Figurative Language in Poem Rev 23-7-19

Translation, Figurative Expression and Poem
Figurative Language
in a Poem Translation
i
Figurative Language in a Poem Translation
ii
Figurative Language
in a Poem Translation
Dr. N.K. Dewi Yulianti, S.S., M.Hum.
iii

Dr. N.K. Dewi Yulianti, S.S., M.Hum
© The writer
Cover Design : Adi Cahyono

Setting & Layout : Suji
Editor : Drs. I Nyoman Udayana, M.Litt., Ph.D
Cover Illustrator : Dr. Wayan Kun Adnyana
First publised, July 2019

LPU 135.07.19
First published in English by Penerbit Lintang Pustaka Utama Yogyakarta

Karangjati RT. 19 RW. 042, Sinduadi, Mlati, Sleman, Yogyakarta
Phone. (0274) 624801
email: [email protected]
ISBN 978-602-1546-95-6
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in

a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the
author of this work.
iv
For my parents & my children with love
If we sincerely want to love God,

we must learn to forgive
(Radhanath Swami)
v
vi
PREFACE
It is by the grace of Almighty God that this book “Figurative

Language in A Poem Translation” has been completed in an attempt to
address Woman’s anger at male supremacy which is the theme of the
poem entitled “Percakapan” and its translation into “Conversation”.
This book analyzes the types of figurative languages found in
the Indonesian poem and in its translation into English, the theme of
the poem that motivates the use of such figurative languages; and the
condition of equivalence in the translation of figurative languages from
the Indonesian poem into English.
The use of these figurative languages is consistently motivated by
the theme of the poem. This theme turns out to be well maintained in
the target language poem despite the occurrence of a degree of non-
correspondence in the translation of various figurative languages from
the source language poem into the target language poem.
This book is an expansion on my thesis entitled Translation of
Figurative Expressions with Reference to The Translation of The Poem
“Percakapan” into “Conversation”. On this occasion I would like to express
my sincere gratitude to my supervisors, Prof. Dr. I Wayan Pastika, M.S. and
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Dr. I Wayan Resen, M.A., M.App.Ling. for all helpful guidance, support and
encouragement given to me.
This book also would never be in its present form without the
support and guidance from a number of people. Therefore, I would
like to give my sincere thanks to the Rector of ISI Denpasar, the Dean
of Performing Arts Faculty ISI Denpasar, the Head of Karawitan study
program, Vern Cork and Colleen Lynch, Christopher James Edgar Hull,
Andrew John Cochrane McNeilly for all the support and assistance given
to me.
My sincere and deep gratitude also goes to my beloved parents
who have been supporting me morally and materially since the very
beginning of my life. Last but not at all least, to my beloved children
I.G.A. Jesika Sita Devi N. and I.G.B Krisma Surya Deva N. who become
constant source of inspiration and for my beloved man for all his tender
love and encouragement.
Finally, I hope that which has been presented in this book will be
worthwhile and of benefit to the development of the translation studies,
especially the figurative language translation in literary works.
Perfection only belongs to God. This book is far from being perfect.
Criticism and suggestion for the improvement of this book will be greatly
appreciated.
Denpasar, July 2019
Dr. N. K. Dewi Yulianti, S.S., M.Hum.
viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE.......................................................................................................... vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS.................................................................................. ix
CHAPTER 1
TRANSLATION, FIGURATIVE EXPRESSION AND POEM.................... 1
1.1. Interesting Issues Relating to The Use of Figurative
Expressions in A Poem Translation........................................... 1
1.2. Significance of the Study............................................................ 6
1.3. Scope of the Study......................................................................... 6
CHAPTER II
LITERARY REVIEW, CONCEPT, AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 9
2.1. Literary Review................................................................................ 9
2.2. Concepts............................................................................................ 13
2.3. Theoretical Framework................................................................. 22
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CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHOD................................................................................... 31
3.1. Data Source....................................................................................... 31
3.2. Method and Technique of Collecting Data........................... 32
3.3. Method and Technique of Analyzing Data........................... 32
3.4. Method and Technique of Presenting the Analysis ........... 33
CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS OF FIGURATIVE EXPRESSIONS IN THE POEM
“PERCAKAPAN” AS TRANSLATED INTO “CONVERSATION” ............ 37
4.1. Theme of the Poem as Motivating Force ............................. 37
4.2. Theme-Motivated Use of Figurative Expressions ............... 41
CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION.......................................................... 85
5.1. Conclusion......................................................................................... 85
5.2. Suggestion........................................................................................ 88
BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................. 89
APPENDICES.................................................................................................. 93
INDEX............................................................................................................... 101
x
CHAPTER 1
TRANSLATION, FIGURATIVE EXPRESSION

AND POEM
1.1 Interesting Issues Relating to The Use of Figurative

Expressions in A Poem Translation
Translation not only involves linguistic transfer, but also the
transfer of meaning and culture. In reading any text, the reader cannot
help the purpose of reading for meaning searching. In a poem, which
means as a general rule it tends not to be straightforward due to the
fact that the arrangement of words in poetry does not directly direct
the reader to the direct route and is convenient for its meaning. In
the wider field of literary translation, more time has been devoted to
investigating the problem of translating poetry than in any other literary
mode (Basnett 1985: 81). This research is related to the translation of
poetry with a focus on the use of figurative expressions on what they
observe.
McArthur (1992: 402) states that figurative language is a language
in which figures such as metaphors and free parables occur. Literary
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works such as poetry often contain figurative words or expressions. For

example, literary works such as poetry often contain figurative words
or expressions of “Farewell” poetry by Sitor Situmorang below (in my
bold letters):
Perpisahan
Ketika berpisah malam itu
di pojok Broadway/Waverley Place
(seperti di Sanur-Bali saja)
ketika kau lenyap
di arus lalu lintas
aku tak merasa berpisah
New York adalah kau
Kau musim, kau laut

siap didatangi
di sela-sela kesibukan dan
diantara cinta bergantian
…………………………. (McGlynn, 1990: 24)
The sentence in bold in the poem above is an example of the use of

figurative expressions, namely a metaphor and concisely comparing
two things by saying that one is the other. This poem is translated as
follows:
Parting
When we parted that night
at the corner of Broadway & Waverly Place
(we might as well have been in Sanur, Bali)
when you vanished
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in the flow of traffic

I did not feel that we had parted
For New York is you
You are the seasons, you are the ocean

ready to welcome
between activities
and changing lovers
………………….. (McGlynn, 1990: 25)
The translator of the poem above, according to Larson in

conjunction with five metaphoric translation strategies that seem to
adopt the first strategy where the metaphor is possible to be translated
if the target language allows it to sound natural and can be correctly
understood by the reader of the translation. The current study deals
with the translation of “Conversation” poetry with a focus on translating
figurative expressions used in poetry (Larson, 1998: 279). So translation
is the act of transferring the meaning of source language into receptor
language. In translating source language texts, translators should ideally
be bilingual and understand well not only the grammatical structure
of receptor sources and languages, but also the meanings conveyed
by various expressions in the language.
Larson (1998: 125) states that the purpose of translation is
not to eliminate all secondary and figurative senses. It only uses the
secondary and figurative senses that are typical of receptor languages
and removes strange collocations or false meanings caused by literal
translations of secondary source languages and figurative meanings.
3
In the example above, the meaning of figurative expression, in

this case metaphor, is translated into English, which is represented by a
comparison between ‘New York’ and ‘you’, between ‘you’ and ‘season’,
The fact that until now there have only been a few studies of
figurative expressions used in poetry has made research in this field
useful. In addition, learning figurative expressions used in literary works,
especially in poetry, is interesting because figurative expressions help
to build poetry messages with higher accuracy, and by interpreting
their meanings carefully, translators can avoid misinterpreting words
or producing translations literally.
In figurative expressions, in this case for the construction of the
theme that the construction of themes can be taken as a motivating
force to use any element in poetry. In connection with the construction
of the theme of the poetry studied, there are several interesting issues
to be discussed relating to the use of figurative expressions in it.
Problems that are of concern are as follows:
1. What types of figurative expressions are found in the SL poem and
what procedures are adopted in translating them into English?
2. How does the theme motivate the use of such figurative
expressions?
3. What is the condition of equivalence in the translation of figurative
expressions from the SL poem into the TL poem?
Considering the problems formulated above, there are three levels
of objectives in this analysis, namely general, specific, and academic
goals, which can be described as follows:
General objective, the general objectives of this study include
the following:
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1. to apply the knowledge of and to identify and analyze the strategies

adopted in translating Indonesian figurative expressions into
English.
2. to improve the ability in interpreting a poem, and in determining
the message conveyed in the poem.
Specific objective
The specific objectives are:
1. to determine the theme that motivates the use of figurative
expressions.
2. to identify and describe types of figurative expressions found in
the SL (Indonesian) poem and its translation into English.
3. to analyze the condition of equivalence in the translation of figurative
expressions.
Academic objective
This study is done to meet the academic requirement to obtain
a master’s degree in translation. Besides, this study is also aimed at
enriching existing. activities in general translation studies. In addition, it
is expected to stimulate and encourage those interested in researching
literary works, especially poetry, to share in the analysis towards
the symbolic level of poetry so that it is rich in the meaning of the
word.
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1.2 Significance of the Study

This study is significant in at least two ways , namely theoretically
and practically.
(1) Theoretically, this study is expected to be able to give contribution
to the development of the theory itself by testing the strength
and weakness of existing theories (of translation), particularly that
pertaining to the theory of translation of literary texts
(2) Practically, this study is also intended to provide help in understanding
and interpreting the connotative meaning of a poem on the basis
of which any texts can be analyzed and its translation more easily
handled.
1.3 Scope of the Study

As has been stated previously, poems and figurative expressions
are very interesting to discuss, particularly ones in relation to translation.
In analyzing the use of figurative expressions in a poem, they cannot
be set apart from the poem, since figurative language is a device that
plays an important role in building up the beauty and the message
conveyed by the poem in its whole which integrates the use of other
devices such as diction, grammar, rhyme, etc. To make the analysis
more specific and focused, the discussion will be necessarily limited
to the translation and analysis of figurative expressions that can
be identified in the poem “Percakapan”, including such devices as
euphemism, hyperbole, metaphor, metonymy, personification, sarcasm,
and synecdoche, and more importantly how these devices are provided
with their translation equivalence in the TL poem.
This study includes within its scope how those kinds of figurative
expressions are translated into English, how the theme of the poems
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motivates their use and how the equivalence is established between

the figurative expressions in the SL poem and TL poem.
This analysis of the equivalence is based on the strategies
proposed by Larson (1998), which in the context of the present
study are elaborated in the section on the strategies for translating
figurative expressions. Besides, the procedures of translation proposed
by Vinay and Darbelnet (in Venuti(ed) 2000) are also used to check the
equivalence in order to see which procedures have been adopted for
certain equivalents.
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8
Literary Review, Concept, and Theoretical Framework
CHAPTER II
LITERARY REVIEW, CONCEPT, AND
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
2.1. Literary Review

Several theses and articles which are concerned with the field
of translation study are reviewed in this chapter. These works give
some insight into various concepts that have something to do with
translation, particularly the translation of figurative language and poem.
Besides, a theory of framing and interpreting is quite essential in the
context of this.
Resen (2004) in his article presents the comparison between
the poem “Salju” and its English translation “Snow” in terms of their
meaning and style (see also Hasan, 1989:29). The poem “Salju” and
its translation “Snow” show a high degree of equivalence in terms of
their meanings, especially their themes, namely the meanings which
tell what the poems are about, but in terms of their aesthetic sense,
both poems can be considered to show a degree of difference, which
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is caused by slight stylistic difference such as the use of exclamation

mark, and the different number of syllables in both poems.
It is explained that through the stylistic-based semantic analysis
the two poems could be judged as showing a high degree of similarity
at the level of theme and message. However, at the level of style the
two poems have tended to effect some differences. This article is very
useful for this study, especially in interpreting the meaning conveyed
by the language of poem.
Diana Citra Hasan (2000) in her study discusses some factors that
contribute to the equivalence between the original metaphoric text
and its translation; those factors include the form of translation, the
procedure of translation, and the semantic structure of the metaphors
being translated.
The study concludes that there is a correlation between the
translation method adopted and the type of text being translated, that is,
for example, the semantic translation method is used to translate expressive
text. This study provides several contributions to this papers, especially
those relating to the identification of figurative expressions, and ways of
identifying their meaning, especially from metaphors. While Hasan’s work
is focused on the factors that influence the form of translating metaphor
in a more specific sense, it is focused on translating metaphor in a broader
and specific sense (see also McArthur, 1992: 653).
Sudrama (2003) in his study discusses strategies for translating
English metaphor into Indonesian. A metaphor according to his study
can be considered in two ways: in a wider and a more specific senses.
In its wider sense, it comprises all figures of speech including antithesis,
metonymy, hyperbole, simile and personification, whereas in its specific
sense, it is meant “the metaphor proper”, namely a figure of speech
which makes use of implied comparison.
10
The study concludes that there are several strategies that

