Semantic Deviation on William Blake's Selected Poems
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Jurnal Bastra (Bahasa dan Sastra) Prafitri dan Suhatmady, Semantic Deviation on William Blake`s Selected Poems 105 SEMANTIC DEVIATION ON WILLIAM BLAKE’S SELECTED POEMS Wilma Prafitri Universitas Mulawarman Bibit Suhatmady Universitas Mulawarman Abstract: In this study, we analyzed the existence and the contribution of the semantic deviations in the eight selected poems of William Blake. We tried to answer two problems : what were the semantic deviation found on William Blake's selected poems and how those deviations contributed to the meaning of the poems. Eight poems were selected from the songs of innocence and songs of experience. Furthermore, we used the qualitative content analysis which involved series of activities in analyzing document and described them based on the related theories of research. After analysing the data, we revealed the following findings: (1) the semantic deviation found on William Blake's selected poems was formed by three tropes. There were semantic oddity, transference of meaning and honest deception. (2) those deviations contributed to help the poet transmit his point of view about social condition, religious value, love and human to human relationship. They were also used to make the poems more aesthetical and dense in meaning. Keywords: semantic, deviations, poems, William Blake Abstrak: Dalam studi ini, kami menganalisis keberadaan dan kontribusi deviasi semantik dalam delapan puisi yang dipilih dari karya William Blake. Kami mencoba untuk menjawab dua masalah: deviasi semantik apa saja yang ditemukan dalam puisi terpilih karya William Blake dan bagaimana mereka memberikan kontribusi terhadap penyimpangan arti dari puisi-puisi tersebut. Delapan puisi dipilih dari kumpulan puisi the songs of innocence and songs of experience. Selanjutnya, kami menggunakan metode penelitian qualitative content analysis yang melibatkan serangkaian kegiatan dalam menganalisis dokumen dan menggambarkan mereka didasarkan pada teori-teori yang terkait dengan penelitian ini. Setelah menganalisis data, kami mengungkapkan temuan berikut: (1) deviasi semantik ditemukan pada puisi William Blake dipilih dibentuk oleh tiga kiasan. Ada keanehan semantik, pemindahan makna dan penipuan yang jujur. (2) deviasi tersebut berkontribusi untuk membantu penyair mengirimkan pandangannya tentang kondisi sosial, nilai agama, cinta dan manusia untuk hubungan manusia. Mereka juga digunakan untuk membuat puisi yang lebih estetis dan padat makna. Kata kunci: semantik, deviasi, puisi, William Blake 106 BASTRA, Vol. 1, No. 2, Desember 2014 INTRODUCTION Shakespeare’s selected sonnets. We used The focus of this study was similar theory and the steps in conducting semantic deviation as one of linguistic this study. Concerning to the differences, deviations which occurred in the poems. we analyzed William Blake’s selected Semantic Deviation is the unconventional poems. Furthermore, we focused on combination of word phrase which can semantic deviation and find out how transmit the mind and the feeling of semantic deviations contributed to the William Blake depending on his life and meaning of poems itself. cultural background. Semantic deviations The first previous study was done consisted of semantic oddity which by Meliana Sri Rahayu Widodo (2004). It means absurdity of expression, dealt with stylistics devices in songs, transference of meaning which means the especially the songs in Psalm, whose conversion from literal meaning to forms were the same with poetry. By figurative meaning, and honest deception conducting this research, Widodo (2004) which means a sense of mispresenting the tried to find out stylistic devices and truth. Words which are indicated having syntactic deviation that occurred in the semantic deviation should be seen not songs of Psalm. Finally, through this only through the literal meaning that can research, she also wanted to find out the be found in dictionary, but by tone and theme in the selected articles of understanding the mind of William Blake Psalm. She analyzed the psalm by using such as his spiritual views, social view some theories. She used stylistic theory and educational background. Eight poems because she intended to find out the were selected from William Blake’s stylistics devices that were used in Psalm. Classic Poetry series in order to make this She also analyzed the syntactic deviation research manageable. Those poems were and lexical selection, she uses the theory The Chimney Sweeper, The Tyger, A of diction and syntax. little Boy lost, A little Girl lost, The Clod The third study conducted by and the Pebble, A Poison Tree, The Muhammad Saleem (2009). It dealt with Schoolboy and The