Name : Fransiskus Aryanto Emanuel Armando

AN ANALYSIS ANATOMY OF FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE ACCUSTOMED IN

LINKIN PARK SONGS LYRIC

Abstract

Language is a communication system used by humans to interact, convey messages, and

understand information. In addition, language is a very important medium for humans to
communicate with people through language humans can also express their thoughts, opinions
and feelings or can also build a harmonious relationship between one another. Figurative
language is the use of expressions or phrases that have figurative or non-literal meanings, it can
also be found in literary works such as poetry, theater, and music. Song is a musical component
that involves vocals or the pronunciation of words sung or spoken by a singer and accompanied
by music that includes melody, harmony and rhythm. This research aims to analyze the types of
figurative language and the meaning contained in the lyrics of Linkin Park songs. This research
uses descriptive qualitative as the research method. This research takes its data source from the
website www.kapanlagi.com. The object of this research is the lyrics of the five Linkin Park
songs. The researcher took the songs from Linkin Park, namely Waiting for the end, burn it
down, crawling, from the inside and iridescent as data collection, after getting the lyrics of the
song, the researcher started by reading the lyrics and listening to the songs. Next, the researcher
tried to find words, phrases, and sentences that contain figurative language and capture the
meaning of each use of figurative language in the songs. After that, the researcher wrote notes
that were one of the figurative language from the lyrics of the songs. And finally, the researcher
classifies it into the types of figurative language in the form of a table and then analyzes it. The
results found from the analyzed data are that all five types of figurative language, namely
metaphor, personification, hyperbole, simile and oxymoron, are contained in all five Linkin Park
songs. Furthermore, the researcher explains the meaning in the lyrics of the five Linkin Park
songs.

Keywords: Language, figurative language, song.

Introduction

One of the communication media in daily human life is language, language is a communication
system used by humans to interact, convey messages, and understand information. In addition,
language is a very important medium for humans to communicate with people through language
humans can also express their thoughts, opinions and feelings or can also build a harmonious
relationship between one another. According to (Menik Winiharti, 2010), The meaning of
languages is always interesting to study, since when we learn or use the language it deals with its
meaning, and then (Hurford, Heasley and Smith, 2007) stated that, semantics is the study of
meaning in language.

On the other hand language can also affect a person's culture, if without language there is no
culture and life will not be born either. (Hariyanto, 2017) stated that, People cannot interact with
one another without language, language is necessary for people to engage, communicate, and
receive information from others. So the very first aspect in a life is language from language a
culture will be born and from that culture life will also be born. Language has many variations
and different types around the world. Each group of people has their own distinctive language,
which can differ in grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation.

Figurative language is the use of expressions or phrases that have figurative or non-literal
meanings, according to (Abdul Malik Azis and Mia Rahmawati Yuwita, 2023), Figurative
language is one of the linguistic idioms that is frequently employed in spoken and written
communication. It can also be found in literary works such as poetry, theater, and music. After
that according to (Ni Wayan Swarniti, 2022), Figurative language is a technique used to convey
a mood or an idea using similes comparing one item to another which treat inanimate objects like
living things or have even the slightest similarity between them. In figurative language, the
actual meaning of the expression does not correspond to the literal meaning of the words used.
Figurative language is used to give power of expression, rhetorical effect, or to describe
something in a more vivid, colorful, or riveting way. It is often used in literature, poetry, songs,
and other written language. However, figurative language can be used to communicate with
more strength and appeal by bringing ideas to life and making them more vivid. However, the
context and culture in which figurative language is employed must also be understood in order to
fully comprehend it. There are types of figurative language in songs, poems and other written
literary works, namely Simile, Metaphor, Personification, Metonymy, Hyperbole, Euphemism,
Irony, Litotes, Synesthesia, Allegory. These types of figurative language are only a few
examples, and there are many more variations and types of figurative language that can be used
in everyday language.

Furthermore, a song is a musical component that involves vocals or the pronunciation of words
sung or spoken by a singer and accompanied by music that includes melody, harmony and
rhythm. Songs are also a part of life without songs humans would lose a very important form of
expression and communication because songs can influence moods, inspire and also convey
social and political messages. According to (Hanifah1, Aseptiana Parmawati2, 2023), Songs help
people to communicate with one another by allowing them to express their thoughts and feelings
to one another through singing, songs contain a range of messages. In addition, almost all songs
use figurative language even though only in certain lyrics because figurative language in songs is
used to create imagination, feelings, and more complex meanings. The use of figurative language
in song lyrics can make the message stronger, describe emotions better, and provide a unique
aesthetic appeal, that's why figurative language and more are closely related and cannot be
separated.