can be taken for translating metaphor (specially ones in its specific
sense) as proposed by Larson (1989:279). The above research gives
some contribution to this present research, especially with regard to
metaphor in its specific sense and the ways of translating it. While
Sudrama’s work is focused on the strategies of translating metaphor
in its specific sense, this research necessarily includes the strategies
of translating metaphor in its wider sense and how the theme of the
poem motivates the use of those figurative expressions.
Sutjiati Beratha (2003) in her professorship inaugural speech
states that a translator must be able to identify the types of meanings
contained in the text. Meaning is determined by the linguistic features
in the text as well as by the extra linguistic factors. A translator, ideally,
must fulfill some requirements, namely the mastery or knowledge of the
meaning of both the source language and the target language words,
not only semantically but also stylistically, recognition of the differences
in the language structures, and the ability to re-express the meaning of
the source language text in the target language by providing the closest
and most natural equivalence. In conclusion, he said that translating
is an activity of interpreting using different terminology from different
linguistic systems but all to express the same meaning. This article is
very useful for identifying various processes because meaning is very
important for translation.
Tri Ediwan (2004) in his study discusses the types of propositions
and the relevance of the knowledge on proposition to the process of
translation. The study concludes that propositional analysis can be a
significant help for a translator as well as for the researcher in handling
problems of translating. Propositional analysis is useful for grasping the
meaning below the surface structure of a language and it enables the
11
translator to produce an idiomatic translation in which all messages

can be conveyed in the natural form of the receptor language.
Tri Ediwan (2004) in his study discusses the types of propositions
and the relevance of the knowledge on proposition to the process of
translation. The study concludes that propositional analysis can be a
significant help for a translator as well as for the researcher in handling
problems of translating. Propositional analysis is useful for grasping the
meaning below the surface structure of a language and it enables the
translator to produce an idiomatic translation in which all messages
can be conveyed in the natural form of the receptor language.
MacLachlan and Reid (1994) explain the importance of framing
in any acts of interpretation. They say that no communication can take
place without interpretation, and no interpretation can take place
without framing. Framing is a way of understanding which is always
involved in the interpretation of a text. In interpreting the meaning
of a text, readers automatically draw upon their everyday knowledge
which is stored and organized in their memory which is called cognitive
frame. Understanding even very simple texts involves the activation of
background knowledge. MacLachlan and Reid propose four kinds of
framing, namely extratextual, intratextual, intertextual and circumtextual
framing. Extratextual framing occurs when readers read a text and they
draw on their accumulated knowledge of the world, both experiential
and textually mediated. This activity may include, among other things,
a particular sequence of events to some stereotypical script as well as
provisionally assigning it to a particular text-type or genre. Intratextual
framing happens when readers pay attention to the way in which the
flow of words within (intra) the text is affected by subdivisional or
other internal framing devices. Intertextual framing relates one text or
text-type to another. It links the text being faced by readers with a
12
certain kind of theoretical discourse. Circumtextual framing is framing

in which readers are interpreting a text by paying attention to its
material presentation, and location in space. For example, the title of
the book and the presence of the references, a bibliography and an
index, as well as the kind of bookshop where it is sold, all contribute
to the way readers interpret the information it contains. The whole of
the theory in this book can be taken as very relevant for the analysis
and interpretation of the poem under study, since framing is essential
and unavoidable in interpreting a text.
2.2 Concepts
This study drew on the concepts related to figurative expressions,
translation, as well as on the concept of meaning. The concepts presented
bellow are proposed by various writers, namely Larson (1989), Keraf
(2002), McArthur (1992), and Leech (1977).
2.2.1 Figurative language

The term figurative language
As has been mentioned earlier, a single word may have a primary
sense, secondary sense, and figurative senses. A literary work such as
a poem almost always contains figurative expressions which help to
convey in a more precise way the message contained in the poem.
Before analyzing the translation of figurative expressions in the poem
under study, it is important to understand the term “figurative language”
itself.
McArthur (1992:402) explains that figurative language is that
language in which figures of speech such as metaphor and similes freely
occur. He also considers a figure of speech as a rhetorical device using
13
words in distinctive ways that achieves a special effect. In his discussion

about metaphor, he describes metaphor as a rhetorical figures with
two senses, namely wider sense and more specific sense. In its wider
sense it includes all figures of speech that achieve their effect through
associations, comparison, and resemblance, and in that way this type
includes such figures as antithesis, hyperbole, metonymy, and simile. In
a more specific sense metaphor is a figure of speech which concisely
compares two things by saying that the one is the other.
With respect to the translation of a poem in which figurative
expressions are intensively used, the analysis of the figurative expressions
should necessarily be based on the theme of the poem, since the use of
figurative expressions is quite likely motivated by the construction of
the theme as the central force in the poem. Therefore, theme is a central
aspect or element necessarily given priority in its determination, other
aspects or elements being relatable to or motivated by the theme.
Kinds of figurative expressions

According to Larson (1998:121) there are at least five types
of figurative expressions. They are metonymy, synecdoche, idioms,
euphemism, and hyperbole. While Keraf (2002: 126) adds some other
types of figurative expressions including antithesis, pleonasm, paradox,
simile, metaphor, personification, irony, and sarcasm. The description
of the figurative expressions below is derived from Holman (1992),
Halliday (1985), Martinich (1996), McArthur (1992), Larson (1998) and
Keraf (2002), and will be presented in alphabetical order for some
practicality.
• Antithesis, antithesis is a construction in which words are opposed
but balanced in opposition (McArthur, 1996:72).
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For example:
God and beast.
Ignorance and reason,
To err is human, to forgive, divine.
• Euphemism, It is the use of a mild, comforting, or evasive expression
that takes the place of one that is taboo, negative, offensive, or too
direct (McArthur, 1996:387).
For example:
Terminate, kill → She terminated her pregnancy.
Sleep with,have sex → Everyone knows she sleeps with
the boss.
Pass water, urinate → I think he’s passing water.
• Hyperbole, Hyperbole is an exaggeration or overstatement, usually
deliberate and not meant to be taken literally (see Larson 1998).
For example:
She rushed out of the room in floods of tears → crying
a lot
Let’s have dinner, I am starving → very hungry.
When she was in Paris, she spent ton of money → a lot
of money.
• Idioms, Idioms are expression of at least two words which cannot be
translated literally and which function as a single unit semantically
(see Holman 1992).
15
For example:
We spent two weeks in the hotel living in the lap of
luxury → the life style of a rich person.
He kicked the bucket. → he died.
You steal my heart → you make me fall in love with
you.
• Irony, Irony is words with an implication opposite to their usual

meaning. Ironic comment may be humorous or mildly sarcastic
(McArthur, 1996:532).
For example:
When at a difficult moment, an act of kindness makes things
worse, and someone says, “Well, that’s a lot better, isn’t
it?”
Someone says to his friend “you are very slim” whereas
the fact is that his friend is very fat.
• Metaphor, metaphor is a figure of speech which concisely

compares two things by saying that the one is the other (McArthur,
1996:653).
For example:
My lover is a treasure.
My home is heaven.
Business is a game.
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• Metonymy, It is a word which is used for something related to

that which it usually refers to (Halliday, 1985:319).
For example:
It won’t happen while I still breathe ( breathe is used
figuratively to mean live)
The kettle is boiling (the kettle is used in a figurative
sense to mean water )
He bought a Chevrolet ( Chevrolet is used to mean a
car)
• Paradox, Paradox is a term in rhetoric for a situation or statement

that is or seems self-contradictory and even absurd, but may contain
an insight into life (McArthur, 1996:348).
For example:
The child is father of the man (the nature of one’s
earlier life affects later ideas and attitude).
• Personification, Personification is the assigning of human

characteristics to non humans (see Keraf ,2002).
For example:
The moon smiles at us.
The trees are waving to the tiger.
The wind touched my skin.
17
• Pleonasm, Pleonasm is the use of more words than necessary, either

for effect or more usually as a fault of style (see Keraf, 2002).
For example:
Free gift.
Plan for the future
• Sarcasm, it is a term in rhetoric and general use for sneeringly

ironical remarks (McArthur,1996:887).
For example:
Oh yes, we know how clever you are.
Well, Mr. Know-it-all, what is the answer this time?
You are a son of a bitch.
• Simile, Simile is a figure of speech, in which a more or less fanciful

or unrealistic comparison is made, using like or as (McArthur,
1996:935).
For example:
Rumours of his death spread like wildfire (to become
known to more and more people very quickly).
She is like a fish out of water → she is uneasy in an
unfamiliar situation.
You’re not going to go storming in there like a bull
in a china shop, aren’t you? → a person who is clumsy,
careless or move in a very awkward way.
Her skin is as white as snow
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• Synecdoche, It is a figure of speech concerned with parts and

wholes (McArthur, 1996:1014).
For example:
His word can be trusted → He is a person that can be
trusted.
I won’t let him come under my roof → I won’t let him
come to my house.
From the twelve types of figurative expressions above, the
ones that are found in the poem under concern include
euphemism, hyperbole, personification, metaphor, metonymy,
sarcasm, and synecdoche.
2.2.2 Concepts of Meaning

Since meaning is essential to translation, in this section it is
necessary to discuss about meaning. To start with, Leech (1977:10-27)
distinguishes seven types of meaning, namely conceptual meaning,
connotative meaning, stylistic meaning, affective meaning, reflected
meaning, collocative meaning and thematic meaning. The followings
are brief description of each.
Conceptual Meaning
Conceptual meaning (sometimes called ‘denotative’ or ‘cognitive’
meaning) is widely assumed to be the central factor in verbal
communication and it can be shown to be integral to the essential
functioning of language in a way that other types of meaning are
not. Much of the conceptual meaning of an expression can be
found in the dictionary.
19
Connotative Meaning
Connotative meaning is the communicative value an expression has
by virtue of what it refers to, over and above its purely conceptual
content. Talking about connotation is in fact talking about the ‘real
world’ experience one associates with an expression when one uses
or hears it. Besides, connotative meaning is peripheral compared
with conceptual meaning as it is relatively unstable, that is, it varies
considerably with culture, historical period, and the experience of
the individuals. It is indeterminate and open-ended in a sense in
which conceptual meaning is not. For example, the connotative
meaning of She is a woman might be that she is beautiful, or
emotional, or affectionate, or anything depending on the individual
of the reader or hearer.
Stylistic Meaning
Stylistic meaning is that which a piece of language conveys about
the social circumstances of its use. This meaning is closely related
to aspects of communication which have to do with the situation
in which an utterance takes place. By this meaning, the speaker
or writer ‘decodes’ the stylistic meaning of a text through the
recognition of different dimensions and levels of usage within the
same language. For example, from the way an expression is used
or structured, one may infer that it is dialectical, informal, formal,
archaic, or slangy.
Affective Meaning
Affective meaning is largely a parasitic category in the sense that to
express emotions, the speaker relies upon the mediation of other
categories of meaning-conceptual, connotative, or stylistic. There
are some elements of language (chiefly interjection, like Ahaa!)
20
whose chief function is to express emotion. In this case, the speaker

communicates his/her feelings and attitude without the mediation
of any other kind of semantic function. An affective meaning can
of course be conveyed through lexical words. To express anger, for
example, one might say You are a bloody bastard.
Reflected Meaning
Reflected meaning is the meaning which arises in cases of multiple
conceptual meaning when one sense of a word forms a part of our
response to another sense. In other words, reflected meaning is
what is communicated through association with another sense of
the same expression. For example, erection has two meanings, (a)
the act of building something, (b) the process of the male sexual
organ becoming bigger and standing upright. The word erection
in sense (a) as in the erection of the monument or the erection
of the temple, is avoided because it tends to make the reader/
hearer reflect on the other meaning, that is to meaning (b), which
is associated with the male organ.
Collocative Meaning
Collocative meaning consists of the associations a word acquires
on account of the meaning of words which tend to occur with it. In
other words, we will know the meaning of the word by the company
it keeps. For example, the word handsome mostly collocates with
a male person, so that a handsome stranger will be interpreted
as meaning ‘a handsome man who is a stranger’.
Thematic Meaning
Thematic meaning is what is communicated by the way in which
a speaker or writer organizes the message, in terms of ordering,
21
focus, and emphasis. It is often that an active sentence has different

meaning from its passive equivalent, although in conceptual content
they seem to be the same. For example, in the sentence Rendra
composed that poem, the poet (Rendra) is given some emphasis or
put under focus, as contrasted to the use of the passive sentence,
That poem was composed by Rendra.
Though, as Leech has done, meaning can be categorized into several
types, in fact the meaning of a word or an expression almost
always combine several categories at the same time. Our judgement
of the meaning of a word or an expression, whether its meaning
is conceptual or connotative or the others, this is all a matter of
focus of attention as led by the context of its use. This will actually
be our attitude in treating the meaning of an expression, especially
the figurative expressions in this present study.
2.3 Theoretical Framework

