2.

4 Poetry
2.4.1 Definition of Poetry
Poetry is a form of expression. Whether it is spoken or written, it is the manifestation of
thought, feelings, and intellect. It is a way of communicating. With poetry one can effectively
communicate opinion, desire, ideas, cleverness, and most of all state of mind.
According to Pinsky, poetry is an ancient art or technology: older than the computer, older
than print, older than writing and indeed, though some may find this surprising, much older than
prose.

2.4.2 Kinds of poetry

2.4.2.1 Sonnet
The sonnet is the fourteen line poem written in iambic pentameter. The Italian (
petrarchan) sonnet is divided into an octave and a sestet; the octave rhymes abba, abba; the
sestet cde, cde or variations thereof. The sestet may also rhyme cd, cd, cd. (Reaske, 1966:23)
2.4.2.2 Ballad
This is an old style of writing poetry, which was used to tell stories. A ballad usually has
stanza made up of either seven or eight or ten lines, and end with a short four or five line
stanza. Each stanza end with the same line, which is called a Refrain (online access on
February 11th 2015)
2.4.2.3 Couplet
Reaske (1966:22) A Couplet is a stanza composed of only two lines which usually rhyme.
2.4.2.4 Quatrain
Quatrain is a stanza composed of four lines either rhyming or not rhyming. As with the
heroic couplet, the heroic quatrain is written in alternating rhymes of iambic pentameter. But in
general, a quatrain is any four line stanza ( Reaske,1966:22)
2.4.2.5 Epic
This poem is usually a long and descriptive one which tells a story, Epics usually are longer
than the most poems and may even take up a book. (online access on March 11th 2015)
2.4.2.6 Free verse
Poetry composed in lines which are free of the traditional patterns of rhyme and meter
and whose rhythm is based, instead, on the stress resulting from the meaning of the line and its
natural and punctuated pauses.(Reaske,1966:18).
2.4.2.7 Haiku
This is again a very structured method of writing poetry. This has its origin in Japan. This
method does not used rhyme. There are three lines of five, seven and five syllables each. The
poem must essentially talk about some aspect of nature (online access on March 11th 2015).

2.4.3 Elements of poetry

The basic elements of poetry include the speaker, content, theme, shape and form, mood
or tone, imagery, diction, figurative language and sound-effect devices.
2.4.3.1 Speaker
The poem’s speaker is the person who is addressing the reader.
2.4.3.2 Content
Content is the subject of the poem. It answers the question “what?” What is the poem all
about? What happens in the poem?
2.4.3.3 Theme
Theme is the central concept developed in a poem, it is the basic idea which is trying to
convey by the poet (Reaske, 1966:42). So the theme of the poem is the central idea that the
poet wants to convey.
2.4.3.5 Rhyme
Rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds in two or more words and it is often used in poems
(Reaske, 1966:18).
2.4.3.6 Stanza
Stanza is patterns of rhyme are organized into verse paragraphs, stanzas are the major
divisions made in a poem in a regular or consistent way, a stanza in short is a group of lines and
therefore a recognizable unit in a poem.
2.4.3.7 Feeling
 Feeling refers to way in which the author views his subject. The author is trying to explain
his own feeling to the readers, the feeling in a poem could be feeling of sad, happy, angry etc
(Reaske, 1966:40)
2.4.1.1 Rhythm
Rhythm is significant in poetry because poetry is so emotionally charged and intense.
Rhythm can be measured in term of heavily stressed to less stresses syllables. Rhythm is the
music made by the statement of the poem, which include the syllables in the line.
2.4.3.9 Imagery
Imagery refers to the “pictures” which we perceive with our mind’s eyes, ears, nose,
tongue, skin, and through which we experience the “duplicate world” created by poetic
language. Imagery evokes the meaning and truth of human experiences not in abstract terms,
as in philosophy, but in more perceptible and tangible forms.
2.4.3.10 Diction
Diction is the poet’s choice of words.

