REVEALING THE MESSAGES THROUGH FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE … · 2020. 1. 24. · InKaty Perry‟s...

REVEALING THE MESSAGES THROUGH FIGURATIVE

LANGUAGE IN “FIREWORK” BY KATY PERRY

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By

GIOVANNI ERWIN INDRATNO

Student Number: 124214084

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS

UNIVERSITAS SANATA DHARMA

YOGYAKARTA

2020

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

ii

REVEALING THE MESSAGES THROUGH FIGURATIVE

LANGUAGE IN “FIREWORK” BY KATY PERRY

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By

GIOVANNI ERWIN INDRATNO

Student Number: 124214084

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS

UNIVERSITAS SANATA DHARMA

YOGYAKARTA

2020


viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE ii

APPROVAL PAGE iii

ACCEPTANCE PAGE iv

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY v

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI

KARYA ILMIAH vi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS viii

ABSTRACT x

ABSTRAK xi

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1

A. Background of the Study 1 B. Problem Formulation 5 C. Objectives of the Study 5 D. Definition of Terms 6

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE 7

A. Review of Related Studies 7 B. Review of Related Theories 11

1. Figurative Language 11 a. Metaphor 12 b. Simile 12 c. Personification 13 d. Metonymy 13 e. Symbol 13 f. Allegory 13 g. Paradox 14 h. Hyperbole 14 i. Understatement 15 j. Irony 15

2. Theory of Message 16 C. Theoretical Framework 17

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY 18

A. Object of the Study 18 B. Approach of the Study 19 C. Method of the Study 20

CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS 22

1. Analysis of the Figurative Language and Its Meaning 22 a. Simile 23


ix

b. Personification 25 c. Metaphor 26 d. Irony 28 e. Paradox 29 f. Hyperbole 30

2. The Messages Revealed through the Figurative Language in Katy Perry “Firework” 33

a. Be confident for being yourself 34 b. Keep looking forward 36

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION 41

REFERENCES 43

APPENDICES 45

Appendix 1 : Lyric of “Firework” By Katy Perry 45

Appendix 2 : Table of Figurative language in “Firework” 47


x

ABSTRACT

INDRATNO, GIOVANNI ERWIN (2020). Revealing the Messages through

Figurative Language in “Firework” by Katy Perry. Yogyakarta: Department

of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University.

This thesis discusses the figurative language presented in “Firework” by

American singer named Katy Perry. This single is on her third album “Teenage

Dream” and was released on August 24, 2010. The song was written by Perry

with Ester Dean, the Norwegian production team Stargate, and co-producer Sandy

Vee. In literature song lyric is categorized as a poem because of its similarities.

One of the similarities is contain figurative language. It is sometimes difficult to

interpret for general listener or the reader. Therefore, the researcher conducted the

study in figurative language which are found in Katy Perry‟s song “Firework”.

The researcher has two objectives in this research. The first objective is to

find out the figurative language used in the song. The second objective is to reveal

the messages in the song through the figurative language.

In Katy Perry‟s “Firework”, the researcher uses library research and

information that collected from articles, writings, and the internet. There are two

theories that the researcher applied to answer the problem formulation. The first is

the theory of figurative language and the second theory is theory of message.

There are some steps to answer the problem formulations. The first step is

reading the song lyric. The second is collecting all the figurative language. The

next step is identifying the implicit meaning of the words containing figurative

language using the theory of figurative language by Perrine. The third is revealing

the message of the song lyric.

In “Firework” song lyric, the researcher found six types of figurative

language. They are simile, personification, metaphor, paradox, irony, and

hyperbole. The simile occurs in 4 lines, the personification occurs in 3 lines, the

metaphor occurs in 3 lines, the paradox occurs in 1 line, the irony occurs in 1 line

and the hyperbole occurs in 10 lines. From the analysis of the figurative language,

the researcher can reveal some messages using new criticism approach. The

messages are to be confident for being yourself and keep looking forward.

Keywords: figurative language, message, Katy Perry.


xi

ABSTRAK

INDRATNO, GIOVANNI ERWIN (2020). Revealing the Messages through

Figurative Language in “Firework” by Katy Perry. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra

Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Tesis ini membahas bahasa kiasan yang disajikan dalam "Firework" oleh

seorang penyanyi Amerika bernama Katy Perry. Single ini ada di album ketiganya

"Teenage Dream" dan dirilis pada 24 Agustus 2010. Lagu ini ditulis oleh Perry

bersama Ester Dean, tim produksi Norwegia Stargate, dan co-produser Sandy

Vee. Dalam dunia sastra, lirik lagu dikategorikan sebagai puisi karena

kesamaannya. Salah satu kesamaan adalah berisi bahasa kiasan. Terkadang sulit

untuk menafsirkan bagi pendengar atau pembaca. Oleh karena itu, peneliti

melakukan penelitian terkait bahasa kiasan yang ditemukan dalam lagu Katy

Perry "Firework".

Peneliti memiliki dua tujuan dalam penelitian ini. Tujuan pertama adalah

untuk mengetahui bahasa kiasan yang digunakan dalam lagu tersebut. Tujuan

kedua adalah untuk mengungkapkan pesan-pesan dalam lagu melalui bahasa

kiasan.

Dalam penelitian ini, peneliti menggunakan penelitian kepustakaan dan

informasi yang dikumpulkan dari artikel, tulisan, dan internet. Ada dua teori yang

peneliti terapkan untuk menjawab rumusan masalah. Yang pertama adalah teori

bahasa kiasan dan teori kedua adalah teori pesan.

Ada beberapa langkah untuk menjawab rumusan masalah. Langkah

pertama adalah membaca lirik lagu. Langkah kedua adalah mengumpulkan semua

bahasa kiasan. Langkah selanjutnya adalah mengidentifikasi arti tersirat dalam

kata-kata yang mengandung bahasa kiasan menggunakan teori bahasa kiasan oleh

Perrine. Langkah ketiga adalah mengungkap pesan dari lirik lagu.

Dalam lirik lagu “Firework”, peneliti menemukan 6 jenis bahasa kiasan.

Bahasa kiasan tersebut adalah simile, personifikasi, metafora, paradoks, ironi, dan

hiperbola. Simile ada dalam 4 baris, personifikasi dalam 3 baris, metafora ada

dalam 3 baris, paradoks ada dalam 1 baris, ironi dalam 1 baris dan hiperbola

dalam 10 baris. Dari analisis bahasa kiasan, peneliti dapat mengungkapkan

beberapa pesan menggunakan pendekatan kritik baru. Pesan-pesan tersebut

adalah: percaya diri untuk menjadi diri mereka sendiri dan terus memandang ke

depan.

Kata kunci: figurative language, message, Katy Perry.


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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

Language is a communication tool that has several functions in daily life.

One of the functions of the language is to express thoughts. It means language is

used to communicate and express wills or feelings with others. According to

Kreidler (1998, p. 19) “language is a system of symbols through which people

communicate”. From the quotation, it proves that the understanding of the

language that we use to communicate is important. Related to the figurative

language which has explicit meaning especially in a song lyric or poetry, the

reader or the audience should know the meaning as a part of way to communicate.

It is categorized as a communication because a song is a way for a songwriter to

deliver the message. Where there is a feedback between two persons, it means

these two persons are doing communication.

Communication is an important part in our daily life because we live as

social creature and we need to communicate with others to fulfill our social needs.

Communication is a process of someone building relation with other people.