2.3.1 Definition of translation
As has been mentioned previously, this study is concerned
with translation, namely the translation of figurative expressions in a
poem. In relation to this matter, the main theory that will be applied is
the theory of translation proposed by Nida and Taber. Nida and Taber
(1974:12) state that translating consists in reproducing in the TL the
closest natural equivalent of the SL message, first in terms of meaning,
and secondly in terms of style (cf. Catford, 1965:20).
In relation to this notion of translation, they further add that
translating must aim primarily at “reproducing the message”. And in
reproducing the message, the translator must make a good grammatical
22
and lexical adjustments. However, since no two languages are identical,

there can never be a fully exact translation.
The above definition of translation emphasizes that translation is
a process of transferring ‘meaning’ of the source language, not of its
‘form’. Therefore, a translator should be able not only to identify and
understand the meaning in general, but also the types of meaning in
the text. It should also be important to realize that meanings can be
signaled either by linguistic features or by extra linguistic features and
normally by both. As an example, take the sentence below:
He is a book worm.
The translation of this sentence into Indonesian is dia kutu buku
(See Putra Yadnya, 2004). It is obvious that in reproducing the
message, the translator must make a good grammatical and
lexical adjustments, otherwise the translation will produce a wrong
meaning, for example: he is a book worm translated into dia
cacing buku.
2.3.2 Equivalence
Concerning the definition above, Nida (in Venuti (ed.);2000:129)
states that there are fundamentally two types of equivalence; formal
equivalence (F-E) and dynamic equivalence (D-E). Formal equivalence
is oriented to the form and content of the source language. In this
kind of translation, the translator wants to reproduce as closely and
meaningfully as possible the form and content of the source language.
An F-E translation is basically source-oriented, that is, it is designed
to reveal as much as possible the form and content of the original
message. F-E translation usually attempts to reproduce several formal
elements: grammatical units, consistency in word usage, and meanings
23
in terms of the source text. This translation also normally attempts not
to make adjustments in idioms, but rather to produce such expressions
more or less literally.
Dynamic equivalence is oriented to the complete naturalness of
expression, in which the translator is not so concerned with matching
the receptor language message with the source language message,
but with dynamic relationship, namely the relationship between the
receptor and the message which should be substantially the same as
that which existed between the original receptor and the message.
To define a dynamic equivalence is to describe it as a process to
produce in the target language “the closest natural equivalent to the
source language message”. This definition carries three very important
terms, namely:
Equivalent, which points toward the source language message
(in which the original message should be given its proper
equivalent).
Natural, which points toward the receptor language (the form of
the translation should be natural to the receptor language
reader).
closest, which binds the two orientations together on the basis of the
highest degree of approximation (since translation cannot be
identical with the original so that it should be as closest as
possible to the original).
With respect to the translation of figurative expressions as
poetic devices, which has a goal to see how far equivalence can be
achieved, this turns out to depend on a dynamic relationship between
the message of SLT being transported into TLT and the response of the
TLT readers is essentially like that of the SL reader.
24
2.3.3 Theory of relevance

In translating a poem, a translator may translate the figurative
expressions used in it in various ways. Any method employed must
be appropriate for the purpose of the translation, which is to establish
equivalent effects on the reader (Gutt in Venuti (ed.) 2000:376 ff ).
Gutt further states that a piece of translation sould be receptor
language text that interpretively resembles the original. Translation
is the interpretive use of language in intercultural communication.
The points of Gutt’s principle of relevance in translation theory are as
follows:
(1) translation is primarily interpretation of the source language and
secondly of the needs of the reader
(2) interpretation should produce optimal resemblance between the
source language and the target language
(3) translation should be optimally relevant to the conditions of the
reader (in terms of socio-cultural background, knowledge, needs,
interests, etc)
(4) translation should take the form that needs minimal effort to be
digested by the reader (Gutt in Venuti (ed.) 2000:376 ff ).
In relation to the principle of relevance described above,

translation is then defined as an act which transfers information from
SL into TL in such a way that the amount of relevant information in
TL will be identical with that in SL.
25
Example:
SL : Killing two birds with one stone
TL: Sambil menyelam minum air.
In translating the SL into the TL, the translator makes some

lexical and grammatical adjustment based on his interpretation of
the relevance and the closest natural equivalent. In relation to the
present study on translation of figurative expressions, this theory of
relevance should also be taken into account and integrated as one of
the analytical tools.
2.3.4 Strategies for translating figurative expressions

Strategies for translating figurative expressions, which is the
main concern of this study, are essential to be discussed. Larson
(1998:124) proposes the three general strategies in which metonymy
and synecdoche are to be translated.
(1) The sense of the word may be translated nonfiguratively; that is, the
intended meaning may be made plain so that there is no longer
a figurative sense in the receptor language translation.
(2) Retaining the word in the original, but adding the sense of the
word.
(3) Substituting a figurative expression of the TL for the figurative
expression of the SL.
In addition to those strategies mentioned above, there are five

others strategies for translating metaphors (Larson, 1998:279).
26
(1) The metaphor may be kept if the TL permits (that is, if it sounds
natural and is understood appropriately by the readers).
(2) The metaphor may be translated as a simile (adding like or as).
(3) The meaning of the metaphor may be translated without keeping
the metaphorical imagery.
(4) The metaphor may be kept and the meaning explained (that is,
the topic and/or point of similarity may be presented with extra
description)
(5) The metaphor of the source language may be substituted with a
metaphor in the target language if there is one that has the same
meaning.
The three general strategies in which metonymy and synecdoche

are to be translated are actually the same as the last three strategies
for translating metaphors. These strategies for translating metaphor
can be applied to any type of figurative expressions, since in its wider
sense, metaphor covers all types of figurative expressions.
2.3.5 Procedures of translation

As has been hinted previously, this study is concerned with
the translation of figurative expressions in a poem. In analyzing the
translation, it is necessary to find out what method or procedure seems
to have been applied by the translator. The procedures commonly
involved in translation as proposed by Vinay and Darbelnet (in Venuti
(ed.) 2000:84-93) have been identified as consisting of seven types,
and these will be adopted as an evaluative or critical standard in this
study. According to Vinay and Darbelnet, the seven procedures can be
27
further categorized into only two methods of translations, namely direct

or literal translation and oblique translation. The first three procedures
discussed below belong to the type of direct or literal and the others
to the type of oblique translation. To present them in outline, the seven
procedures are as follows.
Borrowing
To overcome a gap, usually a metalinguistic one (e.g. an unknown
concept in the culture of the target language), borrowing is the
simplest of all translation methods. Borrowing is mostly applied to
introduce the flavour of the source language culture into a translation.
The decision to borrow a source language word or expression for
introducing an element of source language color is a matter of
style, but at the same time it may have a significant effects on the
message contained. For example The visitor wanted to taste
“babi guling”. In this case “babi guling” is a borrowing from the
Balinese language and in using this borrowing in the translation
into English, the Balinese local color becomes introduced.
Calque
A calque is a special kind of borrowing whereby a language borrows
an expression form of another, but the translator translates literally
each of its elements. The result is either a lexical calque i.e. one
which respects the syntactic structure of the target language
while introducing a new mode of expression (e.g. honey moon
→ bulan madu) or a structural calque, i.e. one which introduces
a new construction into the language (e.g. Bali TV, Media Foto
Studio).
28
Literal Translation
What is meant by literal or word-for-word translation is the direct
transfer of a source language text into a grammatically and
idiomatically appropriate target language text in which the translator
translates each element from the source language (e.g. Life in the
troubled area in Aceh is very cheap → Kehidupan di daerah
konflik Aceh sangat murah).
Transposition
Transposition involves replacing one word class with another without
changing the meaning of the message. There are two types of
transposition, namely obligatory and optional transposition.
Obligatory transposition occurs when the target language has no
other choices because of the language system.
For example: A pair of glasses → sebuah kacamata
An optional transposition is a transposition that, for the sake of
style, can be chosen by the translator if it fits better into the
utterance.
For example: After he comes back to Bali → setelah
kedatangannya kembali ke Bali.
Modulation
Modulation is a variation of the form of the message, obtained by
a shift in the point of view. This change can be justified when the
close translation results in a grammatically correct utterance, but
is considered unsuitable, unidiomatic or awkward in the target
language. There are two types of modulation, namely free or optional
modulation and fixed or obligatory modulation.
29
Free or optional modulation is generally adopted because of

nonlinguistic reason. It is mostly used to stress the meaning, to
effect coherence or to find out the natural form in the TL.
For example: By the will of the God → di luar kemampuan
manusia.
Fixed or obligatory modulation occurs when a word, phrase or a
structure cannot be found in the TL. An active sentence translated
into a passive one is an instance of this type.
For example : I grew up in Jakarta → Saya dibesarkan di
Jakarta
Equivalence
It is often desirable for the translator to use an entirely different
structure with different meaning from that of the source language
text so long as it is considered appropriate in the communicative
situation equivalent to that of the source language text.
For example: Sambil menyelam minum air → killing two birds
with one stone.
Adaptation
This procedure is adopted when the object or situation referred to
in the source language message is unknown in the target language
culture. In such a case the translator has to create a new expression
for a new situation, that can be considered equivalent.
For example: Yours faithfully → Hormat saya
Of the seven translating procedures reviewed above, the ones that
seem to be relevant in this study are those of the categories of
literal translation, transposition, and modulation.
30
Research Method
CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHOD
In doing a research, methodology is very important, because it

shows the way how the research is to be conducted. This chapter deals
with the determination of the data source of this study, the method
and technique of collecting the data, the method and technique of
analyzing the data, and the method and technique of presenting the
analysis and the finding.
3.1. Data Source

The data of this study were taken from one of a number of
interesting poems written by Oka Rusmini entitled “Percakapan” and
its English translation “Conversation” (Cork,2000:8-9). These are parallel
bilingual corpora (Hatim, 2001:151). The genre of the text is poetry.
Both the SL poem and the TL poem consist of 303 words. The analysis
focuses on the use of figurative expressions in the poem.
31
There are two personal reasons for choosing this poem:

(1) the theme of the poem is really interesting, which as can be intuitively
sensed is about woman’s anger at the male supremacy, and
(2) the poem makes use of certain figurative expressions that meet
the requirements set for conducting this study.
3.2 Method and Technique of Collecting Data

This study was conducted through a library research. The method
adopted for collecting the data in this study was observation, which
was done by reading closely the poems under study which carry quite
a number of figurative expressions in them.
While close reading was done to the two poems, they were at
the same time compared as many times as necessary to one another.
All of the figurative expressions and their translations were identified,
listed and classified based on their forms.
3.3. Method and Technique of Analyzing Data

The technique of analyzing the data in this study was the
qualitative technique, in which the meaning of the figurative expressions
were determined and described explicitly based on its relevance to the
theme of the poem. This method was adopted in order to show how
the theme motivates the use of those figurative expressions or how
in turn those figurative expressions support the theme.
The second step of the analysis was focused on seeing the
strategy adopted for translating the figurative expressions. The strategies
for translating figurative expressions proposed by Larson (1998) and
the procedures of translation proposed by Vinay and Darbelnet (in
32
Research Method
Venuti (ed.) 2000) were adopted in the analysis. This was done in order
to learn the condition of equivalence of the translation of figurative
expressions from the SL poem into the TL poem. The theory proposed
by Nida (in Venuti (ed.);2000) was also used as a check. In addition,
the theory of translation proposed by Nida and Taber (1974), and the
theory of relevance proposed by Gutt (in Venuti (ed.) 2000) were also
applied in this step.
3.4. Method and Technique of Presenting the Analysis

The analysis of this study was started with an attempt to determine
the theme of both SL and TL poems. This was done under the assumption
that theme is central in any poetic work, because it represents the global
meaning or the central idea of the work for which all other elements within
the work assume their functions in relation to one another. In this way,
those elements are supposed to be present or employed under the force
of the theme. Then all types of figurative expressions were identified based
on their forms, and their meanings analysed in connection to the theme
of the poem. By comparing the figurative expressions in the SL poem
and how they were handled in their translation, the strategies adopted
by the translator could be identified. As for the method of presenting the
analysis a narrative description was used, not necessarily using any symbol,
in line with the characteristic of this study, which as already mentioned
is a qualitative one.
Determining the Theme

As an example, let us look back at the poem already presented
in the section on the background of this study. Through several times
of reading we become impressed that its theme is something like “a
deep sense of longing for someone”. This type of theme is typical of
33
human love relation. However, this way of determining the theme

should be admitted as still based only on impressionistic or intuitive
judgement. It therefore needs to be justified with empirical analysis
and evidence, which in this study is actually provided.
Taken that such is the theme of the poem, the attention could
now be focused on each and all figurative expressions employed in the
poem. In the case of the lines “New York adalah kau; Kau musim,
kau laut (SL), which are translated into For New York is you; You
are the season, you are the ocean (TL), some figurative expressions
can be identified based on their forms or types. As for their meaning,
their connection to the theme should be studied. It is in this way that
theme is taken to be a motivating force to the use of those various
figurative expressions, and in this way too the statement about the
theme becomes supported.
Theme Motivates the Use of Figurative Expressions

