Name : Atifah Khoiriyah

Reg. Number : 1910732012

Course : Introduction to Stylistics (Mid Exam)

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE USED IN DEEP PURPLE SONG LYRICS: STYLISTIC

ANALYSIS

- INTRODUCTION
Language is important to build a connection with one another, particularly for
communication. On top of that, language is also significant in literature to create aesthetic
literary works such as poetry, novel, and song. A song is one of the effective media for
delivering a message or expressing the writer’s feelings. Therefore, in this research, the
researchers used a stylistic approach to analyze a song’s lyrics because the language used in
the song is unique and aesthetic. For example is the use of choice of words which is related to
figurative language in order to achieve special effects for the listeners.

- RESERACH QUESTIONS OR OBJECTIVE

The objectives of the study are:
1. To classify the Figurative languages used in the Deep Purple song lyrics.
2. To explain the meaning of Figurative language in the Deep Purple song lyrics.
3. To describe the function of Figurative language in the Deep Purple song lyrics.

- RESEACH METHOD
This research uses qualitative methods to analyze Deep Purple song lyrics.

- FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

The Classification of Figurative Language
A. Personification
Personification gives characteristics of a person to non-living objects or to a
concept. Personification used in the song ‘’Perfect Strangers’’ is:
‘’Cold spirits of ice’’ (1.4)
 The sentence above is classified as personification because the song writer uses ‘’cold’’
to give attribute to the abstract thing (spirit) like a human being.

B. Simile
Simile is the figurative language that compares one thing to another through the
use of the words ‘like’, ‘as’, ‘as if’, ‘seem’, and sometimes ‘than’. The simile found in
the song ‘’ My Women From Tokyo ’’ is:
‘’ Talk about her like a queen ‘’ (2.9)
The sentence above is identified as a simile because the song writer compares a woman
and a queen.

C. Metaphor
Metaphor is substituting words for others that share similar characteristics of
meaning. The metaphor found in Deep Purple song lyrics entitled ‘’Perfect strangers’’ is:
‘’I am the echo of your past‘’ (1.6)
The sentence above is classified as a metaphor because the ground is to assume the word
“echo” as a part of “past” which means something is related to someone’s past.

D. Hyperbole
Hyperbole is a kind of language style that contains exaggerated statements, sizes,
or characteristics in order to give emphasis to a statement or situation in intensifying and
enhancing the impression. The hyperbole found in the “Perfect Stranger ‘’ song lyrics is:
‘’A thousand oceans I have flown’’ (1.3)
This sentence is identified as a hyperbole because the author uses the words “a thousand
ocean” and it makes the situation becomes unusual. Then, in the phrase “a thousand
oceans I have flown”, it is impossible for someone to fly above a thousand oceans.

The next hyperbole is found in ‘’ My Women From Tokyo ‘’ song lyrics such as:
‘’Dancing in Eastern Dream‘’ (2.10)
 The sentence above is classified as hyperbole because the song writer uses the words
“dancing in eastern dream” to describe someone who can dance in a dream to create an
excessive meaning in it.

After perceiving the classification of figurative language, we can perceive that Figurative
language used by song writers has many functions, such as:

1. Concretion
Figurative language functions to give concrete explanations to something abstract in a
song by using personification and simile. These figurative languages will help the listeners
to understand abstract sentences in the lyrics through a comparison between the abstract
things and the concrete things. Here are the examples:
‘’Cold spirits of ice’’
‘’The Voice of Ages in Your Mind’’
‘’Shining like a crazy moon’’

2. Intensity
Figurative language also functions to give an intense explanation to the lyrics by
using hyperbole to increase the intensity of feelings so that the listeners will be able to get
the message of the song. Here are the examples:
‘’Precious life, your tears are lost in falling rain’’
‘’A thousand oceans I have flown’’
‘’The sky is red, I don’t understand’’
‘’The city’s a blaze, the town’s on fire’’
’’The woman’s flames are reaching higher’’

3. Image
In order to give more expressive lyrics, metaphor is usually used in songs. This
will enable listeners to explore the image in the song lyrics as in the examples below:
‘’I know I must remain inside this silent well of sorrow‘’
‘’Precious life, your tears are lost in falling rain‘’
‘’Yeah, she is a whole new tradition‘’
 4. Rhythmic
Rhythmic is a choice of words that have similar sounds. It is the way of the song
writers make the songs more beautiful and fun to listen. The example is:
‘’Soon I shall see just how black was my night’’

-CONCLUSION
In this research, the researcher divides his research into three major sections starting from
classifying the figurative language, explaining the meaning of the figurative language, and the
last one explaining the function of the figurative language. The data itself is taken from the
song lyrics of Deep Purple songs. Based on the data analysis, the researcher found two kinds
of figurative language in the songs. The first one is the figurative language by using
comparison which consists of personification (3 data), simile (4 data), and metaphor (8 data).
The second one is the figurative language by using contrast which consists of hyperbole (10
data). Those figurative languages have different meanings and functions depending on the
style and context to achieve a particular purpose. The purpose is to give an intense
explanation to the lyrics, to give more expressive lyrics, and to make the songs more beautiful
and fun to listen to.

- CRITICAL REVIEW
From this journal article, I can learn that stylistic plays an important role in literature. It
functions to give an effect to the literary works such as song lyrics to be more aesthetic and
beautiful. The writer can use figurative language such as personification, simile, metaphor,
hyperbole, and so forth to make the lyrics more meaningful and poetic to rouse the emotion of
the listener.
It is also associated with what I have learned in the stylistics class that stylistic is
significant in the element of poetry and song lyrics to visualize the poet’s or the singer‘s
experiences and feelings. The writer can use imagery such as metaphor and simile, or other
figures of speech such as hyperbole, euphemism, irony, personification, metonymy,
synecdoche, symbolism, etc. The writer can imply sound patterns in the lyrics as well. It is
called rhythm which means a series of syllables, some of which are stressed and some
 unstressed to make the sound more beautiful. Furthermore, the writer can also use sound
effects such as rhyme which means similar vowel sounds, especially at the end of lines of a
poem or lyrics. Rhyme, like alliteration, attracts the reader’s attention to something of
importance in a poem or song lyrics. For example, two lines of a poem that end with “face”
and “grace”. Those stylistic elements can be used by the writer to express themselves through
a song to make the lyrics more meaningful and aesthetic in order to grab the attention of the
audiences or the listeners.

- STRENGTH
The strength of this journal article is that the researcher wrote a clear explanation of the
data analysis by dividing her analysis into three parts: classifying the figurative language,
explaining the meaning of the figurative language, and the last one explaining the function of
the figurative language. These three steps make the reader easier to understand the discussion
of the research.

- WEAKNESS
Besides the strength above, this article also has weaknesses. It seems to me that
sometimes the researcher tends to repeat the same explanation by using different sentences
that make the paragraph wordy and not effective. On top of that, the writer didn’t really pay
attention to the grammar. I found several grammar errors in this article that sometimes lead
me into misunderstanding and difficult to catch the point of the article.