Communication has several types, they are verbal, nonverbal, visual, and written.

Verbal communication is the use of language through speaking, for example, a

conversation in a meeting. The second one is nonverbal communication. It is the

use of language through body language or gesture. The third is visual


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communication which is the act of communication through photograph, drawing,

art, etc. The last type of communication is written communication. The media to

transfer the information is through the writing. This study discusses song lyrics

which are categorized as written communication. It is the expression of readers

within music.

Related to song lyric as written communication, sometimes people listen

to the music when they are happy. On the other hand, people can feel the song

lyrics when they are sad. According to Merriam Webster Online Dictionary, song

is the act or art of singing; poetical composition (accessed on October 24, 2019).

Composing a song is the way of songwriters to deliver messages about their ideas.

It is clearly said that song contains words named lyrics. In a song, lyrics are

written in simple form so the listeners can understand easily. In addition to that,

the lyrics also represents the writer‟s mind so the listeners can understand the aim

of the songwriter creating the song.

In literature, a song lyric is categorized as poem because the similarity of

its characteristics. Both song lyrics and poem have stanza, alliteration and

figurative language. Those are quite common in literary works such as poems and

song lyrics. For example, examining a Bryan Adams song, Bradley notes that the

lyric “it cuts like a knife/but it feels so right” creates a “dissonance” that

“generates some lyric heat.” He also said the dance of word and music makes

song act on our imagination and emotion just as the best poems do. Another

opinion stated by Professor Howard Rambsy who teaches a course on rap lyrics at

Southern Illinois Universtity that finds discussing the lyrics of rapper Jay-Z a


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good way to engage young literature students and get them thinking about

concepts like allusion and alliteration. According to Perrine (1963, p. 65), poets

use figurative language as “another way of adding extra dimensions to language”.

He also adds that by using figurative language, “we can say more vividly and

forcefully by figures than we can by saying it directly” (1963, p.65).

There are other philosophers who have perspective about figurative

language. It is stated by Abrams and Harpham in A Glossary of Literary Terms

10th

Edition.

Figurative language is a conspicuous departure from what competent users

of a language apprehend as the standard meaning of words, or else the

standard order of words, in order to achieve some special meaning or

effect. (2012, p. 130)

This study focuses on figurative language in Katy Perry‟s song. Figurative

language is sometimes difficult to interpret for general listeners. Moreover, not

everyone is able to interpret the true meaning of figurative language. As figurative

language are important to understand and the lyric of the song contains some

figurative language, the researcher wants to discuss the figurative language found

in Katy Perry‟s song. Figurative language is important to be understood since it is

useful to give more detailed and accurate description of the meaning of the word.

Therefore, the researcher conducted the study in figurative language which are

found in Katy Perry‟s song “Firework”.

The researcher chooses “Firework” by Katy Perry because this song is

very popular in youth generation and it has good message beyond the song lyric.

“Firework” is a song from a well-known singer from California, America, named


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Katy Perry. In fact, her real name is Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, but she changed

her name into Katy Perry to avoid confusion with an actress named Kate Hudson.

She started her carrier when she was 9 years old by singing in a church where her

parents were serving until she was 17. As teenager, she also learned to play guitar

and sought a chance in musical career. Until the end of 2019, Katy Perry had

released 5 studio albums. Based on a website created by Katy Perry fans on

https://katyperry.fandom.com, “Firework” is a popular song which is recorded in

Teenage Dream album, the third album of Katy Perry. It was released in August

24, 2010 and the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling

192.000 copies in its first week. It was later certified three times Platinum by the

RIAA; selling more than 3 million copies in the United States and charting within

the Top 40 of the Billboard 200 year-end chart three years in a row. As of July

2013, Teenage Dream has sold 6 million copies worldwide.

The researcher chooses “Firework” by Katy Perry as the main data of this

research because the lyric has great meaning to deliver to youth generation

nowadays who often feels desperate and hopeless. The researcher thinks that the

adolescents are not yet mature but not so young anymore. Therefore, they easily

feel depressed and confused to find the solution to their problem. Related to a

survey from Pew Research Centre, most of U.S teens see anxiety and depression

as a major problem among their peers. The problem appears from various

conditions. Fewer teens, though still substantial shares, voice concern over

bullying, drug addiction and alcohol consumption. More than four-in-ten say these


5

are major problems affecting people their age in the area where they live,

according to a Pew Research Center survey of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17.

In this research, the researcher analyzes the messages in the song lyrics of

“Firework” by Katy Perry so that readers of this thesis have a better understanding

about the messages implied in the song lyrics through figurative language.

Besides, the messages of this song can give a good impact to the teens related to

many people just singing without knowing the meaning of the song. The

researcher hopes that by comprehending the messages implied in “Firework” song

lyrics, reader can get different point of view on the way people think about life

and help them face their daily life differently.

B. Problem Formulation

From the background of the study, this research would like to answer these

following questions:

1. What are the types of figurative language used in the song?

2. What are the messages revealed through the figurative language in Katy

Perry‟s “Firework”?

C. Objectives of the Study

The researcher has two objectives in this research. The first objective is to

find out the figurative language used in the song. The second objective is to reveal

the messages in the song through the figurative language.


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D. Definition of Terms

The following explanations are the definition of some particular terms that

used by the researcher.

The first thing to define is figurative language. Perrine describes that

figurative language is language that brings us to the imagination pleasure (1969,

p. 71). Figurative language figures out something to be more than its meaning. In

the other words, the meaning of figurative language mostly is not the literary

meaning. It has another meaning deeper than the literary meaning.

The second thing is the definition of message. According to Sinclair,

messages is something important in the story, message can evaluate us for a better

life. Message is defined as an idea that someone tries to communicate to people. It

is also the meaning, thought or idea that is intended to express (1956, p. 490). It

can also mean the most important idea in a book, film, or play, or an idea that you

want to tell people about. It can be said that message is written or spoken

information that implicit in a literary work.


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CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

There are three parts of this section: review of related studies, review of

related theories, and theoretical framework. The researcher reviews four sources

for the related studies which consist of four theses. In the related theories, the

researcher reviews some theories from the experts to lead the analysis based on

research questions. Theoretical framework presents the role of theories to solve

the problems.

A. Review of Related Studies

The researcher reviews four studies that have been published with similar

main ideas, which are figurative language, as references. The theses were written

by Indonesian researchers and have same topic which is about figurative

language.

The first study was written by Madi (2019) who did an undergraduate

thesis entitled Figurative Language in Maroon Five’s Album Overexposed. Madi

analyses the figurative language found in the lyrics of some songs, namely: One

More Night, Payphone, Daylight, Lucky Strike, The Man Who Never Lied, Love

Somebody, LadyKiller, Fortune Teller, Sad, Tickets, Doin’ Dirt, Beautiful

Goodbye, and Moves Like Jagger. In his research, Madi said that:


8

“Figurative language is the utterance produced when someone says or

states something but the meaning is not literally the same as their

statement. Figurative language is language that employs phrases or words

that have a different meaning when they are interpreted literally” (2018, p.

8).

Madi found that there are 47 lines which contained figurative language

(Madi, 2019, p. 30). The result shows that there are nine figurative language

which were found in Maroon Five‟s Album Overexposed. Those figurative

language are simile, metaphor, personification, metonymy, symbol, paradox,

hyperbole, litotes, and irony. He has an opinion that it is important to study the

figurative language because the words in the lyric cannot be interpreted in literary

meaning. It has hidden meanings in every word. He said, “Figurative language is

important to be understood since it is useful to give more detailed and accurate

description” (p.3).