Using the lines above as sample, the analysis of figurative
expressions might be given an illustration as follows: The SL sentence in
the lines above cannot be taken literally because New York is evidently
not a person. As we know, New York is a big city where people come
to study, to do the shopping, and so on. If we interpret this poem,
focusing in particular on the comparison being used, we may reverse
the sentence into Kau adalah New York since the topic is not New
York, but kau. This topic of comparison is more clearly presented in
the next comparison, that is in kau adalah musim, kau adalah laut.
Seeing the types of figurative expressions which have been discussed
previously, it is obvious that metaphor is applied here, which is a figure
of speech concisely comparing two things by saying that the one is
the other.
34
Research Method
Larson (1989:273), in relation to the example above, classifies

kau as the topic, the element under focus, and New York, musim,
laut are the images, that is the things that the topic is compared to.
Kau is compared to New York, musim, laut. It means that kau has
a characteristic similar to that of New York ,musim, and laut, namely
always ready or willing to welcome (as explained by the line after
this comparison). And in this case, ‘ready or willing to welcome’ is the
point of similarity. This comparison is really relevant to the theme of
the poem, which is a longing for someone.
With reference to the strategies for translating figurative
expressions proposed by Larson (1998:279), the first strategy seems to
have been applied by the translator, because the translator maintains
the metaphor, since the target language permits for that (that is, the
translation sounds natural and can be understood appropriately).
As for the procedure of translation, the above translation seems
to have been based on the literal method, since each element of the
SL is directly transferred into the TL. As for diction or word choice, the
word laut is translated into ocean instead of sea in the TL, perhaps
all for establishing the rhyme that build up the form of the stanza for
its aesthetic effect.
Nida and Taber (1974:12) state that translating consists in
reproducing in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of
the source-language message, first in terms of meaning, and secondly
in terms of style. Based on the definition of translation above, the
figurative expression of the SL poem (New York adalah kau) is equally
transferred into the TL poem (New York is you) in terms of meaning
and style. The meaning of this comparison in both the SL and TL poems
is further and more clearly explained in the next line, namely by the line
siap didatangi and ready to welcome. It means that kau is ready
35
to welcome even when the persona aku (I) actually has parted with
kau (you), since aku (I) can come to kau (you) anytime aku (I) likes.
In this comparison the point of similarity between New York, musim
and laut is equally translated into season and ocean ( that is to say,
a metaphor translated into metaphor with the same image).
With the model of the method of presenting and analyzing the
data already described, now it is time to enter chapter IV, the chapter
on the analysis of the translation of the SL poem into the TL with the
focus on the translation of its figurative expressions as the theme-
motivated poetic devices.
36
Analysis of Figurative Expressions
CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS OF FIGURATIVE EXPRESSIONS
IN THE POEM “PERCAKAPAN” AS
TRANSLATED INTO “CONVERSATION”
4.1 Theme of the Poem as Motivating Force

This chapter is concerned with the analysis of the translation
of the poem “Percakapan” into “Conversation” with the focus on how
the translation of figurative expressions is handled by the translator
as theme-forming devices. In doing this analysis, the strategies for
translating figurative expressions as proposed by Larson (1998), and
the procedures of translation as proposed by Vinay and Darbelnet (in
Venuti (ed.) 2000) are adopted as a check besides the theory proposed
by Nida (in Venuti (ed.);2000), and Nida and Taber (1974).
As has been touched previously, the analysis of figurative
expressions and the theme of a poem should necessarily go hand in
hand. This allows us to see those figurative expressions functioning in
connection with one another to ultimately construct the theme, rather
37
than in isolation from each other for unclear purpose. In this way it
is our analytical stance that figurative expressions cannot be analysed
in isolation from the theme and vice versa. Figurative expressions are
used to achieve particular effects in the overall meaning of the poem,
which is but the theme of the poem, namely the central meaning
which tells what the poem is all about. Therefore, it is essential to begin
this analysis with the discussion and the search for the themes of the
poems, both that of the SL and that of the TL poems.
To start with, it can first of all be taken that the flow and
organization of ideas in the poem is reflected by the physical structure
of the poem. This can be further elaborated as follows: In principle the
poem presents a monologue expressing the complaint of the persona
(a woman) against the male supremacy, but a complaint which in the
end only remains neglected so that the whole poem can be taken to
show the woman’s failure and frustration in her struggle against men’s
dominated civilization or one under control of male’s supremacy. In a
more systematic description the analysis can be explained as follows:
Grasping the plain sense of the poems is the first step that
should be entered before developing our feeling about the theme.
This meaning, of course cannot be taken as final at this stage of the
response to the poem. The arrangement of words in the two poems
under concern (the SL and the TL poems ) are not so complicated, and
it seems to show the route smooth enough towards the meanings.
Talking about the meaning of the poems, especially that of the SL
poem, it can be taken provisionally that the poem means the following:
In her desperation, the persona (the speaking woman’s voice in the
poem), makes all attempts to survive, even when there are so many
barriers that block her way (Line 1 to line 6). The most difficult and
obscure problem to face is when the man snubs her, that she cannot
38
do anything, but only give birth and enjoy everything the man has (line
7 to line 13). In expressing her anger she says that at the beginning of
man’s life, man the male also comes out of the body of a woman the
female, and what is more is that the reality is that there is no difference
between male and female when at last they should go back to the
earth after death (line 9 to line 12). She, the persona, also states that
the man indeed has no principles of his own in his life since he always
behaves or acts according to what his mother says or dictates to him
in the process of his bringing up (line 15 to line 18).
Such impression as stated above is what most likely to occur at
the first reading of the poem. This is actually a response to the poem
that can be used as the basis to explore and interpret the poem further
in order to arrive at the goal of the study, i.e. to see how the theme
motivates the use of the figurative expressions in the poem. For this
purpose, the giving of justification for such first impression to take place
about the poem is very much needed, and this is what will be discussed
more fully in this section. When the meaning of the poem accumulates
through several levels of impressions in the repeated reading of the
poem, the formulation of a theme can generally be facilitated, though
at this level more in terms of our intuitive judgement.
Theme is a pattern of meaning which emerges gradually from a
grasp of the whole poem (Smith, 1985:46). Smith further explains that
the number of themes is much smaller in comparison to the trillions of
poems already in existence. This fact seems to lead back to one basic
concern-the concern with the possibilities and limitations of human
existence. This concern is with those areas of human lives which are
neither avoidable nor fully controllable. The following are the main
areas of human concern to which themes generally seem to relate: (1)
the effects of time: growth, change, ageing, death, transience, renewal,
39
birth, (2)human relationship: love, friendship, parting, loss, constancy,

unfaithfulness, (3) human consciousness: hope, fear, happiness, despair,
self-esteem, self-rejection, and (4) human circumstances: freedom,
restriction, abundance, deprivation, communion, isolation (Smith,
1985:47).
After reading the poems a number of times and taking in each
reading the whole poem into account, it can be formulated that, as
has been mentioned in the third chapter, the theme of the poem
can be stated into something like ‘woman’s anger at the male
supremacy’. In relation to the areas of human concern quoted before,
this theme relates more closely to human consciousness, particularly
woman’s despair. Regarding the theme of the TL poem, especially
after analyzing and comparing it to the SL poem, it can be considered
highly equivalent to that of the SL poem.
Now that the theme is already formulated based on intuitive
understanding through such repeated reading as mentioned above,
then in analyzing the figurative expressions of the poems as the main
concern of this study, the analysis will necessarily always make reference
or is constantly connected to such theme as the main or central idea
of the poem.
With respect to the title of the poem, namely “Percakapan”
(“conversation”) which means a talk between people, usually a private
and informal one (Macmillan Dictionary, 2002:300), such a title has
clearly suggested what is happening in the poem, which is but the
complaint of the persona ( a woman ) against the male’s dominance.
The complaint immerses in the whole body of the poem. Therefore,
the analysis of the poem should necessarily be overall.
40
41
against the male’s dominance. The complaint immerses in the whole body of the
poem. Therefore, the analysis of the poem should necessarily be overall.
4.2 Theme-Motivated Use of Figurative Expressions
4.2InTheme-Motivated
this section,Use
the use of figurative
of Figurative Expressions expressions in the whole
body of the SLsection,
In this poem theand
use oftheir translation
figurative expressions into
in the English
whole bodywill
of thebe
SLanalysed
line bypoem
line.
andAs has
their been mentioned
translation into English willin
bethe previous
analysed section,
line by line. the analysis
As has been
of thementioned
figurative expressions will necessarily be with reference or is
in the previous section, the analysis of the figurative expressions will
connected to the theme. In other words, the analysis is based on the
necessarily be with reference or is connected to the theme. In other words, the
theme previously formulated of the poems, which is supposed to follow
analysis is based on the theme previously formulated of the poems, which is
the process presented in the diagram below:
supposed to follow the process presented in the diagram below:
Theme of VS Theme of
SL Poem TL Poem
Figurative Figurative Non Figurative

Expressions Expressions Expressions
Analysis
(Condition of
equivalence)
Conclusion
(findings)
Figure 1
The diagram above at once shows the steps or the procedure
followed in the analysis, which in the rest of this chapter is necessarily
41
done either line by line if they are coextensive with the unit of clause
or, otherwise, directly clause by clause.
The following are the analyses which are started from the first line of
the poems.
Line 1
(1) SL : aku mencoba berkaca pada urat daun
TL : I try to see myself in the veins of a leaf
The sentence aku mencoba berkaca pada urat daun in the first
line of the poem above carries a figurative meaning, and it therefore
cannot be construed literally. Otherwise it is semantically unacceptable.
In this sentence, urat daun is supposed to have the same characteristic
as the woman. In other words, this sentence contains a comparison
between urat daun (veins of a leaf ) and ‘woman’s course of life’.
As has been explained earlier, in identifying the implied comparison
of a metaphorical sentence, the topic, image and point of similarity
should be examined (see: Larson,1998). The image of the metaphor is
urat daun (the vein of leaf ) which is figuratively compared to ‘woman’s
course of life’. The point of similarity of this metaphor is not explicitly
stated, but it can be construed: both urat daun (the vein of leaf ) and
the woman can be taken as similar in their assuming a very dominant
role in life. Vein of a leaf is very small in the plant, but it plays a very
dominant role in the life of the plant. The woman is supposed to be
less important than the man on the face of the fact that she plays
a very important role in life, not only of her own but also of others
such as her husband and children, if any.
42
The way the theme ‘woman’s anger at male supremacy’ motivates

the use of this metaphor is as follows: In her life, aku (I) (the persona-a
woman) never stops looking for the justification to the fact of injustice
or unfair treatment that females receive from males in this world. She
realizes how important her role is in this life, however, still her life is but
under control of the male supremacy. From the explanation above, it is
obvious that the theme becomes the center of the semantic motivation,
and motivates the use of this metaphor, as a means of showing the
problem (the male supremacy) that makes her angry and disappointed
since she is still supposed to be less dominant than the male when
in fact she even plays a very important role in life, comparable to the
existence of veins of leaf in plant for the life of the plant.
As for the condition of equivalence in the translation of aku
mencoba berkaca pada urat daun into I try to see myself in the
veins of leaf it can be said that the metaphor is maintained in the
TL using the same image. The image urat daun is translated into the
veins of leaf. The metaphor is maintained since it sounds natural in
the TL (see; Larson, 1998:279).
Looked at from the translating procedures proposed by Vinay and
Darbelnet (in Venuti, 2000:84), this is an instance of literal translation,
namely the direct transfer of the line of the SL poem into a grammatically
and idiomatically appropriate TL line. This procedure is chosen because
the form of the metaphor is as comprehensible as the original.
43
Line 2
(2) SL : bicara pada kesuntukan warna pohon
TL : speak to the ultimate colour of a tree
Actually, the complete form of the sentence of this second line

is aku mencoba bicara pada kesuntukan warna pohon, in which
aku is omitted as the subject of the sentence. And of course for its
appropriate interpretation the sentence aku mencoba bicara pada
kesuntukan warna pohon cannot be taken literally. This sentence is
semantically unacceptable. It is illogical to speak to kesuntukan warna
pohon (the ultimate colour of a tree). Ultimate means happening at the
end of a long process (see: Mcmillan Dictionary, 2002), i.e. reaching
the final stage after a long process. In this sentence, kesuntukan
warna pohon seems to be assigned the same characters as that of
the traditional custom.
In the metaphorical sentence aku mencoba bicara pada
kesuntukan warna pohon, the topic, image and point of similarity can
be identified as follows: The image of the comparison is kesuntukan
wana pohon which is figuratively compared to ‘the traditional custom’.
The point of similarity is not explicitly stated, but it can be taken that
both kesuntukan warna pohon and ‘the traditional custom’ have
undergone a long process of growth through time.
The way this metaphorical sentence is motivated by the theme of
the poem can be explained as follows: In the life of the persona (aku
), attempts have been made to respond to the fact of the injustice or
unfair treatment the females receive from the males in this life. She
realizes that the origin of the supremacy is the culture itself. From the
explanation above, it is obvious that the theme, i.e. woman’s anger
44
at the male supremacy, motivates the use of this metaphor. In her

desperation, the woman wants to struggle against the male supremacy,
even if this has been part of the culture in her life, since the female
plays a very important role in it.
The condition of equivalence in the translation of the metaphorical
sentence bicara pada kesuntukan warna pohon into speak to the
ultimate colour of a tree is such that the metaphor is maintained
in the TL by employing the same image. The image kesuntukan
warna pohon is translated into the ultimate colour of a tree. The
metaphor is maintained since it sounds natural in the TL and it is as
comprehensible as the metaphor in the SL (see; Larson, 1998:279).
Looked at from the translating procedures proposed by Vinay
and Darbelnet (in Venuti, 2000:86), the method adopted is the same
as that for translating the first line, that is to say, this is a literal
translation, namely the direct transfer of the line from the SL poem
into a grammatically and idiomatically appropriate line of the TL
poem. This procedure is chosen because the translation is as easily
understandable as the original.
Line 3
(3) SL : rasa yang berair kubiarkan meninggalkan benih
TL : I am careless of the dampness and leave my progeny
The sentence rasa yang berair kubiarkan meninggalkan
benih cannot apply in its literal meaning. In this sentence, there are
two types of figurative expressions employed, namely euphemism and
metaphor. These can be described as follows: It is impossible to see or
to touch a feeling (rasa) to prove that it is damp (berair). Rasa yang
berair is a figurative expression used by the poet to mean sadness.
45
Rasa yang berair is a euphemistic way for expressing ‘a feeling of

