An Analysis of Personification Used in Disney Songs
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Abstract
Nowadays, language is not the only tool used for communication, but songs can also express feelings, emotions, and thoughts of the composers. Most Disney songs are outstanding and unique in terms of the use of figurative language. Understanding the meaning of the lyrics conveyed by the composer through figurative language in light of personification, listeners should analyze the literal and implied or figurative meaning deliberately in order to comprehend the message effectively. Hence, this study aims to identify the types of personification used in Disney songs and to analyze the semantic features through personification hidden in Disney songs. This study is qualitative research that employs 44 Disney songs nominated as the best soundtrack of Academy Awards from 1929 to 2020. The analysis relies on theories of Dorst et al. (2011) and Leech (1981). The results show that there appear to be three types of personification used in Disney songs, namely conventionalized personification, novel personification, and default personification. Generally, the literal and figurative meaning embedded in those songs are different according to the plots and content structures of the movies. Overall, this research is useful for studies on rhetoric and semantics for communication in English lyrical texts.
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