In analyzing the data, Madi reviews some theories from Kenedy (1979),

Perrine (1963), Jay (2003), Sylvan Barnet (1963), Diyanni (2004), and Hornby

(2000). He collected the data from the online resources and took some songs as

purposive sampling. In the end of the research, Madi concludes that the used of

figurative language are very common in songs and it is very important to make the

song lyrics sound more vividly and forcefully than saying it directly. The listeners

need to think deeper to understand the meaning behind the song. Sometimes or

even most of the song‟s lyrics can be the songwriter‟s experience.

The second study was written by Rientina (2018) who did an

undergraduate thesis entitled Theme Seen through The Use of Metaphors and

Similes in Katy Perry’s Selected Songs in The Album Entitled Teenage Dream.


9

There are two objectives in her research. The first one is to find out the metaphors

and similes in Katy Perry‟s album. The second one is to deliver the theme of the

selected songs in the album based on the use of metaphors and similes found. In

her study, Rientina found that the song contains 8 similes and 14 metaphors in the

three songs entitled “Firework”, “Pearl”, and “E.T.” She also found the theme of

each song. The song “Firework” had the theme “encouragement”, “Pearl” had the

theme “an unhealthy relationship”, “E.T.” had the theme “falling in love with

someone who is unique”. The result of the research is the theme of the album

“teenage dream”.

The third study was written by Saputro (2017) who did an undergraduate

thesis entitled The Message of The Betrayal in Figurative Language of The Song

“Your Betrayal”. There are two objectives in his research. The first problem is to

find the figurative language found in “Your Betrayal” song lyric. The second

problem is to explain the intended message from the song writer about betrayal

through the meaning of figurative language in the song lyric of “Your Betrayal”.

In his study, Saputro discovers there are four figurative language in “Your

Betrayal” song lyrics. They are metaphor, hyperbole, irony, and dead metaphor.

Saputro finds that there is other aspect about the contextual meaning of figurative

language that is applied in the “Your Betrayal” song lyric according to Dash‟s

theory. Global context and local context have the main role in order to elaborate

the intended message of the songwriter about betrayal. Those types of contextual

meaning show the message of the songwriter conveyed through the meaning of

the figurative language. Saputro stated:


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The intended message of the songwriter is about betrayal that have done

by a person who the songwriter love most. Through the intended message

in figurative language meaning, the reader is expected to feel the same

emotional experience about the anger, the revenge, and the desperation of

the songwriter (p. 42).

The fourth study was written by Harmastuty (2016) who did an

undergraduate thesis entitled A Study of Figurative Language in The Script’s

Album No Sound Without Silence. There are two objectives in her research. The

first one is to find out the types of figurative language which are found. The

second one is to find out the types which predominate in the album. She used the

theories by Lakoff and Johnson (2003), Jay (2003), and Colston (2015). She

found ten types of figurative language. They are metaphor, simile, hyperbole,

meiosis, idiomatic expressions, rhetorical questions, metonymy, irony, sarcasm,

and personification. The most frequently used figurative language types are

hyperbole and rhetorical questions. In the end of the research, Harmastuty

concludes that the use of songs for language learning, particularly English, is

worth considering since it enriches the understanding of language including

figurative language.

The similar objective among studies from Madi, Rientina, Saputro,

Harmastuty and the researcher is to discuss the figurative language in song lyrics.

The differences are that Madi, Rientina and Harmastuty focus on finding the

figurative language in some songs, and the researcher focuses on the message

implied in the song. The difference of Saputro and the researcher‟s study is the

object of the research which is the song. Saputro chooses The Betrayal song,


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Rientina chooses Katy Perry’s Album Teenage Dream, Madi chooses Maroon

Five’s Album Overexposed and the researcher chooses “Firework”.

In this research, the researcher aims to reveal the messages of the song

lyrics using new criticism approach and figurative language theory while the other

researchers reveal the meaning of the song lyrics using semantic theory. This

research reveals the meaning focusing on the rhetorical aspect rather than the

grammatical one.

B. Review of Related Theories

The researcher reviews some theories. The theories help the researcher to

gather more information and add more knowledge about figurative language. The

theories support the researcher in order to answer the problems mentioned in

chapter II.

1. Figurative Language

In a book A Glossary of Literary Terms Tenth Edition, M. H Abrams and

Geoffrey Galt Harpham stated; “Figurative language is a conspicuous departure

from what competent users of a language apprehend as the standard meaning of

words, or else the standard order of words, in order to achieve some special

meaning or effect” (2012, p. 130)

According to Perrine (1969, p. 65), “figurative language is language which

uses a non-literal meaning.” Figurative language is usually applied to express

what people want to deliver in different way. Figurative meaning invites people to

think broader from what it is written. Figurative language is usually used by the

authors of literary work to deliver what they thought of.


12

Figurative language sometimes speaks something that does not make sense

and gives many interpretations for people reading the texts. Perrine adds that

“figurative language affords us imaginative pleasure” (1969, p. 71). It means that

in figurative language, people are invited to imagine beyond the surface. It makes

people have critical minded since each person has different ways of interpreting.

Figurative language is divided into some types. Although there are so

many variations in figurative language, the researcher decides to use Perrine‟s

types of figurative language. According to Perrine (1969), there are ten types of

figurative language. They are metaphor, simile, personification, metonymy,

symbol, allegory, paradox, hyperbole, understatement, and irony. The researcher

uses Perrine‟s theory since it has more variations which can help the researcher to

answer the problems. Below, the researcher describes each type of figurative

language.

a. Metaphor

Metaphor is used to compare between things that are different (Perrine,

1969, p. 65). In metaphor, one thing represents another thing which is inanimate.

The example of metaphor is she is the star in her class. This sentence does not

mean that she is the object from the space. In metaphor she associates with star

and has meaning as someone who is very popular (Aprilianingrum, 2019, p. 12).

b. Simile

Simile is a figure of speech that compares one thing to the others (Perrine,

1969, p. 65). Simile is likely similar with metaphor. The different things from

metaphor, simile uses the word like or as. The use of those words makes metaphor


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compares things directly. Example of simile is she is as beautiful as the moon

(Aprilianingrum, 2019, p. 12).

c. Personification

Personification is inanimate thing given the attributes of a human being

(Perrine, 1969, p. 67). In personification, people can see that non-human things

seem like doing human‟s activity. Some examples of personification are the wind

swept the dust, the mirror talks to me, the radio accompanies me every night


d. Metonymy

“Metonymy is figure of speech that substitute the detail of an experience

for the experience itself.” (Perrine, 1969, p. 69).Shortly, metonymy is the use of

word that is used to represent another word. Metonymy replaces another name of

thing that is closely related with it. Example of metonymy is he bought a Ferrari.

The word Ferrari represents a brand of a car. It means that he bought a car

branded Ferrari (Aprilianingrum, 2019, p. 12).

e. Symbol

Symbol is defined as something that has more meaning when what it is

(Perrine, 1969, p. 83). Symbol can engage people to think deeper since it has more

than its meaning. Example of symbol is flag, it represents a nation


f. Allegory

Allegory is defined as the narrative or description that has more than

meaning (Perrine, 1969, p. 91). Allegory makes the term has deeper meaning.


14

Usually, abstract ideas and principles are described in terms in character, figure

and event. The purpose of allegory is to teach or explain an idea or a principle.