sadness’. The word benih (seed) literally means the small hard part
produced by a plant, from which a new plant can grow (see: Mcmillan
Dictionary, 2002). Therefore, benih (seed) in this case is assigned the
same characteristic as that of the origin of the establishment of the
male supremacy. It is in other words rooted in tradition. This sentence
contains a comparison between ‘benih’ and ‘tradition’. This comparison is
not explicitly stated. Anyway the topic, image and the point of similarity
of this metaphorical sentence can be analyzed as follows : The topic
of the comparison is ‘tradition’, the image is ‘benih’, and the point of
similarity though implicitly stated, can be both judged as representing
the source from which something starts ; benih (seed) is the source
from which a new plant can grow, ‘tradition’ is the source from which
the male supremacy or the female subordination originates.
The theme-motivated use of these figurative expressions can
be described as follows: The persona (aku), as has been explained
earlier, is trying to obtain the solution to the social injustice or unfair
treatment that females receive within the patriarchal community. In
her desperation, she wants to relieve herself from sadness by leaving
the source of the sadness itself, that is her own tradition.
Therefore, the figurative expressions used in this sentence can be
taken as motivated by the theme of the poem. The equivalence in the
translation of line 3 shows a condition in which the euphemistic and
metaphorical expressions are maintained in the TL, though the image
of the metaphor of the SL is different from that of the TL. (see; Larson,
1998:279). The image ‘benih’ is translated into its opposite ‘progeny’
which is heavy with implied meaning, which can be taken as a fact
that woman in such condition of hers wants to leave her sadness in
order to be different from the descendant, who to date have always
46
come from the same source, namely from tradition as laid down by
the ancestors.
As for the translating procedures proposed by Vinay and Darbelnet
(in Venuti, 2000:86), the method adopted is optional modulation, a
variation of the form of the message, obtained by a shift in the point
of view, which is used to stress the meaning and to find out the natural
form in the TL. The translation of line 3 of the SL poem is presented
in line 4 of the TL.
Line 4
(4 ) SL : dua puluh jari-jariku menyentuh tanah
TL : my fingers and toes touch the earth
The sentence dua puluh jari-jariku menyentuh tanah could
actually be interpreted literally, but in isolation from the context,
otherwise the context would not allow it. It does not make sense to
think of someone touching the ground or the earth by his / her fingers
and toes. Fingers and toes as parts of body can be taken as representing
the whole body. Synecdoche then is the common figure of speech
assigned for this kind of style, and it is applied here to mean that the
persona cannot stand anymore on the normal two legs meaning that
she is lying on the ground.
The way the theme ‘woman’s anger at male supremacy’ motivates
the use of this synecdoche can be described as having the following
significance: after trying to find the answer to the problem of the
injustice or unfair treatment that females suffer from the males in her
life, the woman grows more desperate, and she is even no longer able
to stand up, until she drops into the ground since she cannot bear her
47
burden in life, all originating from the male supremacy. Line 4 of the
SL poem is translated into and presented as line 3 of the TL poem.
The equivalence in the translation of Dua puluh jari-jariku
menyentuh tanah into my fingers and toes touch the earth shows
a condition in which the figure is maintained in the TL. The strategy
of translating adopted by the translator is therefore one by retaining
the figurative expression of the SL ( in this case synecdoche) in the TL
poem (see: Larson 1998:124). The translation sounds natural and can
therefore be appropriately understood. Looked at from the translating
procedures proposed by Vinay and Darbelnet (in Venuti, 2000:84), the
translator makes a variation of the form of the message by employing
free or optional modulation.
Line 5
(5) SL : pintalan itu menyumbat setiap suara yang kumuntahkan
dari pikiran
TL : that cord blocks each cry my thoughts throw up.
The sentence of line 5 cannot be construed literally. This sentence
also contains figurative expression, namely metaphor. It is possible
that Pintalan (tangle) menyumbat (clogs) someone’s throat or mouth
which makes him/her unable to speak, but the context would not allow
it to interpret literally that way. Pintalan (tangle) is a twisted mass of
threads that cannot be easily loosened (see: Macmillan Dictionary,
2002). In this metaphorical sentence, pintalan is seen as having similar
quality to that of male supremacy. This sentence in other words shows a
comparison between ‘pintalan’ and ‘ male supremacy’. This comparison is
not explicitly stated. Anyway, the topic, image and the point of similarity
of this metaphorical sentence can be analyzed as follows: The topic of
48
the comparison is ‘male supremacy’, the image is ‘pintalan’, and the

point of similarity of this comparison is also implicitly stated, but it can
be construed and taken to mean that both pintalan (tangle) and ‘male
supremacy’ are difficult to entangle or to deal with. Pintalan (tangle)
needs a great deal of time and effort to loosen, while male supremacy
need a great deal of time and effort to banish from tradition. In the
sentence pintalan itu menyumbat setiap suara yang kumuntahkan
dari pikiran, the word kumuntahkan (I throw up) is used sarcastically
to mean I express. By this sentence, what the poet means is that male
supremacy makes her unable to do anything, and she cannot even say
any single word to express her complaint against it.
The way the theme of the poem (‘woman’s anger at male
supremacy’) motivates such a figure of speech can be described as
having the following reasoning: after trying to find the solution for
the condition of the injustice or the unfair treatment that females
suffer from the males in this life, she never finds the answer and this
makes her so desperate that she cannot even stand it any longer, and
therefore she drops into the ground since she cannot bear her burden
in life due to the male supremacy.
In real life, this indeed creates a difficult and complicated situation.
As a woman, the persona wants to fight the male supremacy condition,
but unfortunately she cannot, since it has been deeply rooted in the
culture under which they live. It is certainly not an easy thing to fight
against such a culture. The persona is even unable to say a single word
against such a tradition. It is true that in real life, when a complicated
problem occurs and no one can lend a hand, it is so difficult even to
speak, let alone to solve the problem. As has been touched earlier all
lines of the poem have strong relation to one another under the force
of the theme of the poem.
49
This metaphorical sentence is translated into metaphor by using

different image. The image of the SL metaphor is pintalan (tangle),
while in the TL the image is cord. The meaning of the SL (pintalan
itu menyumbat setiap suara yang kumuntahkan dari pikiran ) is
much stronger to convey the conflict faced by the persona than that
in the TL (that cord blocks each cry my thoughts throw up), since the
meaning indicated by the word cord is not as complicated as that
implied in tangle. However, the word cord sounds much better when it
is put together with the word block, since these two words “cord” and
“block” together contributes to the creation of an assonance, namely
sound pattern constituted by the same vowel sound, but different in
terms of consonants (see: Holman, 1992), which in turn contributes
to the sensuousness of the line. The following two sentences show a
different degree of sound sensuousness:
that tangle blocks each cry my thoughts throw up that cord
blocks each cry my thoughts throw up
The lower line sounds more sensuous due to the more extensive
occurrence of the / d / sounds, three in the lower line against only
two in the upper line. Although pintalan (tangle) is translated into
cord which by nature is less complicated than tangle, this word is
able to bear the meaning born by the SL metaphorical sentence. In
this case, the translator preserves the content and the form of the
message. This strategy is quite true with poetic translation as form is
not necessarily secondary to content in translating poems (see: Nida,
and Taber. 1974: 105).
With reference to the translation procedure proposed by Vinay and
Darbelnet (in Venuti, 2000:84), in translating pintalan itu menyumbat
setiap suara yang kumuntahkan dari pikiran into that cord blocks
50
each cry my thoughts throw up, the translator can be judged as

having adopted free or optional modulation because suara (voice)
is translated into cry and suara yang kumuntahkan dari pikiran is
translated into each cry my thoughts throw up, all for the purpose
of emphasizing the meaning, and using the natural form in the TL.
Line 6
(6) SL : “pegang nafasku!”
TL : “hold your breath!”
The imperative sentence pegang nafasku! cannot be taken in its
literal meaning. It is obvious that no one is able to hold breath with the
hand. This sentence contains a figurative expression, namely metonymy.
The word nafas (breath) is related to life.(see: Halliday, 1985). The
intended meaning of this sentence is that the persona wants to hold
her life, or in other words she does not want to die or she wants to
survive. The use of imperative sentence here is to express the persona’s
weakness caused by all difficult situations in which she finds herself
(as expressed in the previous five lines), and that is why she shouts for
survival even in a very helpless and desperate condition.
The way the use of the metonymy is motivated by the theme
of the poem and referring to the previous lines of the poem, this line
can be taken to mean the following: the persona shows her attitude
that she does not want to avoid or stay away from all the difficult
situations that she faces in her struggle against the male supremacy.
She does not want to give up, and she must confront it, for which she
must keep breathing.
The condition of equivalence in the translation of this metonymy,
pegang nafasku, into hold your breath is one in which the translator
51
retains it in the TL, or in other words metonymy is translated into

metonymy ( Larson 1998:124). Looked at from the translating procedure
proposed by Vinay and Darbelnet (in Venuti(ed.), 2000:84), free or
optional modulation has been applied here. In translating pegang
nafasku → hold your breath the translator has established the
natural form in the TL but by changing the point of view. In this case
‘nafasku’ is translated into ‘your breath’ which is a reflexive instruction
used to make explicit the meaning of this line that the persona talks
to her alter ego or her other self by which the second person ‘you’
becomes applicable and justified in the translation of pegang nafasku
→ hold your breath
Line 7
(7) SL : katamu : “perempuan hanya bisa memuntahkan
dagingnya.”
TL : you say: “ a woman can only spew up flesh and
blood.”
The sentence of this line cannot be construed literally. In case that
it be interpreted literally, the context would not allow it. As has been
explained previously, all the lines in the whole body of the poem have
a very strong relationship to one another under the force of the theme.
In connection with the analysis of the previous six lines, it can be said
that this sentence contains two types of figurative expressions, namely
sarcasm and metaphor. The word memuntahkan (to vomit/to spew
up) is sarcastically used to mean ‘giving birth’, and the word dagingnya
(her flesh) is an instance of metaphor, the word dagingnya (her flesh)
used metaphorically to mean a whole ‘human’. In this metaphorical
sentence, daging is supposed to refer to human body. This sentence
52
contains a comparison between ‘daging’ and ‘human’. This comparison

is not implicitly stated. Anyway the topic, image and the point of
similarity of this metaphorical sentence can be analyzed as follows:
The topic of the comparison is ‘human’, the image is ‘daging’, and the
be construed that both daging (flesh) and human (body) are equally
flesh. The sentence perempuan hanya bisa memuntahkan dagingnya
(a woman can only spew up flesh and blood) can be taken to mean
woman can only give birth to her children.
The way the theme of the poem (‘woman’s anger at the male
supremacy’) motivates the use of such figures of speech in line 7 can
be described as follows: this line shows us the cause of the desperation
suffered by the female as described in the previous lines (line 1 through
line 6). The male’s judgement that a woman can only give birth to
her progeny would obviously hurt the female. It is an insult to the
female. In that way, the male actually looks down upon the female.
And this reflects the real condition of the woman life in the traditional
custom, that after giving birth to her progeny, the woman only stays
at home to bring up her children with all the means of life supposedly
provided by the man (her husband) who is supposed to be the bread
seeker for the family and therefore of socially more significance than
the wife. Nowadays, however, not all women remain at home only
for raising children, and as a matter of fact they are also able to work
and earn a living. However, despite this, the position of the female is
still supposed to be of lower value and therefore powerless. On the
contrary, the male is supposed to be more important and powerful.
This condition, reflecting the male supremacy over the female, never
changes up to the present time. Such a judgement occurs because
a man is really needed and supposed to be more important than a
woman in some situations, such as the situation when a male (let’s say
53
a husband) is not at home, the other members of the family especially

