the years, James Laughlin issued about twenty books, including poetry, short stories, and essay collections. Laughlin revealed himself in his poems as a master of concision, of the well-placed word that penetrates the human heart.
25 Sources:
“James Laughlin (1914-1997)”
“James Laughlin Biography”
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
James Laughlin is an American poet whose “poetry comes mainly in two
sizes, short-line poems and long-line poems. He began by writing in short lines and, of course, he has frequently returned to that form. These poems seem to
belong at the center of his achievement” (Laughlin xiii). The strength of his
poems is “a flowing distinctiveness and clarity, where many another poet might
sound merely diffuse” (Laughlin xiii).
He is regarded “as a master of concision, of the well-placed word that penetrates the human heart” (“James Laughlin: Poems New and Selected Book
Description”). Moreover, they are also considered “fresh, concise, full of wit, of
impeccable quality, lucid, ironic, and often intense” (“James Laughlin
(1994-1997)”).
2 Maranatha Christian University talk about the same subject matter, namely love. These four poems depict different kinds of love which becomes the unifying element of these four poems. It interests me to know what the meaning of these four poems are.
To know and understand the meaning of these four poems, I am going to analyze the theme of the poems. As Reaske has mentioned, theme is “the central concept developed in a poem” (42) and I believe the theme will reveal the unique
concept of love that Laughlin wants to present.
I will reveal the theme of the poems through diction and figures of speech. Diction is “the use of words in poetry” (Reaske 31). While figure of speech is
“where a word or words are used to create an effect, often where they do not have
their original or literal meaning” (“Term: Figure of Speech”). By analyzing the diction and figures of speech in the poems, I will be able to come up with the theme statement for each poem.
Statement of the Problem
The statement of the problem is as follows: 1. What is the theme of each poem?
2. How is the theme revealed?
Purpose of the Study
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Method of Research
I use library research in doing my thesis. Firstly, I read the poems that I choose. After that, I analyze these poems to understand what the poems tell about and the meaning of these poems. And then, I search the materials for my references from books and internet. In the end, I make conclusion for my thesis.
Organization of the Thesis
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CHAPTER THREE
CONCLUSION
I am going to draw a conclusion of my thesis which discusses the theme of four of James Laughlin’s poems. All poems are about love; nevertheless, each poem presents different aspects of a love relationship.
The theme of the first poem entitled “The Visitor” is a love relationship
needs mutual communication. The theme is revealed through diction. The dictions
which support this theme are “frown” and “displeased” which show the end of a love relationship, and the diction “talk” which highlights the fact that there is no mutual communication between the pair, that is why they end up separating.
The theme of the second poem entitled “Fata Morgana” is love cannot last
without commitment. The theme is revealed through diction. Some figures of
speech also help in the revelation of the theme. Dictions such as “uncertain”, “mysterious radiance” and “Fata Morgana” show the temporary love relationship.
Figures of speech such as simile “scratch like a cat” and transferred epithet “she
16 Maranatha Christian University The couple has no commitment to each other, which is why their love relationship is only temporary.
The theme of the third poem entitled “The Search” is communication is the
most important thing in a love relationship. The theme is revealed through diction
such as “write”, “searching”, “hiding”, “voice”, “insubstantial” and “the words of
love”. The diction show that the couple can still communicate with each other
even though they cannot meet each other physically. So, not meeting each other does not affect the quality of their love relationship as long as they can communicate their love to each other.
The theme of the fourth poem entitled “The Invisible Person” is it is
impossible to love an indecisive person. The theme is revealed through diction and
figure of speech. Dictions which support this theme are “the pieces”,
“recognizable shape” and “invisible”. The figure of speech which helps the
revelation of the theme is simile: “Life kept rolling over like a piece of driftwood”. Both diction and figure of speech show that the woman is indecisive
about who she is and so the speaker finds it hard to love her.
In my opinion, although the themes are general, Laughlin is successful in presenting the issue about love relationship in his poems in a very interesting and different way compared to other poets. As a reader, I am confused but curious about the meaning of his poems. Eventually, I am able to understand the meaning of his poems after I read them repeatedly.
17 Maranatha Christian University situations which often happen in real life. All the poems I have analyzed highlight the problems that couples usually face in their relationships. Lack of communication, commitment, sense of identity and physical meetings could lead to the break up of the relationship. Laughlin does not directly teach his readers how to have a strong relationship but when he presents all the problems that people usually face, readers are shown ways of overcoming these problems.
Based on my analysis of theme in four of James Laughlin poems, I find that his poems show that communication, commitment and a stable self - identity are very important to have a breathy love relationship. These three things could help couples to overcome problems such as long-distance relationship and misunderstanding between each other.
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“Definitions”. Allwords. 2009. 28 Sept. 2009
<http://www.allwords.com/word-fata+morgana.html>.
“James Laughlin (1914-1997)”. Poetry Foundation. 2009. 1 Oct. 2009.
<http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=80798>.
“James Laughlin Biography”. Biography. 2008. 28 Sept. 2009.
<http://www.biography.com/articles/James-Laughlin-9374695>. “James Laughlin: Poems New and Selected Book Description”. Infibeam. 2009. 28
Sept. 2009. “Verizon Communications”. Wikipedia. 2010. 22 April 2010
19 Maranatha Christian University Books:
Hornby, AS. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989.