Therefore, in allegory, people can find the moral point inside the text. Example of

allegory is The Tortoise and The Hare. The Tortoise here means an animal that

walk very slow and The Hare means an animal that walk fast (Aprilianingrum,

2019, p. 13). The common story of The Tortoise and The Hare is about the hare

who underestimate the tortoise who is very slow in a race. The hare who fall

asleep near the finish line is shocked because the tortoise has already passed the

finish line. The moral point of this allegory is do not underestimate other people

by its characteristics.

g. Paradox

Paradox is the apparent contradiction in a statement (Perrine, 1969, p.

109). In paradox, people can see that in a statement has contradiction possibility.

Example of paradox is war is peace. In the dictionary war is defined as “a

situation in which two or more countries or groups of people fight against each

other over a period of time” (Hornby, 2010, p. 1672). Then, peace signifies “there

is no war or violence in a country or an area” (Hornby, 2010, p. 1080). These two

words consist contradiction. The first statement mentions about fighting then

another one talks about no violence (Aprilianingrum, 2019, p. 13).

h. Hyperbole

Hyperbole is figure of speech that consists the exaggeration (Perrine,

1969, p. 110). Hyperbole usually exists because the authors want to tell something

that makes nonsense. The authors use hyperbole by overemphasizing something


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to attain notice on their statements. The examples of hyperbole are this bag

weighs a ton and your skin is softer than silk (Aprilianingrum, 2019, p. 13).

i. Understatement

Understatement is the opposite of hyperbole. Understatement is used to

give less than the means (Perrine, 1969, p. 111). Understatement reduces the

expectation from what readers think in a term. Example of understatement is

when someone had accident, fell from the motorcycle and said It a little bit hurt.

As we can see, everybody who fell down absolutely hurt so much, but she or he

just mentioned a little bit hurt. People will realize that she or he is hurt but still

fine (Aprilianingrum, 2019, p. 14).

j. Irony

Irony is a figure of speech that is used to tell meaning that beyond extend

(Perrine, 1969, p. 112). Irony is usually used to imply the statement in the term

but it is wrapped in valuable sentence. Irony is figure of speech that can be used to

develop our critical thinking and it can be sentimental when it is delivered as a

statement (Aprilianingrum, 2019, p. 14).

In this research, the researcher will discuss six types of figurative language

to analyze the song lyric. They are simile, personification, metaphor, irony,

paradox, and hyperbole. The researcher will explain the reason why the lyrics

belong to each figurative language. The researcher also will explain the implicit

meaning of each finding.


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2. Theory of Message

Beaty and Hunter state a message is the real meaning or some easy

conclusion that can be simply stated or summarized inside a work of art (1989, p.

899). Therefore, a message is the whole idea of artworks.

Another theory is said by Sinclair as stated below:

Messages is something important in the story, message can evaluate us for

a better life. Message is defined as an idea that someone tries to

communicate to people. It is also the meaning, thought or idea that is

intended to express (1956, p. 490).

This theory said that messages are very important in a literary work, it is

supported by another theory stated by Spectrum:

“This central message is the most important idea that author of a story

wants readers to understand and remember. The central message is often in

a form of a life lesson” (2015, p. 4).

From the theory above, a message can be defined as the media for the

readers to understand about the meaning of life. It gives the readers a vision about

life and is to appreciate what they have because people only live once and cannot

be repeated. Therefore, we can solve problems in life more wisely. Through this

study, the readers can get the important messages that can be used as supports or

motivation in their lives.

Meanwhile, to reveal the messages from the lyric the first step to do is the

researcher read the lyric for several times to understand the aim of the songwriter.

Second, find the figurative language in the song lyric by classified the lines based

on types of figurative language and figure out its meaning. The last is find the


17

message implied in figurative language using new criticism approach which

concerns in the literary work itself.

C. Theoretical Framework

Some theories reviewed in this research are explained in terms of their

importance and how they contribute in analyzing the two problems the researcher

has mentioned previously. This research applies the theory of figurative language

and theory of messages to answer the problems of the study.

The first question concerns the types of figurative language found in the

lyrics. The theory from Perrine supports the researcher to classify what types of

figurative language and to find the implicit meaning in “Firework” song.

On the second question, the researcher answers the messages in the lyrics.

The theory of message helps the researcher to analyze the lyrics using new

criticism approach to find the meaning in context without worrying the about the

songwriter‟s background or our own reactions to the song lyric.


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CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

A. Object of the Study

In this research, the researcher analyzes the types of figurative language

and the messages in Katy Perry‟s “Firework”.

“Firework” is a song by American singer named Katy Perry. This single is

on her third album “Teenage Dream” and was released on August 24, 2010. The

song was written by Perry with Ester Dean, the Norwegian production team

Stargate, and co-producer Sandy Vee. As the researcher said in the first chapter, in

literature, song lyric is categorized as a poem. Both of them are written in lines or

verse, both are divided into stanzas, and both are used the same techniques like

rhyme and repetition. This song lyric contains of 58 lines including the repetition

of some lines, it also divided into some stanzas like poem has, and of course the

song lyric is written in lines.

The song‟s music video was filmed in Budapest, Hungary and finds Perry

at the center of merry outdoor dance party among fans. The clip‟s theme was

personal acceptance and the singer dedicated it via Twitter to the “It Gets Better”

campaign, which rallied against harassment in the LGBT community, “because

everyone has the spark to be a FIREWORK.”

"Firework" reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It spent four weeks at the

top. It was also a #1 hit on adult pop, adult contemporary, and dance charts. It sold

seven million copies in the US alone. "Firework" also reached #1 on the Canadian


19

pop singles chart while going to #3 in the UK and the top 10 in most countries

around the world.

"Firework" earned two Grammy Award nominations including for Record

of the Year. It was performed as the finale to Katy Perry's Super Bowl Halftime

Show. It was also nominated for several awards, the Video of The Year and MTV

Video Music Awards in 2011, and elected the fifth most played single on US

radio during 2011 on 2012 (www.liveabout.com, 2019).

B. Approach of the Study

The researcher applies the approach of new criticism to analyze figurative

language and the values of life in Katy Perry‟s “Firework”. It means, the new

criticism does not require the readers to connect the work to the other aspects.

Selden states that new criticism is a method which does not talk about

context – historical, biographical, intellectual, and so on in analyzing literary work

(2005, p. 19). However, new criticism only focuses on analyzing the “text in self”

with its language and organization. New criticism does not reach text‟s meaning

but the way the text „speaks-itself‟. Since new criticism approach not worrying

about the background of the literary work, the researcher analyzed the figurative

language and the message revealed in the song lyric through close reading.

Reading and re-reading the song lyric in order to understand the meaning and the

author‟s purpose by ignoring the background of the song lyric.

According to Guerin in A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature

5th

Edition. “The New Critics sought precision and structural tightness in

literary work; the favored a style and tone that tended toward irony; they

insisted on the presence within the work of everything necessary for its

analysis; and the called for an end to a concern by critics and teachers of


https://www.liveabout.com/little-known-about-super-bowl-3023520https://www.liveabout.com/little-known-about-super-bowl-3023520http://www.liveabout.com/

20

English with matters outside the work itself-the life of author, the history

of his or her time, or the social and economic implications of the literary

work.” (p.101)

Based on the two statements above, new criticism is not affected by other aspects

from outside the literary works or the song lyric. Therefore, the researcher applies

the new criticism because it is the most appropriate approach in order to assist the

writer to analyze this research. As we know that mostly song lyrics contain

figurative language which means that it cannot be interpreted denotatively. It has

figurative language which mean it exceeds the word itself. New criticism analyzes

poetry or song lyrics with its complexity.