the female (the wife) who lives there will feel frightened of living at
home without a male, and the man appears to function as a protection
against attack or danger. Consequently, every family is expecting to
have a male descendant to continue their generation, since a son will
keep staying in his parents’ house after getting married and receive
the inheritance from his parents, while a daughter will not stay in her
parents’ house anymore after getting married, as she must live with
her husband who is supposed to be more important and powerful
in the society. However, quite ironically, it is but the function of the
woman to bear a pregnancy, give birth, do breastfeeding, and all the
household chores, by which a society and culture come to exist. This
is indeed ironical, especially when a man says that a woman can only
give birth against his knowledge that a woman indeed does a lot of
things, beyond only giving birth ( a heavy task that a man cannot
do) not for her own sake, but for the sake of the whole culture in
which the male and female live together but not in togetherness in
many matters.
The condition of equivalence in the translation of these figurative
expressions into the TL shows that the translator keeps the sarcasm
by translating perempuan hanya bisa memuntahkan → a woman
can only spew up, and the metaphorical word dagingnya into
‘flesh and blood’ with extra description added about the image of the
comparison, which makes the meaning of the TL plainer (see: Larson
1998:124).
As for the procedure of translation proposed by Vinay and
Darbelnet (in Venuti(ed.), 2000), the translator makes a variation of the
form of the message by employing free or optional modulation. He
translates perempuan hanya bisa memuntahkan dagingnya → a
54
woman can only spew up flesh and blood, in which the addition of
word ‘blood’ is used to stress the meaning. Besides, flesh and blood
is considered to be the best dynamic equivalent to produce the same
effect upon the TL reader as that upon the original reader ( Nida in
Venuti 2000:129).
Line 8
(8) SL : kau lelakiku
TL : you are my husband
This sentence can be taken in its literal meaning. It contains
no figurative expression. As has been mentioned previously and in
accordance with the title of the poem, ‘percakapan’ (‘conversation’),
the poem is supposed to be a conversation between the persona (a
woman) and a man.
In relation to the theme of the poem, as well as the meaning
conveyed by the previous lines, line 8 can be supposed to have a
wider meaning. The sentence kau lelakiku means not only you are
my husband, but it can also be taken to mean you (are) all the men
in the world, since the male dominance occurs not only within a
certain family, but also in fact in the whole society and social life. This
line relates the meanings of the previous lines (line 1 through line 7)
to the next line (line 9), which will be described in a later section.
Looked at from the translating procedure proposed by Vinay and
Darbelnet (in Venuti(ed.), 2000:86), free or optional modulation seems
to have been applied here. In translating the sentence kau lelakiku
→ you are my husband the translator tries to find out the natural
form based on the context in the TL, instead of translating it literally
into you are my man.
55
Line 9
(9) SL : kau juga gumpalan daging, akan membusuk
TL : you too are made of flesh and will decay
The sentence kau juga gumpalan daging, akan membusuk
again cannot be construed literally. This sentence carries various
figurative meanings. There are two figurative expressions employed
in this sentence, namely metaphor and sarcasm. By saying kau juga
gumpalan daging (a lump of flesh) the persona means the whole
‘human’, and akan membusuk (will decay) is sarcastically used to mean
‘will die’. In this metaphorical sentence, gumpalan daging is supposed
to refer to human body. This sentence contains a comparison between
‘gumpalan daging’ and ‘human’. This comparison is not implicitly stated.
Anyway the topic, image and the point of similarity of this metaphorical
sentence can be analyzed as follows: The topic of the comparison is
‘human’, the image is ‘gumpalan daging’, and the point of similarity of
this comparison is also implicitly stated, but it can be construed that
both gumpalan daging (lump of flesh) and human (body) are equally
flesh. By this sentence, what the poet means is that a man is also
made of flesh and in that way inevitably spewed up by and therefore
indebted to the female for his existence (line 7).
The way these figurative expressions are motivated by the theme
of the poem (‘woman’s anger at the male supremacy’), can be taken
to have the following significance: In this life, even when a man is
supposed to be of more value and powerful than a woman, the male
is after all made of flesh that comes out of a woman’s body, and he is
therefore a creature of the same quality as but indebted to the female.
The same as a woman, a man will not be granted an eternal life, being
mortal, and there is no difference between a man and a woman in the
fact that they will equally decay after death. And when a man is dead
56
(decaying), he will no longer be important and lose power over other

people. That is why, there is no use to look down on a woman and
think of her as being inferior or less important. The meaning of this
line is emphasized by the next line (line 10).
The condition of equivalence in the translation of sarcasm
and metaphor in line 9 into the TL can be explained as follows: the
metaphorical expression in the sentence kau juga gumpalan daging
is maintained in the TL and the topic is presented with extra description
as the line is translated into you too are made of flesh, while the
sarcastic phrase akan membusuk is translated into will decay, which
also retains the form of the sarcasm (see: Larson 1998:124).
Regarding the translating procedure, in translating kau juga
gumpalan daging, akan membusuk → you too are made of flesh,
will decay, the translator has employed free or optional modulation
for the purpose of stressing the meaning, and in order to establish the
natural form in the TL. The translator finds a variation for the form of
the message in the TL by means of a shift in terms of the point of
view (see: Vinay and Darbelnet, in Venuti (ed.), 2000).
57
Line 10
(10) SL : tanah melumatmu, akar pohon memotong sisa
dagingmu
TL : the earth will consume you, roots of trees cut through
what remains of you
The sentence tanah melumatmu, akar pohon memotong sisa
dagingmu should not be taken literally. It works with its figurative
meanings. Tanah (the earth) and akar pohon (roots of trees) get
personified in this line. In saying tanah melumatmu and akar pohon
memotong sisa dagingmu (the roots of trees cut through the rest
of your flesh) tanah and akar pohon are given human characteristic.
Personification is therefore employed here, namely the assigning of
human characteristics to nonhumans (see Keraf ,2002). In addition
to ‘personification’, the use of metaphor is also found, because sisa
dagingmu (the rest of your flesh) is metaphorically used to mean sisa
tubuhmu (the topic, image and the point of similarity of this comparison
has been described in line 7). The meaning of this figurative sentence
can be taken as follows: after death, the dead body or the corpse of
the man will decay in the grave, being destroyed gradually by the
natural processes, and gets integrated into the earth.
The way the theme of the poem motivates the use of personification
and metonymy in line 10 can be described as follows: as has been
described earlier, in expressing her anger at the male supremacy, the
poet says that there is no difference between a man and a woman when
they return to the earth after death. The dead body of a man or of a
woman will be alike destroyed by nature, and there is no difference in
terms of this. What the poet wants to share with the readers here as
the message of the poem is that a man should realize that a woman
58
is equal to him, a woman has the same rights as a man, and a woman
must be treated the same as a man.
The condition of equivalence in the translation of these figurative
expressions into the TL can be described as follows: looked at from the
strategies of translating figurative expressions as proposed by Larson
(1998), the figurative sentence, namely personification is retained in
the TL because the personification is translated into a personification
too, though the metaphor is translated non figuratively into the TL.
SL : tanah melumatmu, akar pohon memotong: Personification
sisa dagingmu: metaphor
TL : the earth will consume you, the roots of trees cut through:
personification what remains of you: nonfigurative
As for the translating procedure introduced by Vinay and Darbelnet
(in Venuti(ed.), 2000:84), the translator seems to have applied free or
optional modulation, namely tanah melumatmu → the earth will
consume you. The translator explicates the word melumatmu (to crush
you) and translates it into will consume you, with the phrase sisa
dagingmu → what remains of you, emphasizing the meaning for
the sake of a more appropriate form in the TL. As stated by Nida and
Taber (1974:5), in translating, to preserve the content of the message
the form should necessarily be changed.
59
Line 11
(11) SL : tulangmu menggemukkan tanah
TL : your bones will fertilize the earth
The sentence tulangmu menggemukkan tanah also carries a
figurative meaning with it so that it cannot be construed literally. The
word menggemukkan (to fatten up) is used in a figurative sense to
mean menyuburkan (to fertilize). The word menggemukan (to fatten
up) which is usually used in the context of a person’s or an animal’s
physical growth is related to menyuburkan (to fertilize) instead. This
sentence therefore contains metonymy. Both menggemukan (to fatten
up) and menyuburkan ( to fertilize) carry a meaning of being capable
to make something or somebody grow well.
The theme-motivated use of figurative expression in line 11 can be
described as follows: this line emphasizes the meaning of the previous
line (line 10 ) that there is no difference between a man and a woman
when they return to earth after death. The dead body of a man or a
woman will be equally destroyed by nature. The message is that the
male is supposed to realize that a woman is equal to him, possessing
the same rights as man, and must therefore be treated equally well.
The condition of equivalence in the translation of this line into
the TL can be explained as follows: considered from the translating
strategy, the figurative sentence tulangmu menggemukkan tanah is
nonfiguratively translated into your bones will fertilize the earth
(Larson, 1998:124).
Looked at from the translating procedures proposed by Vinay and
Darbelnet (in Venuti(ed), 2000), the one adopted by the translator is
the free or optional modulation. As stated previously, this line is used
to intensify the meaning of the previous line, and in its translation
60
the meaning is made plain, by translating tulangmu menggemukkan

tanah into your bones will fertilize the earth.
Line 12
(12) SL : Laut menghabiskan berpuluh tahun yang kau pinjam
TL : the sea will bring an end to the decades loaned to
you
The sentence laut menghabiskan berpuluh tahun yang kau pinjam
again cannot be interpreted literally. It contains figurative meaning. In this
sentence, two types of figurative expressions can be identified. First, laut
menghabiskan (the sea consume or brings an end). This is another instance
of personification represented by the assigning of human characteristics to
laut (the sea). Second, berpuluh tahun yang kau pinjam (the decades
loaned to you), is an instance of metonymy. Berpuluh tahun yang kau
pinjam is used in a figurative sense to mean ‘age or life loaned to you’
(i.e. your age or your life). Still, however, this line only emphasizes the
meaning of the previous lines.
The way the theme (‘woman’s anger at the male supremacy’)
motivates the use of such figures of speech can be described as
follows: in expressing her anger at the male supremacy, the poet says
that there is no difference between a man and a woman when they
return to the earth after death. The dead body of a man or that of a
woman will be destroyed by nature in the grave (or maybe through
cremation in the context of Balinese culture). After being cremated,
the ashes will be scattered at sea. By this line, still the poet wants
to express her anger at the male supremacy, which should not occur,
since a woman is equal to man, and has the same rights as that of a
man, and therefore must be treated the same as a man.
61
The condition of equivalence in the translation of the figurative

expressions in line 12 into the TL as viewed from the translating strategy
proposed by Larson (1998) can be described as follows: the figurative
expression of the original sentence laut menghabiskan berluluh
tahun yang kau pinjam is retained in the translation the sea will
bring an end to the decades loaned to you (personification and
metonymy are maintained here).
As for the translating procedure proposed by Vinay and Darbelnet
(in Venuti(ed), 2000), the translator employs free modulation in order
to find out the natural form in the TL.
Line 13
(13) SL : katamu: “perempuan hanya bisa menjilati dagingku”
TL : you say: “a woman can only lick my flesh”
The sentence katamu: perempuan hanya bisa menjilati
dagingku cannot certainly be construed and interpreted literally as
the context would not allow it. This sentence has nothing to do with
licking the flesh. It does not make sense if construed literally. As has
been explained previously, all the lines in the poem have a very strong
interrelationship under the force of the theme of the poem, which is
‘woman’s anger at the male supremacy’. Based on the analysis of the
previous lines, it can be said that this line contains two types of figurative
expressions, namely sarcasm and metaphor. The word menjilati (to lick)
is used sarcastically to mean to enjoy, to eat, to consume, to take or to
have. This sentence also contains a comparison. This comparison is not
explicitly stated, but the phrase menjilati dagingku (to lick my flesh)
which is used in a sarcastic way to mean to enjoy, to eat, to consume,
to take or to have, shows the comparison between daging (flesh) and
62
‘property’. As has been explained previously, in identifying the implied