On the other hand, sometimes people also listen to songs just to listen without knowing the
meaning or content conveyed from the song, this can also be a problem for people in terms of
interpreting a figurative language either in songs or other written language. Figurative language
in song lyrics is confusing for the listener, this can also occur due to cultural differences and
language styles that exist in the lyrics of the song so that people have difficulty or are confused
to know the figurative language in the song.

There are several previous studies regarding an analysis of figurative language in the songs lyric,
the first studies came from (Maudy Yaser Fajrin1, Aseptiana Parmawati2, 2021), the research
aims to the metaphorical language used in the song "Grenade" lyrics by examining their context
and trying to interpret what it means. the results of this study are highlighted how this album
makes use of metaphorical language, including repetition, hyperbole, and metaphor. Hyperbole
is also one of the lyrics' most metaphorical words. and then the next studies came from (L.P.
Karina Febriyanti Aryawan1, I.W. Suarnajaya1, I.W. Swandana1, 2019), the research aims to
figuring out the dominant form of figurative language used in Eminem's song lyrics, as well as
identifying and characterizing the type and meanings of figurative language utilized in the song
lyrics. The results of this study are since the data already existed in the form of documentation
(song lyrics), the researcher employed library research (reading and taking notes). Data were
gathered, and then they were examined using Cresswell's theory. Upon analysis, the researcher
discovered that song lyrics use 12 different types of figurative language out of the 136 data that
contain it. Beside that other research also came from (Putu Ratna Arditami, 2017), the research
aims to determine the sorts of figurative language employed in the song "Firework" and explain
their significance. The results of this study are analysis, Katy Perry's song "Firework" contains
six different types of figurative language: symbol, hyperbole, simile, personification, metaphor,
and paradox. Compared to other studies, research entitled "An analysis of the anatomy of
figurative language accustomed in Linkin Park songs lyric", there are difference in terms of the
title of the song used in this study where the researcher uses "Linkin Park songs" as the data
source. researchers use "Linkin Park songs" as a data source. Then, from previous studies, no one
has examined the figurative language of Linkin Park songs that examined more than one song.
Apart from the differences, there are also similarities in this study, namely both analyzing
figurative language in a song lyric.

Research benefits

1. To provide a layer of depth and richness of meaning in the lyrics of Linkin Park songs.

2. To provide a space to reflect and explore deeper meanings in song lyrics and also strengthen
the main message in the lyrics of Linkin Park songs so that the songs conveyed are more
memorable and feel stronger for the listeners.

Research method

This research uses a qualitative descriptive method because this research comes from Linkin
Park song lyrics which contain many types of figurative language and explains the results of data
analysis in the form of descriptions, According to (Wiersma, 1991) as cited in (Ni Wayan
Swarniti, 2022), qualitative research relies heavily on narrative descriptions. This qualitative
research method will be used to analyze figurative language in the lyrics of Linkin Park songs
that have been selected by researchers. There are many types of figurative language contained in
a song such as Simile, Metaphor, Personification, Metonymy, Hyperbole, Euphemism, Irony,
Litotes, Synesthesia, Allegory and many more, here researchers only focus on the five types of
figurative language contained in the lyrics of Linkin Park songs, namely metaphor,
personification, hyperbole, simile and oxymoron.

Data source

In this section, the researcher focuses on analyzing the figurative language contained in the lyrics
of Linkin Park songs. The author obtained his data sources from website www.kapanlagi.com

Object of the study

In this section, the object that the researcher wants to study is the lyrics of the five Linkin Park
songs which contain the five types of figurative language, namely metaphor, personification,
hyperbole, simile and oxymoron.
Data collection

This research uses data from Linkin Park songs. The data collection process is by selecting the
five songs from Linkin Park. Researchers took songs from Linkin Park Waiting for the end, burn
it down, crawling, from the inside and iridescent. Researchers used these songs because they
were very interesting and contained a lot of figurative language. After getting the lyrics of the
songs, the researcher started by reading the lyrics and listening to the songs. Furthermore, the
researcher tried to find words, phrases, and sentences that contain figurative language and
capture the meaning of each use of figurative language in the songs. After that, the researcher
wrote notes that were one of the figurative language from the lyrics of the songs. And finally, the
researcher classifies it into types of figurative language and then analyzed it.

Data analysis

The first step in assessing data that contains figurative language is to categorize the many forms
of figurative language, such as metaphor, personification, hyperbole, simile, and oxymoron. The
next stage is to examine each song's figurative language's meaning. The final step is coming to a
decision.