C. Method of the Study

The method that the researcher uses to analyze the lyric is library research.

The references used in this study are from related book and articles provided in

the library and internet. The primary source is the lyrics of the song entitled

“Firework” by Katy Perry. The secondary source a important books from library

such as Sound and Sense, Educating for Character: How Our Schools Can Teach

Respect and Responsibility, Introducing English Semantics, A Reader’s Guide to

Contemporary Literary Theory, Glossary of Literary Terms (10th

Edition), and A

Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature and some source from internet.

There are some steps to answer the problem formulations. The first step is

the researcher reading the song lyric “Firework” by Katy Perry to understand the

meaning and the purpose of the songwriter using close reading method. The

second is choosing the topic that will be analyzed and create the problem

formulations. The third is collecting all the figurative language found in


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“Firework”. The next step is identifying the implicit meaning of the words

containing figurative language using the theory of figurative language by Perrine.

By identifying the implicit meaning of the figurative language found in the song

lyric, the researcher revealed the message of the song lyric. The researcher

answers the second problem formulation using new criticism approach to analyze

the message implied in the song. The last step is concluding the result of the

research based on the whole analysis in this research.


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CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS

This chapter contains analysis of the research. It is divided into two parts.

The first part is identifying the figurative language in the song “Firework” by

Katy Perry. The second part is revealing the message through implied meaning of

figurative language. In the first part, the researcher uses the theory of figurative

language to answer the first problem formulation and using the theory of message

to answer the second problem formulation.

1. Analysis of the Figurative Language and Its Meaning.

When people who have not heard Katy Perry‟s song “Firework”, they may

think that this song tells about celebrating something because of the title is usually

concerns in big celebration. It could be someone‟s birthday, Independence Day, or

other special events. But after listening and going deeper into the lyric, the song

actually conveys about freedom and confidence in life. Through this song, the

songwriter wants to encourage the people out there to be free and confident for the

way they are. It is obvious that the songwriter wants to cherish the audience,

realize their weakness and regain their self-acceptance in the same time. In the

song lyric, the writer uses figurative language to deliver the message about the

songwriter ideas and emotion to the audience.

The researcher discusses six figurative language found in the song lyrics

which are simile, personification, hyperbole, metaphor, irony, and paradox. The


23

researcher will identify the figurative language in every line as mentioned in

Table of Figurative Language in Appendices 2.

From the table, it can be seen that there are 22 lines in the song lyric of

“Firework” contain figurative language meaning. The simile occurs in 4 lines, 3

lines of personification, metaphor occurs in 3 lines, 1 line of irony, 1 line of

paradox and 10 lines are categorized as hyperbole. This song lyric contains of 58

lines included refrain repetition. It means almost half of the song lyric contains

figurative language.

The analysis below will explain further the figurative language that have

been classified in the table above.

a. Simile

There are four sentences categorized as simile in Katy Perry‟s

“Firework”. In this part the researcher gives further analysis about the

meaning of the sentence contains simile. As mentioned in chapter two, simile

is a figurative language that involving comparison of one thing to another

different thing.

1.) Do you ever feel like a plastic bag?

In the first line of the song lyric, the simile can be seen in sentence “do

you ever feel like plastic bag”. In this sentence, a person is compared to a

plastic bag. The characteristic of the plastic bag is extremely light which

means it easily moves. It can represent as the person‟s life. The song writer

wants to express that sometimes people‟s life is like floating, with no passion.


24

People with no hope only follow the stream of life, have no purpose of life and

no strong stance in life.

2.) Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin? Like a house of cards.

The complete sentence is “Do you ever feel, feel so paper-thin? Like a

house of cards”. The simile can be seen in a person‟s feeling which is like a

house of cards. From this line, we can see that a house of cards is not strong

enough because of its weak foundation. It can stand but can be collapsed

easily by a little touch or wind. The song writer wants to tell that sometimes

people‟s life is very weak and can be collapsed with ease by small problems in

life.

3.) You don‟t have to feel like a waste of space.

The simile can be seen from the way of the writer states a person

feeling like waste of space. In this line the song writer used figurative

language in the word “waste of space”. Based on the Oxford Learner‟s Online

Dictionary, the meaning of waste of space is a person who is useless or not

good at anything. On the other word, the person has no achievements in

his/her life. The songwriter wants to encourage the audience that all of them

are special. They are not supposed to think they are useless because everybody

has their own achievement in life which cannot be compared to others'. There

is nothing to be afraid of being ourselves because there must be something

valuable that we have done in life.


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4.) Like a lightning bolt, your heart will glow.

The complete sentence in this lyric is „You like a lightning bolt, your

heart will glow‟. The simile in this sentence can be seen in the comparison

between a person and a lightning bolt. A person definitely cannot be a

lightning bolt. According to Merriam Webster Online Dictionary, the flashing

of light produced by a discharge of atmospheric electricity also : the

discharge itself. What the song writer wants to persuade is the personality of a

person can appear as bright as lightning in all of a sudden.

b. Personification

In this part the researcher gives further analysis about the meaning of

the sentence contains personification. As mentioned in chapter two,

personification is the attribution of human being to something non-human or

inanimate thing. There are three sentences categorized as personification in

Katy Perry‟s “Firework”.

1.) Drifting to the wind wanting to start again

The complete sentence is “Do you ever feel like a plastic bag? Drifting

to the wind wanting to start again.” proven that this sentence is

personification. The part of personification is the plastic bag wants to live

again while it is not an animate thing. The plastic is an inanimate thing that

clearly cannot be alive. In this line, the plastic bag represents the feeling of a

person which is easily swayed by the flow of life. The meaning implied in this

line is a person that has no passion who is easily drifted by problems in life

just like the light plastic bag drifting to the wind.


https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/light

26

2.) If you only knew what the future holds

In this line, the personification can be seen in the word „what the future

holds‟. In fact, the person does not know the future holds and the future itself

cannot literally hold something even a person‟s dream. According to Merriam

Webster Online Dictionary, hold is described as to have or maintain in the

grasp. The future is not physically real which can grasp something like human

being does.

3.) So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road.

The personification can be seen in the sentence „one that leads you to

the perfect road‟. According to the previous line, the word „one‟ refers to

„door‟–which maybe a reason why all the doors are closed. It is

personification because a door cannot lead someone to the perfect road. The

door cannot do as what human do like open the door, take a glass of water,

open the bottle cap, and so on. So the line that state a door can lead someone

to somewhere does not make sense. The subject is inanimate which is can do

human thing and it is clearly contain personification figurative language.

c. Metaphor

In this part the researcher gives further analysis about the meaning of the

sentence contains metaphor. As mentioned by Perrine, metaphor is used to

represent one thing to another thing which is inanimate (p.65). There are three

sentences categorized as metaphor in Katy Perry‟s “Firework”.


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1.) Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin?

In this line the metaphor can be seen from the comparison between

people‟s feeling and paper thin. The song writer wants to express the feeling

of a person like a paper thin. It is clearly that width of the paper is thin, and

even cannot be seen because a paper width is less than 1 mm. It can be said

that people‟s feelings cannot be seen from appearance or any distance.