comparison of a metaphorical sentence, the topic, image and point of
similarity should be appropriately examined (see: Larson,1998). The
image of the metaphor is daging (flesh) which is figuratively compared
to property (the topic). The point of similarity in this metaphor is not
explicitly stated either, but it can be construed this way: both daging
(flesh) and property can be divided, enjoyed, saved, etc.
of the poem can be taken to bear the following meaning: in real life, the
male always thinks of the female as not capable anything in the same
way as man can, the female being considered weaker, who therefore
becomes less dominant than him, and therefore cannot afford to live
by herself, and therefore always needs the male’s protection. However,
at the present time many females have shown their capabilities through
working hard, earning money and affording everything for their family.
Since this assumption is not totally right, the statement that ‘a woman
can only lick my flesh’, namely the male’s flesh, certainly makes the
female angry and offended. However, this assumption is framed by the
Balinese culture as has been described previously, that starting from her
birth, a baby girl is supposed to be of minor importance than a baby
boy. A baby boy is expected to continue the family line and therefore
remain in the parents’ home after marriage. He therefore gets the
inheritance from his parents, while a girl is not to stay in her parents’
house but must live with her husband. Consequently, people take it
for granted that the females bring nothing to their husbands’ homes
since they do not get any inheritance from their own homes. Based on
this condition, the female grows less powerful with no authority, such
properties as house, car, money, and other material things being the
properties inherited following the male line. And what is more painful
is when the males say that the female can only enjoy or consume the
63
male’s property. Whatever the reason, this statement is not fair. As can
be factually seen in the society, even when a woman does not work
and cannot earn money, she is actually very important and plays a
very dominant role in a family. She, as has been explained previously,
gives birth and breastfeeds, does the domestic chores, and many
more. In doing these, she never asks for salary, and if judged in terms
of wage earning, she would be able to afford perhaps more than an
office worker does. In fact, the male always disregards or ignores this
reality. Most males think that a woman cannot live without a male as
she can afford nothing for a living and therefore always begs for her
needs from the male. From the analysis above, it can be said that the
theme of the poem, namely ’woman’s anger at the male supremacy’
can really be considered the motivating force for the use of sarcasm
and metaphor in line 13 of the poem.
The condition of equivalence in the translation of these two
figurative expressions into the TL can be described as follows: the
figurative elements in the line perempuan hanya bisa menjilati
dagingku, namely the sarcasm and metaphor, are maintained in the
TL as the line is translated into a woman can only lick my flesh. In
this case, the metaphor is translated into metaphor by using the same
image (see: Larson, 1998).
With reference to the translating procedure proposed by Vinay
and Darbelnet (in Venuti (ed.), 2000:86), the translator can be considered
as applying the literal translation procedure, namely the direct transfer
of the line from the SL poem into a grammatically and idiomatically
appropriate TL line. This procedure is chosen because the structure of
the line is as comprehensible as the original.
64
Line 14
Since this line is a repetition of line 8, the description and the
explanation of this line is very similar to that of line 8 (see page 56).
Line 15
(15) SL : hanya bisa berkaca lewat dongeng bundamu
TL : you can only see yourself through your mother’s fairly
tales
The sentence (kau) hanya bisa berkaca lewat dongeng
bundamu also carries a figurative meaning with it, and therefore
cannot be construed literally. Otherwise, it is semantically unacceptable.
Dongeng (a fairy tale) is a story invented in order to make people
believe in something that is not true (Macmillan Dictionary, 2002). In
this sentence, dongeng (a fairy tale) is compared to male’s principle. In
other words, this sentence contains a comparison between dongeng
and male’s principle that the woman is not of equal value to him.
As has been explained earlier, in identifying the implied comparison
of a metaphorical sentence, the topic, image and point of similarity
should be carefully examined (Larson,1998). The image of the metaphor
is dongeng (a fairy tale) which is figuratively compared to male’s
principle. The point of the similarity of this metaphor is not explicitly
stated, but it can be constructed as follows: both dongeng (a fairy tale)
and male’s principle are not true but believed to be so.
The way the theme of the poem motivates the use of the metaphor
in this line is as follows: since the male judges the female as capable
65
of only enjoying the male’s property, the female says in response that
the male can only see himself through his mother’s fairy tale, which
means that the male does something based only on something that
is not true, which ironically and ridiculously he believes to be true. A
fairy tale, as has been stated earlier, is a story invented in order to make
people believe something as true. Since the male does something, and
says something about the female based only on something that is not
true, it should be taken then that what he says and thinks about the
female is not true either. It could be that there was time in the history
of human life that most females were like what the male has described
them to be, that is, a woman could only give birth, only enjoyed a man’s
property, but had no capability of a man, etc. However, this darker side
of woman’s position has made only their past history. Nowadays this
is no longer true since a woman can do much, perhaps as much as a
man can (cf. Cork, 2004).
The condition of equivalence in the translation of the metaphor
from line 15 into the TL shows that in translating (kau) hanya bisa
berkaca lewat dongeng bundamu into you can only see yourself
through your mother’s fairy tales, the translator has the metaphor
using the same image. The image dongeng is translated into fairy
tales. This metaphor – metaphor translation sounds natural (Larson,
1998:279).
The translating procedures (see Vinay and Darbelnet (in Venuti,
2000:86) adopted by the translator is literal translation procedure, based
on the direct transfer of the SL line into a grammatically and idiomatically
appropriate TL line. With this procedure chosen the structure of the TL
line is as comprehensible as the original.
66
Line 16
(16) SL : kau tak punya retakan wajahmu yang mampu menegakkan
kakimu
TL: you have no lines of experience on your face that
enable you to stand on your own two feet
This line cannot be construed literally. It has its figurative meaning.
If interpreted literally, the context does not allow it. It is obvious that
retakan wajah has nothing to do with someone’s standing on his/her
feet. The main clause kau tak punya retakan wajahmu (you have
no wrinkle on your face) contains a metaphor, while the subordinate
clause yang mampu menegakkan kakimu contains a synecdoche, using
parts to mean the whole. Feet is used in a figurative sense to mean
the whole body. In the metaphorical clause kau tak punya retakan
wajahmu, the topic, image and the point of similarity can be identified.
The comparison is not explicitly stated. The image of the comparison
is retakan wajah (face wrinkle) which is figuratively compared to
maturity or being experienced. The point of similarity is not explicitly
stated either, but it can be grasped this way: both retakan wajah (face
wrinkle) and ‘maturity’ or ‘being experienced’ grow through time. Wrinkle
is a line or small fold on someone’s skin, especially that on his/her face,
that forms as he/she gets older (Maccmillan Dictionary:2002). Retakan
wajah (face wrinkle) appears on someone’s face when someone gets
older. It is impossible that a baby or a young child have wrinkles on
his / her face. And it is also impossible that a baby or a young boy
reach maturity or become rich in experience. The line kau tak punya
retakan wajahmu yang mampu menegakkan kakimu can be taken
to mean ‘you do not have the necessary maturity nor experience to
live your life appropriately’.
67
The way the theme (woman’s anger at the male supremacy)

motivates the use of the figurative expressions in this line can be
explained as follows: by saying that a man does not have the necessary
maturity or experience to live his life, this line is clearly emphasizing
the meaning of the previous line (kau hanya bisa berkaca lewat
dongeng bundamu). All the male thinks about the female, and all
insulting remarks that have been directed to the female are not true,
since the male only believes in something that is not true while himself
having no maturity or experience to live his life.
The condition of equivalence in translating kau tak punya retakan
wajahmu yang mampu menegakkan kakimu → you have no lines
of experience on your face that enable you to stand on your
own two feet shows that the translator maintains the metaphor in the
TL with extra description added about the image of the comparison.
Moreover, the synecdoche which is used in the clause yang mampu
menegakkan kakimu is also maintained in the TL, and this sounds
natural (Larson:1998: 279).
(in Venuti(ed.), 2000:86), in translating kau tak punya retakan wajahmu
yang mampu menegakkan kakimu into you have no lines of
experience on your face that enable you to stand on your own
two feet, the translator can be considered as adopting free or optional
modulation in order to emphasize the meaning, to create coherence
for a natural form of the TL.
68
Line 17
(17) SL : kau tidak punya roh
TL : you don’t have the spirit
If interpreted literally, the context would not allow it for this line.
Like the previous line, this line also intensifies line 15 ‘(kau) hanya bisa
berkaca lewat dongeng bundamu’. The literal meaning of kau tidak
punya roh (you have no soul / spirit) is that ‘you are dead’. But, in
this context the male is surely physically still alive, as evidence from the
fact that the male is still supreme in social status. This sentence has a
figurative meaning. It carries a sarcasm with it. Kau tidak punya roh
is sarcastically used to mean you have no character. The meaning
of this line is emphasizing the meaning of the previous line and in
turn emphasized by the next line. There is therefore a pattern of
intensification upon intensification that shows consistency of design
for thematic control.
The way the theme motivates the use of the figurative expression
in this line can be explained as follows: as has been described earlier,
this line is emphasizing the previous line. In her anger, after being
insulted by the male that she can only enjoy or have the man’s property,
the female says that the man’s judgement about her is based only on
something not true or on a fairy tale. In addition to this, the female also
says that the male has not reached the necessary degree of maturity
nor sufficient experience to lead an insightful life. Besides, in this line
the female says that the male does not have his own character that he
believes in something not true and, worse still, even insults the female
as if he never needs the female in his life. He is indeed very foolish
and arrogant in his life.
69
The condition of equivalence in the translation of the sarcastic

sentence kau tidak punya roh into you don’t have the spirit shows
that the sarcasm is kept in the TL as it sounds natural in the TL (Larson,
1998:124).Looked at from the translating procedure proposed by Vinay
and Darbelnet (in Venuti(ed.), 2000:86), the translation procedure
adopted for translating kau tidak puya roh into you don’t have the
spirit is one of literal type, the translation being based on the direct
transfer of the line into a grammatically and idiomatically appropriate
TL poem. This procedure is chosen because the structure of the TL line
is as comprehensible as the original.
Line 18
(18) SL : hanya dongeng mengajari tumpukan ketololan
TL : only myths which teach you a heap of foolishness
This line also carries figurative meanings with it. A dongeng (a fairy
tale or myth) never teaches something factually true to someone. In this
sentence, dongeng is personified as human beings. Besides, hyperbole
is also employed by the poet in the phrase tumpukan ketololan (a
heap of foolishness) in order to exaggerate the meaning.
of the poem can be explained as follows: the significance of this line is
its emphasis on and its being a summary of the previous lines, specially
line 14 to line 17. In her anger the female says that the male’s view is
based only on something not true, and since he believes in something
not true, he then grows not with truthfulness in his character. In his
foolishness, he judges the female as a person who can only enjoy and
consume his property but capable of doing nothing. Such a judgement
70
surely makes no sense, and is not fair, which makes the female angry
and get really offended.
The condition of equivalence in the translation of these two
figurative expressions, namely the personification and hyperbole in
hanya dongeng mengajari tumpukan ketololan → only myths
which teach you a heap of foolishness can be described as follows:
both the personification and the hyperbole in the SL are maintained
in the TL since they sound natural in the TL. In this line, the word
dongeng is translated into myths, whereas in line 15, it is translated
into ‘a fairy tale’, because the words ‘myths’ and ‘which’ are intended to
create assonance (only myths which teach you a heap of foolishness),
namely the two words present the same vowel sound, namely [ i ]
sound but different consonants (see: Holman, 1992).
(in Venuti (ed.), 2000:86), the translation of hanya dongeng mengajari
tumpukan ketololan into only myths which teach you a heap
of foolishness, shows an instance of literal translation procedure,
done through the direct transfer of the SL line into a grammatically
appropriate TL line. This procedure is chosen because the structure is
as easily digestible as the original.
Line 19
Since this line is a repetition of line 8, the description and analysis
of this line is analogous to that of line 8 (see page 56).
71
Line 20
(20) SL : bundamu tidak punya suara sendiri
TL : your mother had no voice of her own
This line cannot be taken literally either. Bundamu (your mother)
as a personality surely has her own voice. This sentence contains a
metonymy, represented by the word suara (voice) and used figuratively
to mean ‘opinion’ and ‘attitude’. This sentence in its whole simply means
that your mother does not have her own opinion and attitude.
The way this figurative expression, namely metonymy, in this
line is motivated by the theme of the poem can be described as the
following: The meaning of the sentence bundamu tidak punya suara
sendiri as translated into your mother had no voice of her own
also builds a strong relation with the previous lines. In her anger at
the male supremacy, especially after being insulted by the male, the
female says in response that the male only thinks and says about the
female based on something not true. Besides, as stated in this line, the
male’s mother who always tells him a fairy tale does not have her own
opinion and attitude. Why his mother has no opinion and attitude also
has its origin in the male supremacy over the female. When the mother
who gave birth to him and brought him up does not have her own
conviction and thoughts, how about the son himself? While the male
supremacy over the female, as already mentioned, causes the mother
to have no opinion and attitude of her own, the son who is brought
up by such mother (woman) must be of mentally no superior quality
to that of the woman. This position really presents a vicious circle.
And this situation is surely lasting, which makes the female constantly
angry at its realization.
72
The condition of equivalence in the translation of bundamu

tidak punya suara sendiri into your mother had no voice of her
own can be explained as follows: The figurative element (metonymy)
of the SL is retained in the TL as it sounds natural in the TL (Larson,
1998:124).
Looked at from the translating procedure of Vinay and Darbelnet
(in Venuti(ed.), 2000:86), the translator can be judged as adopting the
literal translation procedure in translating bundamu tidak punya suara
sendiri into your mother had no voice of her own, namely one
based on direct transfer of the SL line into a grammatically appropriate
TL line. This procedure is chosen because the form is as digestible as
the original. The translator translates this line into simple past tense,
whereas in translating the previous lines he uses simple present tense
which is actually more appropriate than simple past tense as the subject
matter of the poem is still valid to the present time.
Line 21
(21) SL : dia pinjam suara laki-laki untuk menegakkan kaki dan
menipiskan ketololannya
TL : she borrowed the words of men to stand up for herself
and reduce her foolishness
The sentence dia pinjam suara laki-laki untuk menegakkan
kaki dan menipiskan ketololannya carries a figurative meaning
with it. This sentence cannot be construed literally. It is impossible
for someone to borrow the voice of somebody else. The word suara
(voice) is used figuratively to mean ‘opinion’ and attitude. Besides, it also
contains a synecdoche which is the use of parts to mean the whole in
saying untuk menegakkan kaki. Kaki (feet) is used in a figurative sense
73
to mean the whole body. In addition to metonymy and synecdoche,