Results and discussion

This section contains a table that illustrates how the five Linkin Park songs use figurative
language. The researcher focuses on the figurative language used in Linkin Park's songs,
including Waiting for the end, burn it down, crawling, from the inside, and iridescent. This
figurative language uses metaphor, personification, hyperbole, simile, and oxymoron. Table 1
illustrates how the song employs figurative language.

Types of Song lyrics Song title Verse

No. figurative
 language

Metaphor "what was left when Waiting for the 8th verse
that fire was gone" end
1.

Personification "Discomfort, endlessly Crawling 5th verse

has pulled Itself upon
2. me distracting,
reacting"

Hyperbole "Everyone feels so far From the inside 1st verse

away from me"
3.

Simile "The cycle repeated as Burn it down 1st verse

explosions broke in the
4. sky"

Oxymoron "Remember all the Iridescent 2nd verse

sadness and frustration"
5.

Discussion

• Metaphor is a figure of speech that involves making a comparison between two unrelated
things or concepts, highlighting their similarities. It is a form of figurative language that helps to
create vivid imagery and convey complex ideas in a more engaging and imaginative way.

*Waiting for the end

"what was left when that fire was gone"(eighth stanza) : In this lyric, the type of figurative
language used is a metaphor, "what was left when that fire was gone" here it is explained that he
realizes that regret is all he has after "that fire was gone" meaning after the problem or conflict is
over.

• Personification is a figure of speech in which human characteristics or qualities are attributed to

non-human entities or inanimate objects. It is a type of figurative language that adds depth and
imagery to writing by giving human attributes, such as emotions, actions, or behaviors, to things
that are not human.

*Crawling
"Discomfort, endlessly has pulled Itself upon me distracting, reacting"(fifth stanza) :
Personification is the form of figurative language utilized in the lyrics of Linkin Park's Crawling
because the song's lyrics explain how in accordance with the definition of personification. He's
been "distracting" by discomfort from himself and how it's become a himself and how he has
turned into something that haunts his life.

• Exaggeration is used to emphasize a point or create a dramatic effect in a figure of speech

known as hyperbole. To emphasize a point or conjure up an intense mental picture in the reader's
or listener's mind, it entails distorting the truth or exaggerating particular elements of a
circumstance, an occurrence, or a description. Both casual speech and numerous literary genres,
including poetry, prose, and comedies, frequently employ hyperbole.

*From the inside

"Everyone feels so far away from me"(first stanza) : The type of figurative language found in the
lyrics of Linkin Park's song entitled from the inside is hyperbole, in this lyric it is explained that
although many people are close to him, none of them seem close to him personally, thus making
him believe that everyone is away from him.

• Simile is a figure of speech that compares two different things using the words "like" or "as." It
is a form of figurative language that helps create vivid descriptions and enhance the meaning of a
statement. By drawing a comparison between two unrelated objects or ideas, similes can help the
reader or listener better understand or visualize a concept.

*Burn it down

"The cycle repeated as explosions broke in the sky"(first stanza) : In the song "burn it down" by
Linkin Park, it is stated that sometimes conflict in a relationship can occur repeatedly like a
"cycle," and that when it does, it feels like a "explosions broke in the sky" In reality, though, the
person in the song does not want the conflict to occur repeatedly. He needs a healthy
relationship, but theirs is constantly fraught with issues.

• Oxymoron is a rhetorical device that combines two contradictory or opposite terms to create a
unique and often paradoxical phrase. It is a form of figurative speech that juxtaposes
contradictory ideas for emphasis or to create a specific effect.

*Iridescent

"Remember all the sadness and frustration"(second stanza) : The lyrics explain that he is
attempting to underline that what happened had to happen while still making the issue a lesson
through the lines of "Remember all the sadness and frustration," it is clear from the lyrics. Or, to
put it more simply, he let go of all his troubles and used them as lessons, trying again if he failed.
Conclusion

Figurative language plays an important role in communication, literature, and everyday

conversation. Figurative language goes beyond the literal meaning of words and uses
imaginative comparisons to create vivid images, evoke emotions, and convey complex ideas.
From the results of the data analysis above, the researcher concludes that from the five Linkin
Park songs entitled Waiting for the end, burn it down, crawling, from the inside and iridescent,
each of each song contains the five types of figurative language namely metaphor,
personification, hyperbole, simile and oxymoron. From the five songs, the researcher also
concluded about the problems of each song, namely about love problems, problems in life and
also despair.

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