Besides, the characteristics of the paper-thin are very fragile, easily crumpled,

modified, and torn. Human feeling is very sensitive. It can be hurt by act or

even words. The similarity of human feeling and paper thin is almost the

same. Both of them are easily broken and never be the same as before.

2.) „Cause baby you are firework

In this line, the songwriter used the metaphor to compare a person

“baby” as a firework. The word “baby” in this sentence is a way of a person to

express the affection. As for the word „firework‟, in the Oxford Online

Dictionary, the characteristic of the firework itself is beautiful, sparkling,

rousing, and dazzling. Fireworks are usually used to celebrate something

special. The songwriter wants to encourage that all the audience is as beautiful

as firework; they are special and beautiful creatures.

3.) So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road.

The metaphor in this sentence is in the words „perfect road‟. The meaning

of the perfect road in this line is the life goal or dreams. The songwriter wants

to say that when there is a problem, there must be a way to lead us to reach

our life goal or dreams. A friend of mine said that when a door is closed, find


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another door. If all the doors are closed, you can still get out from a window.

If the windows are closed, keep trying to find the way out. It could be

ventilation even the roof. Like the old saying, when there is a will, there is a

way. The point is keep trying no matter what because the real failure begins

when you give up.

d. Irony

In this part the researcher gives further analysis about the meaning of

the sentence containing Irony. As mentioned by Aprilianingrum, irony is used

to imply the statement in the term but it is wrapped in valuable sentence. Irony

is figure of speech that can be used to develop our critical thinking and it can

be sentimental when it is delivered as a statement (2019, p.14). According to

Merriam Webster Online Dictionary, sentimental is usually marked or

governed by feeling, sensibility, or emotional idealism. It is resulting from

feeling rather than reason or thought. In this song lyric, there is one line

categorized as irony in Katy Perry‟s “Firework”. “Six feet under screams, but

no one seems to hear a thing” the irony can be seen when a person is buried

six feet under screams but no one seems to hear a thing. Rationally, it is so

mean when a person is buried alive and screams looking for help but no one

hear a thing. The meaning implied in this line is no one cares at all. Being

buried six feet under implies that no one sees the person. So how loud the

screaming is, even in the crowded, when a person does not put any attention in

you, they would not hear any voice of you.


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e. Paradox

In this part the researcher gives the explanation about the meaning of a

sentence in the song lyric containing paradox. The researcher found a paradox

sentence. It is “After a hurricane comes a rainbow”. The paradox in this line is

in the word hurricane and rainbow. Based on Merriam Webster Online

Dictionary, hurricane describes as a tropical cyclone with winds of 74 miles

(119 kilometers) per hour or greater that occurs especially in the western

Atlantic, that is usually accompanied by rain, thunder, and lightning, and that

sometimes moves into temperate latitudes. The article from UCAR Centre for

Science Education stated when a hurricane approaches land, tremendous

damage can occur to coastal city and towns. When the hurricane strikes

coastal area, it brings a number of serious hazards. On the other hand, a

rainbow is described as a curved band of different colors that appears in the

sky when the sun shines through rain. It means that hurricane has already

passed by. This explanation proves that this sentence contains paradox. As

Perrine said about the paradox, hurricane and rainbow is apparent

contradiction in a sentence. These two words consist of contradiction. The

first sentence said about damaging phenomenon and the other one talked

about beauty phenomenon. Both of them have definition that clearly state that

this line is paradox related to the apparent contradiction. The message of this

line is there must be a good after hard time. A hurricane as a hard time and

comes the rainbow as the good time because the hurricane has passed.


https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cyclone

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f. Hyperbole

In this part, the researcher explains the line containing hyperbole.

Perrine said that the hyperbole existed because the author wanted to tell

something that non-make sense. It made the reader think more than the way of

human think. The researcher found there are ten lines containing hyperbole.

1.) Like a house of cards, One blow from caving in

This line is hyperbole related to the previous line that states, „Do you

ever feel, feel so paper thin? Like a house of cards‟ One blow from caving in.

It is hyperbole because the house of cards cannot literally collapse in one

blow, there must be some parts that did not collapse. It could be the basic part

or maybe the upper part stand still. The meaning of this line shows how weak

the house of cards is because the songwriter said it can collapse in one blow.

2.) Do you ever feel already buried deep? Six feet under screams, but no one

seems to hear a thing.

The hyperbole can be seen in this line when a person feels already

being buried deep. In reality, when a person is buried deep, he/she will be

dead in the short time. It is impossible if there is a man wanting to be buried

alive. It is hyperbole for exaggerate the feeling of being ignored like someone

that still alive, buried, and screaming in the six feet under. It is like someone

has to feel the feeling of buried deep related to the feeling of ignorance.

The meaning of this line is whether you ever feel like no one sees you

in life. When someone already buries deep means that no one can see him/her


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again and be forgotten as time goes by. It is implied a human who has no hope

and is depressed.

3.) „Cause there‟s a spark in you

A human has no spark in his/her body. In Oxford Dictionary, „spark‟ is

described as a small flash of light produced by an electric current. It is

hyperbole because it is impossible for a human body to produce a spark.

The meaning of this line is there is something inside you that can be

showed off to others. It can be the strengths, the intelligence, or the inner

beauty of someone.

4.) You just gotta ignite the light

Related the previous line, “cause there‟s a spark in you”, it is clearly

showed that this line is hyperbole. The line “you just gotta ignite the light (in

you)” does not make sense that a human body produces a spark and ignites the

light.

The meaning of this line is everybody has strength but if the strength is

just kept for us, then the other people will never know it because you never

reveal it. All you need is to show the strength in you and give positive vibes to

others.

5.) And let it shine

This line is hyperbole related to the previous line “you just gotta ignite

the light” then let it shine. It is hyperbole because human body cannot shine.

The song writer wants to say that let our strength, inner beauty, or kindness


32

spread out to the people around us. Besides, the shine gives the warmth to the

area around it. So does the kindness make the surround us comfortable.

6.) Just own the night

This line is hyperbole because you cannot own the night. Night

belongs to none of human even the other creature. It is the time between one

day and the next when it is dark, when people usually sleep. It is natural

phenomenon that none of human can manage or own it.

7.) As you shoot across the sky

The hyperbole can be seen in this line because human will be dead

when being shoot across the sky. It does not make sense for someone to shoot

one another across the sky, besides it would be dangerous. The meaning of

this line is not literally being shot across the sky but the condition when you

are in the way to be success.

8.) Come on let your colors burst

This line is hyperbole because the color of human body cannot burst.

According to Oxford Dictionary, burst is described to break open or apart,

especially because of the pressure from inside. From this definition, it does not

make sense that a human body color can burst. The meaning of this line is to

let our strength, beauty, and inspiration burst so the people around us know

the good potency in you.


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9.) Like a lightning bolt, your heart will glow

In this line, the hyperbole can be seen in the sentence “your heart will

glow”. As we know that a human heart is inside the human‟s body and not

glowing. It does not make sense too that a part of human‟s body is glowing.

10.) Even brighter than the moon

The subject from this line is firework. The fact is firework is not

brighter than the moon. So this line is categorized as hyperbole. As we know

that moon is bright because of the ray of the sun. It does not make sense that

the bright of firework beat the bright of the moon. This line exaggerated the

bright of the firework beat the bright of the moon.

2. The Messages Revealed through the Figurative Language in Katy Perry

“Firework”

After identified the type of figurative language in Katy Perry “Firework”,

the researcher analyzed the messages revealed through figurative language in

the song as mentioned in second problem formulation. In order to answer the

second problem formulation the researcher used the theory of message.