2.5 Figurative Language

Figurative language refers to words, and groups of words, that exaggerate or alter the
usual meaning in figures of speeches of the component words. A figure of speech may be said
to occur whenever a speaker or writer, from the sake of freshness or emphasis, departs from
the usual denotations of words (Kennedy, 1983: 479).
2.5 Figurative Language
Figurative language refers to words, and groups of words, that exaggerate or alter the
usual meaning in figures of speeches of the component words. A figure of speech may be said
to occur whenever a speaker or writer, from the sake of freshness or emphasis, departs from
the usual denotations of words (Kennedy, 1983: 479).
2.5.1 Metaphor
According to Dan (2005), metaphor is the substitution of word for a word whose meaning is
close to the original word.
Example:
Jhon is a teddy bear.
You are a tulip seen today
You are the queen all flowers among
2.5.2 Personification
Personification is an inanimate object or animal is given human qualities.
Example:
The night embraced me and the moon smiled down upon me
Flames ate the house
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore
2.5.3 Apostrophe
Apostrophe talks about an inanimate object, or to a person who is absent. Apostrophe is a
figure of speech that literally means “a turning away.” It occurs in poetry when the speaker
addresses words to some person or thing, very often calling it to mind in its absence.
Example:
Oh, Rain, how long will you fall upon me?
2.5.4 Simile
Simile is two things shown to be similar in some way. A simile is a direct comparison that omits
like or as.
Example:
As sly as a fox
As wise as an owl
Eat like a bird
2.5.5 Hyperbole
Wren and Martin say that in hyperbole a statement is made emphatic by overstatement
Example:
It’ll take me a million years to fix this problem
2.5.6 Antithesis
Antithesis is a repetition of clauses or idea by negation.
Example:
Before, a joy proposed; behind a dream
Man proposes, God disposes
2.5.7 Synecdoche
Synecdoche is a part represents the whole or a part is used to designate the whole.
Example:
God bless the hands which prepared this food
He has many mouths to feed
Was this the face that launched a thousand ships
2.5.8 Paradox
According Perrine, Paradox is an apparent contradiction that is nevertheless somehow true.
Example:
For what the waves could never wash away
This proper youth has wasted in a day
And death shall be no more; Death thou shall die
2.5.9 Metonymy
Metonymy is similar to a metaphor, but different in function. The function of a metaphor
understands via comparison.
2.3.10 Irony
Irony is expressing a meaning directly contrary to that suggested by the words. Irony is a dryly
humorous or lightly sarcastic mode of speech, in which words are used to convey a meaning
contrary to their literal sense.
2.3.11 Litotes
Litotes is deliberate understatement or denial of the contrary. It is an emphatic statement made
by saying that the opposite idea is not true.
Example:
He is no fool
When no small tempest lay on us
2.3.12 Symbol
Perrine says that a symbol may be defined as something that means more than what it is.
Example:
Some dirty dogs stole my wallet at the bus
My little horse must think it queer
2.3.13 Allusion
A literary allusion is a brief reference to a person, place, or event drawn from or literature.
The writer analyzed twelve figurative languages in Emily Dickinson’s poem because these
figurative languages always uses by the poet in the word and figurative languages.

1. Methodology
This research uses the descriptive qualitative research, describes about kinds of figure of
speech on Emily Dickinson’s poem and the meaning of those figure of speech.
A suitable method in finding and understanding description in Emily Dickinson’s poems is
descriptive qualitative method. Qualitative research can be done in social, attitude, individual or
organization by researcher in a group or personality. Because researcher described figurative
language in Emily Dickinson’s poem systematically so this research used descriptive qualitative
method.
It can be said that the research here used descriptive data: analyzing and interpreting from
the assumption. It has been formulated that the object of this research is Emily Dickinson’s
poems in his book The Single Hounds that related with social theme. As a result this is actually
conducted descriptively. The material objects that are being analyzed in this study are 11
poems of Emily Dickinson’s in his book ‘The Single Hounds’ that related with social theme
which related, They are: Adventure most unto itself, The Soul that has a Guest, Except the
smaller size, no Lives are round, Fame is a fickle food, The right to perish might be thought,
Peril as a possession, When Etna basks and purrs, Reverse cannot befall that fine Prosperity,
To be alive is power, Witchcraft has not a pedigree, and Exhilaration is the Breeze. The steps of
this reserach are writer uses to collect the data are as the following:
1. Collecting Emily Dickinson’s poems in her book “The Single Hounds”
2. Reading and understanding Emily Dickinson’s poems
3. Collecting data selected with figurative language in Emily Dickinson’s poems.
2. Findings and Discussion
In finding and discussion there were found and analyzed its contextual meaning on 11
poems of Emily Dickinson in “Adventure most unto itself” there are three personifications, one
metonymy, one repetition, one symbolism, in “The Soul that has a Guest” there are five
personifications in this poem, six Symbolisms, one metaphor, and one hyperbola, in “Except the
smaller size, no Lives are round” there are one metaphor and one symbolism, in “Fame is a
Fickle Food” there are one metaphor, and nine symbolisms, two metonymies in “The Right to
Perish Might be to Thought”, there are one irony, three symbolisms, two metonymies, and one
hyperbole, in “Peril as a Possession” there are one metaphor one personification, and one
simile, in “When Etna Bask and Purrs” there is one symbolism, in “Reserve cannot Befall hat
Fine Prosperity” there is one symbolism, one metonymy, in “To be Alive is Power” there is one
personification, in “Witchcraft has not a Pedigree” there are hyperbole and two metonymies in
“Exhilaration is the Breeze” there are one metaphor, one personification.

3. Suggestion
The writer would like to give some suggestions. For readers and students who are
interested in analyzing literary works because its subjectively, especially about poetry it is
suggested to understand the figurative language contained in the poem before they understand
the whole poem because by understanding the figurative language it will make them easier to
catch the meaning, message, even the theme of the poem.
For the further researcher it is hoped that this study can be used as references to conduct
another research on figurative language and it is contextual meaning of different poem, and
they can analyze the same poem “The Single Hound” but in different aspect such as discuss the
themes, rhymes even the syntax or the semantics of the poems.

4. References

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