Lamb. Those poems the form and functions of the semantic were considered as the most famous deviations existent in the language of poems of William Blake. Besides, those T.S. Eliot's celebrated poem Ash- poems were often used in teaching Wednesday. It is central to Eliot's literature. Two research questions such as artistic disposition to richly make use “What were semantic deviations found on of linguistic absurdities that ultimately William Blake’s selected poems?” and leads to the pragmatic and imaginative “How did semantic deviations contribute interpretation of the discourse which to the meaning of the poems?” will be is dubbed as the intended sense of also discussed in this study. the author. This study would explain the mechanism of the additional meanings in BASIC THEORY the poem using the theory of Geoffrey N. Study about linguistic deviations Leech in the book A Linguistic Guide to has ever been conducted by Famala Eka English Poetry (1969). Sanhadi Rahayu (2012). She investigated about Linguistic Deviation on RESEARCH METHODS Shakespeare’s Selected Sonnets. She To analyze the data, we used focused on finding the lexical deviation content analysis which is used to and syntactical deviation in characterize the content of popular books, Prafitri dan Suhatmady, Semantic Deviation on William Blake`s Selected Poems 107 work, art, and document as the subject. transference of meaning, there were some First, we prepared the data. Then we phenomena of synecdoche, metaphors, define the unit of analysis. The unit of metonymy and simile. Specifically, there analysis referred to the basic unit of text were three cases of synecdoche, two to be classified during content analysis. cases containing metonymy, eighteen After that, we develop categories and a phenomena of metaphors, and for coding scheme. Categories and a coding instance, there were two cases of simile. scheme were derived from three sources; In the third trope, honest deception, this the data, previous related studies and has been categorized into hyperbole, theories. Next, we tests the coding litotes and irony. There was one semantic scheme on a sample of text. After deviation related to hyperbole, one sufficient consistency had been achieved, phenomena of litotes and four the coding rules could be applied to the phenomena of irony. However, the entire corpus of text. After coding the finding were undergone triangulation entire set, we needed to recheck the processes and some of the data were consistency of her coding. For instance omitted because they did not fulfill the we draws conclusions from the code data requirement which the meanings are too and reports the findings. For the study to simple to be called as semantic deviation be replicable, we needed to monitor and (Plett: 2010). reported the analytical procedures and processes as completely and truthfully as Semantic Oddity possible. Semantic oddity meant absurdity or bizarreness of expression. Semantic FINDINGS oddity consisted of pleonasm, tautology, After following the procedures of oxymoron, paradox and periphrasis. data collection, we found some semantic Pleonasm and tautology divide naturally deviations from eight selected poems of into 'inanities' which convey no William Blake. In this stage, we Information in the cognitive sense and described the term of semantic deviations 'absurdities' which convey self- and the description are directed to answer conflicting information. It had to be the research question “What were emphasized that any kind of absurdity, semantic deviations found in William whether logical or factual, can rule out a Blake’s selected poems?“ and “How did particular literal interpretation, and cause semantic deviation contribute to the the reader to search for a figurative one. meaning of the poems ?” In her earlier findings, we found Pleonasm some phenomena of semantic oddity Pleonasm is an expression which is which has been classified into pleonasm, semantically redundant in that it merely tautology, periphrasis, oxymoron and repeats the meaning contained elsewhere paradox. From eight selected poems by in what precedes or follows it. Pleonasm William Blake, there were two can bee seen in the following quotation : phenomena of pleonasm, three Excerpt. phenomena of periphrasis, one line Tyger ! Tyger ! Burning Bright containing tautology, three lines (The Tyger, Line 1) containing oxymoron and three The phrase The phrase ‘Burning phenomena of paradox. Moreover, in the Bright’ contained pleonasm , since it second trope which was called as gave too much description. Burning had 108 BASTRA, Vol. 1, No. 2, Desember 2014 already stated the image. That’s why And builds a Heaven in Hell’s bright was redundant. The word 'burning' despair contained semantic feature (+ light) (The Clod and The