Sinclair said that message is something important in the story; message can

evaluate us for a better life. The researcher analyzed and found the message

through five figurative language in the song lyric. They are simile,

personification, metaphor, paradox and hyperbole. The researcher will explain

the message in every figurative language as below:


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a. Be confident for being yourself.

A lot of people are struggling with confidence because of the lack of

awareness in self acceptance. The researcher thought that this is a big issue

that is always happen every day. An article of Thought Catalog entitled This is

What of Being Confident Really Means said that people struggle with

confidence because there is misconception that being confident means you

will succeed but being confident is the way to lead you to success.

(https://thoughtcatalog.com, 2016). This song lyric persuades the reader to be

confident of being yourself. It can be seen in some lines as below

You do not have to feel like a waste of space.

This sentence contains simile in comparison between „human feeling‟

and „waste of space‟. The sentence waste of space itself has idiomatic

meaning. As mentioned in first problem formulation analysis, „waste of space‟

has meaning a person who is useless or no good at anything. In this line, the

songwriter persuades the reader to be confident of being yourself, the reader

do not have to feel useless or no good at anything because every person has

their own unique that can be showed off to other people and of course it

should be the good one. Like the title of the song, firework, which can make

the people who see you are amazed with something you showed off. Self-

acceptance is the key for the readers to be confident.


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„Cause there‟s a spark in you / You just gotta ignite the light and let it

shine.

These hyperbole sentence make the reader confident that there is

something good can be shown off. It is said that there is a spark in you and you

just gotta ignite the light and let it shine so the people around can feel the

warmth and amazed with her/his existence. Some people do not know their

own characteristics conscious or unconsciously so they assume that they are

not quite capable to do something great. When you already found one strength,

all you need is be confident of who you are and keep spread the kindness to

others.

Like a lightning bolt, your heart will glow.

According to Online Cambridge Dictionary, lightning bolt defines as a

flash of bright light in the sky that is produced by electricity moving between

clouds from clouds to the ground. As we know that lightning bolt is assertive

when strict the ground and can caused fire. This line shows the confidence of

a lightning bolt which has no doubt.

Cause baby you‟re firework

This metaphorical line persuades the reader to be like a firework which

amazed the other people who sees it. The songwriter used the firework as the

object because firework is something bright and beautiful especially when we

see it in the night. Be confident like a firework means you will be the focus of


36

the people around by your beauty and let the people amazed to see your

beauty.

Come on let your colors burst

This line implied the songwriter‟s persuasion about the self-acceptance

and be proud of who you are. This line said to let your color burst. The

meaning of the color is not always literally color; it could be the personality,

the strength, the weakness of a person. In the other words, the songwriter

encourage the reader to let the people know who you are and feel your

existence. Be confident to let your color burst.

Even brighter than a moon

This sentence refers to firework. This line categorized as hyperbole

because it is impossible that firework is brighter than a moon. But the fact is

when firework was shot to the sky, the focus of the people is in the firework

rather than the moon. Be confident like a firework which shows its beautiful

sparks and beat the bright of the moon. The song lyric encourage the reader to

be inspiration to others which brings joy to the people around with no doubt.

b. Keep looking forward

Be confident is not enough without be strong and keep looking

forward. There must be some people that did not like to our attitude of being

confident. It could be the other people being threatened of our existence. Here

are some lines of the song lyric that encourage the readers to be strong and

keep looking forward.


37

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag? Drifting to the wind wanting to start

again

This line gives more understanding about the feeling that the

songwriter talk about. It adds a condition that the plastic bag is drifting to the

wind or flew away easily. This line contains of simile which the plastic bag

represents the feeling of a person compared to the wind that represents the

problems in our life. We can see at the end of the sentence we have

“…wanting to start again” which shows that there is a problem being

experienced by this person and want to make a new start. This line shows that

people can become so weak that they have no passion whenever they face

their problem.

Everyone has problem, it can be a big problem or a small problem

depends on how many times the person has experienced. When people face

their problem, they can face it differently. People may have different solutions

to solve their problems, or even not doing anything to solve the problem. In

this line, the songwriter wants the audience to experience the feeling of losing

their passion when facing a problem but want to start a whole new beginning.

The message we can take from this experience is to stay strong and keep

looking forward. When we feel so desperate on a problem that it seems like

people can bring us down so easily, we still need to have a hope for the future.

At least we should have a passion to want to start again.


38

Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin/ like a house of cards/ one blow from

caving in

This stanza concerns on the strength of a paper thin which arranged

into a house of cards and collapse in a one blow. The line “do you ever feel so

paper thin” compare the human feeling to a paper thin which is easily ripped

fragile and weak. The paper thin which is arranged into a house of cards is like

built a house without great foundation and can be collapsed when the storm

comes. The songwriter wants to tell the reader to be strong and keep looking

forward because everyone has his/her hardest time and how a person focused

on the raising from the problem, not the falling time. Keep motivated so the

reader not stuck in the problem for a long time while keep looking forward

will help a person raising from the problem of life by seeing the good

possibility and chance.

If you only knew what the future holds

This line tells us about presupposition. It assumes if we have a vision

about the things that will happen in the future, we will be able to make the

right choices for every action. The fact is we never know the future and the

songwriter wants to persuade the audience to do our best because we never

know the future. As long as we did our best, the result never disappointed us.

If only we knew the future, maybe many people will find the shortcut to the

success and it is very possible they will cheating each other. Be strong and

keep looking forward will be helpful when we face the problem our daily life.


39

So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road.

This line contains personification meanings. The personification can

be seen in the sentence “one that leads you to the perfect road”. The “one”

refers to the “door which clearly it cannot lead you to anywhere. The meaning

of this line is there must be a way out in every problem. The door implied the

way we solve the problem. If one method is not working, there are other

methods which show the way out as long as we never give up. The lyric

persuades the reader to be strong in facing our problem in life and keep

looking forward.

After a hurricane comes a rainbow.

As we know the characteristics of hurricane is bring a lot of damage,

while the rainbow has beautiful colors as the sign that the hurricane is done

and comes the light. Spectrum in the theory of message state that the central

message is often in a form of a life lesson. If we relate the sentence of paradox

and what Spectrum said, this sentence implied the songwriter‟s message that

there is a better world after big problem that we face as long as we have

willingness to fix it. There is hope in every problem. Keep moving forward

even though there is hurricane (many problems) in the progress because in the

end of your struggle, the result of your hard work is never lie. Someway,

somehow it is not disappointed you.


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Maybe a reason why all the doors are closed / So you could open one that

leads you to the perfect road

This personification line is very optimistic sentence. This line

persuades the reader to be opportunist and keep looking forward. The doors

in this line represents the way out of problems in our life. Sometimes we

already trying so hard to solve our problems but somehow it does not work

well. There must be a reason why our hard work does not succeed and keep

moving forward will motivate a person who feel failed to be optimist and

doing something until he/she finds the way out. If one method is failed, there

must be hundreds or maybe thousands method that will work as long as the

person keep moving forward and does not give up.


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CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

The song lyric “Firework” is one of the examples of figurative language

application in song lyric. In this song lyric, the researcher found 6 types of

figurative language. They are simile, personification, metaphor, irony, and

hyperbole.

The simile occurs in 4 lines, personification in 3 lines, metaphor in 3 lines,

paradox in 1 line, irony in 1 line and hyperbole in 10 lines. The simile can be seen

in the comparison between “person‟s feeling” and “plastic bag” in line 1, the

comparison of “person‟s feeling” and “house of cards” in line 5. Personification

figurative language can be found in line 2, it occurs in the sentence “Drifting to

the wind wanting to start again”. In line 25, personification occurs in sentence “If

you only knew what the future holds”. In line 28, personification occurs in

sentence “So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road”. Metaphorical

meaning can be seen in the line 5 “Like the Fourth of July” and in line 15 “Baby

you are firework. Irony figurative language can be seen in the line 8, “Six feet

under screams but no one seems to hear a thing”. Paradox figurative language can

be found in the line 26 “After a hurricane comes a rainbow”. The word

“hurricane” and “rainbow” contain the figurative language of paradox which has

contrastive meaning. The last, hyperbole figurative language can be found in

sentences such as “Cause there‟s a spark in you”, “Come on let your color burst”,


42

and “Even brighter than a moon”. Those sentences contain hyperbole because it

seems like does not make sense in logical thinking.

The figurative language found in “Firework” by Katy Perry song lyric

contains messages of the songwriter. The researcher found two messages that can

be learned from the song lyric, the first is be confident of being yourself and the

second is be strong and keep looking forward. The first message can be seen in

the several lines of the song lyric, they are “You don‟t have to feel like a waste of

space”, “You like a lightning bolt, your heart will glow”, “Cause baby you‟re

firework”, and “Come on let your color burst”. The second message can be seen

in the line “Do you ever feel like a plastic bag? Drifting to the wind wanting to

start again”, “If you only knew what the future holds”, and “So you could open

one that leads you to the perfect road”.


43

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Dharma, Yogyakarta.

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Norton and Company.

Bressler, C. (1999). Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice

Second Edition. Michigan: Prenteach Hall.

Guerin, W.L. (2005). A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature 5th

Edition. New York: Institut d‟etudes Theologiques.

Harmastuty, F.N.K. (2016). A Study of Figurative Language in The Script’s

Album No Sound Without Silence (Undergraduate Thesis). Universitas

Sanata Dharma, Yogyakarta.

History Retrieved from https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/july-4th (on 21

November 2019).

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Horowitz, J.M., & Graf, N. (2019, February 20). Most U.S. Teens See Anxiety

and Depression as a Major Problem Among Their Peers. Retrieved from

https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2019/02/20/most-u-s-teens-see-anxiety-

and-depression-as-a-major-problem-among-their-peers/ (on 20 January

2020).

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https://katyperry.fandom.com/wiki/Teenage_Dream_(album) (on 7

November 2019).

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Lamb, B. (2019, April 21). Review of Katy Perry. Retrieved from

https://www.liveabout.com/katy-perry-firework-3247328 (on 10

November 2019).


https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/july-4thhttps://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2019/02/20/most-u-s-teens-see-anxiety-and-depression-as-a-major-problem-among-their-peers/https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2019/02/20/most-u-s-teens-see-anxiety-and-depression-as-a-major-problem-among-their-peers/https://katyperry.fandom.com/wiki/Teenage_Dream_(album)https://www.liveabout.com/katy-perry-firework-3247328

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Lindgren, M. (2017, May 13). What Makes Song Lyrics Poetry. Retrieved from

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/what-makes-song-lyrics-

poetry/2017/05/11/0b63c75c-195c-11e7-bcc2-7d1a0973e7b2_story.html

(on 20 January 2020).

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(Undergraduate Thesis). Universitas Sanata Dharma, Yogyakarta.

Perrine, L. (1963). Sound and Sense; An introduction to poetry. New York:

Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc.

Perrine, L. (1969). Sound and Sense. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc.

Rientina, R. (2018). Theme Seen through The Use of Metaphors and Similes in

Katy Perry’s Selected Songs in The Album Entitled Teenage Dream

(Undergraduate Thesis). Universitas Sanata Dharma, Yogyakarta.

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Song “Your Betrayal” (Undergraduate Thesis). Universitas Sanata

Dharma, Yogyakarta.

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Edinburgh: Pearson Longman.

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(on 10 November 2019).

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January 2020).

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damage (on 23 November 2019).

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January 2020).


https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/what-makes-song-lyrics-poetry/2017/05/11/0b63c75c-195c-11e7-bcc2-7d1a0973e7b2_story.htmlhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/what-makes-song-lyrics-poetry/2017/05/11/0b63c75c-195c-11e7-bcc2-7d1a0973e7b2_story.htmlhttps://www.songfacts.com/facts/katy-perry/fireworkhttps://thoughtcatalog.com/alishia-dauterive/2016/12/this-is-what-being-confident-really-means/https://thoughtcatalog.com/alishia-dauterive/2016/12/this-is-what-being-confident-really-means/https://scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/storms/hurricane-damagehttps://scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/storms/hurricane-damagehttps://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-37637797

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APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1. Lyric of “Firework” By Katy Perry

Firework

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag?

Drifting through the wind

Wanting to start again

Do you ever feel, feel so paper-thin?

Like a house of cards

One blow from caving in

Do you ever feel already buried deep?

Six feet under screams, but no one seems to hear a thing

Do you know that there's still a chance for you?

'Cause there's a spark in you

You just gotta ignite the light

And let it shine

Just own the night

Like the Fourth of July

'Cause, baby you're a firework

Come on, show 'em what you're worth

Make 'em go, "ah, ah, ah"

As you shoot across the sky

Baby, you're a firework

Come on, let your colors burst


You're gonna leave them all in awe, awe, awe

You don't have to feel like a waste of space

You're original, cannot be replaced

If you only knew what the future holds

After a hurricane comes a rainbow

Maybe a reason why all the doors are closed

So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road

Like a lightning bolt, your heart will glow

And when it's time, you'll know


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You just gotta ignite the light

And let it shine

Just own the night

Like the Fourth of July

'Cause, baby you're a firework








Boom, boom, boom

Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon

It's always been inside of you, you, you

And now it's time to let it through-ough-ough

'Cause, baby, you're a firework








Boom, boom, boom


Boom, boom, boom



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APPENDIX 2. Table of Figurative language in “Firework”

No Song Lyric Figurative Language Line

1 Do you ever feel like a plastic bag? Simile 1

2 Drifting to the wind wanting to start

again

Personification 2,3

3 Do you ever feel, feel so paper-thin? Metaphor 4

4 Like a house of cards Simile 5

5 One blow from caving in Hyperbole 6

6 Do you ever feel already bury deep? Hyperbole 7

7 Six feet under screams, but no one

seems to hear a thing.

Irony 8

8 „Cause there‟s a spark in you Hyperbole 10

9 You just gotta ignite the light Hyperbole 11, 31

10 And let it shine Hyperbole 12, 32

11 Just own the night Hyperbole 13, 33

12 Like a fourth of July Simile 14, 34

13 „Cause baby you are firework Metaphor 15, 35,

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14 As you shoot across the sky,y,y Hyperbole 18, 38,

50

15 Come on, let your color burst Hyperbole 20, 40,

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16 You don‟t have to feel like a waste of

space

Simile 23


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17 You’re original, cannot be replaced Metaphor 24

18 If you only knew what the future holds Personification 25

19 After a hurricane comes a rainbow Paradox 26

20 So you could open one that leads you to

the perfect road

Personification 28

21 Like a lightning bolt, your heart will

glow

Simile, hyperbole 29

23 Even brighter than the moon Hyperbole 44, 56,

58


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