sarcasm also occurs in saying menipiskan ketololannya (to reduce
her foolishness).
The way the theme motivates the use of such figurative expressions
in this line can be described as follows: In her anger at the male
supremacy, the female says that the male’s mother has no opinion and
attitude of her own as she is conditioned to adopt the opinion and
attitude of the male in living her life and in getting along with the
convention. Such condition certainly makes the female ever angrier,
since the male’s mother is but also a female. This line, the same as
the previous line (line 20), seems to assume that the existing male
supremacy has its origin in the female.
The condition of equivalence in the translation of dia pinjam suara
laki-laki untuk menegakkan kaki dan menipiskan ketololannya
→ she borrowed the words of men to stand up for herself and
reduce her foolishness can be described as follows: the translator keeps
the metonymy in the TL but with different image. Even if the image
is different (the word suara is not literally translated into ‘voice’ as in
the previous line), it is however still natural in the TL. The synecdoche
which occurs in untuk menegakkan kaki is translated nonfiguratively
into to stand up for herself, and the translator in this case keeps
the sarcasm in the translation of menepiskan ketololan into reduce
her foolishness.
The translating procedure of Vinay and Darbelnet (in Venuti(ed.),
2000:86) which is employed by the translator in translating: dia pinjam
suara laki-laki untuk menegakkan kaki dan menipiskan ketololannya
→ she borrowed the words of men to stand up for herself and
reduce her foolishness belongs to the free or optional modulation
type, which is employed in order to emphasize the meaning, and to
74
establish the natural form in the TL. The same as the previous line (line
20), the translator translates this line into simple past tense, whereas
present tense is actually more appropriate as the subject matter of the
poem is still valid to the present time.
Line 22
(22) SL : cerminmu dipinjam dari kesuburan bumi
TL : your mirror is borrowed from the fertile earth
The sentence cerminmu dipinjam dari kesuburan bumi cannot
have literal meaning. It contains figurative meaning. The poem has
nothing to do with the male’s mirror (cermin). The word cermin (mirror)
is used metaphorically to mean ‘attitude’. In this metaphorical sentence,
cermin is supposed to have similar characteristic to that of ‘attitude’.
This sentence contains a comparison between ‘cermin (mirror)’ and
‘attitude ’. This comparison is implicitly stated. Anyway, the topic, image
and the point of similarity in this metaphorical sentence can be analyzed
as the following: The topic of the comparison is ‘attitude’, the image is
‘cermin (mirror)’, and the point of similarity is also implicitly stated,
but it can be construed that both ‘cermin’ (mirror) and ‘attitude’ can
reflect something. Cermin (mirror) can reflect images and ‘attitude’
can reflect the way somebody thinks and feels. Besides, the phrase
kesuburan bumi (the fertility of the earth) is used metaphorically to
mean ‘tradition’. In this metaphorical sentence, kesuburan bumi (the
fertility of the earth) is supposed to have similar characteristic to that
of ‘tradition’. This sentence contains a comparison between ‘kesuburan
bumi ’ (the fertility of the earth) and ‘tradition’. This comparison is
implicitly stated. Anyway the topic, image and the point of similarity
of this metaphorical sentence can be analyzed as the following: The
75
topic of the comparison is ‘tradition’, the image is ‘kesuburan bumi (the

fertility of the earth)’, and the point of similarity of this comparison is
also implicitly stated, but it can be construed that both kesuburan bumi
(the fertility of the earth) and ‘tradition’ build up or evolve through (a
period of ) time.
The use of metaphors in this line is motivated by the theme of
the poem can be explained as follows: the male’s attitude toward the
female is a reflection of a tradition that has become a kind of myth,
a custom or way of doing something that has got established for a
long time.(see: Macmillan Dictionary:2002). The tradition or social
background where the poet comes from, namely the Balinese tradition,
which is based on a patriarchal culture provides more power and
significance to the male. This tradition influences the way the males
treat the female, as they feel that the females are of inferior status
and therefore more powerless than the males as has been explained
in the previous lines.
The condition of equivalence in the translation of cerminmu
dipinjam dari kesuburan bumi → your mirror is borrowed from
the fertile earth, can be described as follows: the metaphorical
sentence in the SL is maintained in the TL using the same image, as
it is natural in the TL ( Larson,1998 :279).
Referring to the translating procedure of Vinay and Darbelnet (in
Venuti(ed.), 2000:86), in translating cerminmu dipinjam dari kesuburan
bumi → your mirror is borrowed from the fertile earth, the
translator can be judged as employing an optional transposition
procedure in which the noun ‘kesuburan’ (fertility) is translated into
an adjective ‘fertile’. An optional transposition is a transposition which,
for the sake of style, can be adopted by the translator decided on the
basis of which fits better into the utterance.
76
Line 23
(23) SL : kalau kau punya retakan wajahmu, lelakiku
TL : if you had lines on your face, my husband
The sentence kalau kau punya retakan wajahmu, lelakiku
cannot be taken in its literal meaning. This sentence contains a figurative
expression. If interpreted literally, the context would not allow it. The
phrase retakan wajah has been analysed in line 16. The sentence
kalau kau punya retakan wajahmu (if you had wrinkles on your
face) contains a metaphor. In this metaphorical sentence the topic,
image and the point of similarity can be identified. The comparison is
not explicitly stated. The image of the comparison is ‘retakan wajah’
(face wrinkle) which is figuratively compared to ‘maturity’ or to ‘being
experienced’. The point of similarity is not explicitly stated either, but
it can be grasped this way: both retakan wajah (face wrinkle) and
maturity or being experienced grow through time. Wrinkle is a line
or small fold on someone’s skin, especially on the face, that forms as
he/she gets older (see : Macmillan Dictionary:2002). Retakan wajah
(face wrinkle) appears on someone’s face when he/she is getting
older. It is impossible that a baby or a young boy have wrinkles on
the face. And it is also impossible that a baby or a young boy reach
maturity or become rich in experience. The sentence kalau kau punya
retakan wajahmu, lelakiku literally means if you had maturity
and experience, and its meaning is that in fact, you do not have
maturity nor experience.
The way the theme (‘woman’s anger at the male supremacy’)
motivates the use of such figurative expression can be explained as
follows: by saying that a man has no maturity or experience it means
that what the male thinks about the female, and all the insulting
remarks that have been made against the female are not true, and
77
therefore it is no more than a joke from by a kid who is surely not

mature yet. However, despite its being ridiculous, such a joke, when
especially practiced by adults, can even cause more serious insult on
the part of the female.
The condition of equivalence in the translation of kalau kau
punya retakan wajahmu, lelakiku → if you had lines on your
face, my husband is as follows: the translator retains the metaphor
in the TL using different image, and this sounds natural in the TL (
Larson, 1998:279).
The translating procedure of Vinay and Darbelnet (in Venuti(ed.),
2000:84) that is employed by the translator in translating kalau kau
punya retakan wajahmu, lelakiku → if you had lines on your face,
my husband is that of free category or one of optional modulation
which is applied in order to emphasize the meaning, and for the natural
form of the TL, with retakan (wrinkle) translated into ‘lines’.
Line 24
(24) SL : kau akan lihat patahan daging-daging busuk menutup
jubahmu yang berkilat
TL : you could see pieces of rotting flesh covering your
shining cloak
The sentence kau akan lihat patahan daging-daging busuk
menutup jubahmu yang berkilat carries a figurative meaning with
it. If construed literally the context would not allow it. The context
of the poem, as has been explained earlier, has nothing to do with
daging (flesh) nor jubah yang berkilat (a shining cloak) in the literal
sense of the expressions. This sentence contains metaphors. In this
metaphorical sentence the topic, image and the point of similarity can
78
be identified. The comparison is not explicitly stated. The image of the

comparison is patahan daging-daging busuk (pieces of rotting flesh)
which is figuratively compared to ‘badness‘ and ‘untruth’ . The point
of similarity is not explicitly stated either, but it can be constructed:
both patahan daging-daging busuk (pieces of rotting flesh) and
‘untruth’ make people uncomfortable and annoyed, or in other words,
both of them bother people. Besides, this sentence also contains a
comparison between jubahmu yang berkilat (your shiny cloak) and
‘supremacy’. Jubah yang berkilat (shiny cloak) as the image of the
comparison is figuratively compared to ‘supremacy’. In this case the
point of similarity is not explicitly stated either, but it can be grasped
this way: both jubah yang berkilat (shiny cloak) and ‘supremacy’ are
in the possession of powerful people. This line literally means that if
the male had maturity and experience (the meaning of line 23), he
could see untruth (something untrue) in his supremacy.
The way the theme of the poem motivates the use of the
metaphors in this line can be described as follows: the meaning of this
metaphorical sentence serves as an emphasis of that of the previous
line (line 23). As has been explained earlier the male does not have
maturity and experience in giving his judgement about the female. If
he had the necessary experience and maturity, he would certainly be
able to realize that there is untruth in his supremacy over the female.
In real life, it is true that most females do live in disaster. Apart from
the patriarchal system, the females are considered less powerful than
the male.
The condition of equivalence in the translation of the metaphorical
sentence kau akan lihat patahan daging-daging busuk menutup
jubahmu yang berkilat into you could see pieces of rotting flesh
covering your shining cloak is describable in the following terms:
79
the metaphors of the SL are retained in the TL using the same images.
This metaphorical sentence turns out to sound in the TL and therefore
the meaning can be well understood (see; Larson, 1998:279).
In this translation, patahan daging-daging busuk → pieces of
rotting flesh, the translator employs free or optional modulation in
order to emphasize the meaning and at the same time for the natural
form of the TL (Vinay and Darbelnet, in Venuti(ed.), 2000:86).
Line 25
(25) SL : juga lupa lelakiku
TL : you’ve forgotten, my husband
The sentence juga lupa lelakiku can be construed literally. As
has been mentioned previously, that in accordance with the title of the
poem, ‘percakapan’ (conversation), the poem can be taken to present
a conversation between the persona (a woman) and a man.
In relation to the theme of the poem (‘woman’s anger at the male
supremacy’) and based on the meaning conveyed by the previous lines,
this line relates the meanings of the previous lines to the next line.
Looked at from the translating procedure of Vinay and Darbelnet
(in Venuti (ed.), 2000:86), free or optional modulation is adopted for
handling the translation of this line. In translating the sentence lelakiku
→ my husband the translator tries to find out the more natural form
in the TL, instead of translating it into my man.
80
Line 26
(26) SL : kau hanya segumpal daging menunggu busuk
TL : you too are only flesh and blood waiting to decay
The sentence kau hanya segumpal daging menunngu busuk
should not be taken literally. It works with its figurative meaning. The
meaning of this sentence is similar to that of line 9. There are two
figurative expressions identified in this sentence, namely metaphor
and sarcasm. By saying kau juga hanya segumpal daging ( a lump
of flesh ) this is used metaphorically to mean a whole ‘human’, and
menunggu busuk is sarcastically used to mean ‘will surely decay’. In this
metaphorical sentence, gumpalan daging is supposed to have similar
composition to that of human body. This sentence contains a comparison
between ‘gumpalan daging ’ and ‘human ’. This comparison is not
implicitly stated. Anyway the topic, image and the point of similarity
of this metaphorical sentence can be analyzed as follows: The topic of
the comparison is ‘human’, the image is ‘gumpalan daging’, and the
be constructed by taking that both gumpalan daging (lump of flesh)
and ‘human’ (body) are equally flesh. By this sentence, what the poet
might mean is that the male is also made of flesh, who is basically the
same as the female.
The way the theme of the poem motivates such a figurative
expression can be described as follows: In this life, even when the male
is supposed to be of higher value and more powerful than a woman,
he is after all made of flesh too and has been born out of a woman’s
body, and in that way he is therefore a creature of the same quality as
the female. The same as a woman, as a human being in general, a man
will not bear an eternal life, being mortal, and there is no difference
81
between a man and a woman in the fact that they in the end will be
picked up by death.
The condition of equivalence in the translation of this SL line
into the TL line is as follows: the metaphorical sentence kau hanya
segumpal daging is maintained in the TL using the same image and
translated into you too are only flesh and blood, and the sarcastic
phrase menunggu busuk is translated into waiting to decay which
also retains the form of the original (SL : sarcasm → TL: sarcasm).
With reference to the translating procedure of Vinay and Darbelnet
(in Venuti(ed.), 2000), in translating kau hanya segumpal daging
menunggu busuk → you too are only flesh and blood waiting
to decay, the translator employs free or optional modulation which is
adopted for the purpose of emphasizing the meaning, and to establish
the natural form in the TL, which is also true with the translation of
‘segumpal daging’ into ‘flesh and blood’.
Line 27
(27) SL : kembalikan tahun yang kau pinjam pada hidup
TL : to return the years you’ve borrowed for living
The sentence kembalikan tahun yang kau pinjam pada hidup
should not be interpreted literally. It works with its figurative meaning.
The meaning of this sentence is similar to that of line 12. This sentence
contains metonymy, tahun yang kau pinjam being used in a figurative
sense to mean ‘age or life’.
The way the theme of the poem (‘woman’s anger at the male
supremacy’) motivates the use of metonymy can be explained this
way: the meaning of this line is emphasizing the meaning of the
82
previous line (line 26), namely the meaning that when the male and
the female return to the earth after death, the dead bodies will with
no discrimination be destroyed by nature. With this line, still the poet
wants to express her anger at the male supremacy, because this
supremacy should not have occurred, since a woman is equal to a
man, having the same rights as each other and, therefore, deserving
the same treatment as each other.
The condition of equivalence in the translation of kembalikan
tahun yang kau pinjam pada hidup into to return the years you’ve
borrowed for living is as follows: in this translation the figurative
expression of the SL is maintained in the TL as it sounds natural in
the TL (Larson, 1998:124).
As for the translating procedure of Vinay and Darbelnet (in
Venuti(ed.), 2000:86), in translating kembalikan tahun yang kau
pinjam pada hidup into to return the years you’ve borrowed for
living the translator employs optional modulation, namely the change
of point of view from pada hidup (to life) → for living.
Line 28
(28) SL : katamu lagi: “kau hanya perempuan”
TL : yet still you say: “you are only a woman”
The sentence katamu lagi: “kau hanya perempuan” can be
construed literally. It does not carry any figurative meaning with it. This
last sentence seems to be the conclusion of what has been conveyed
in the previous lines, and shows the female’s failure and frustration
in her struggle against the injustice in human civilization under the
control of the male’s dominance.
83
The way the theme of the poem motivates the use of this sentence
can be taken to mean the following: in her life, the female is supposed
to be less dominant than the male. Such judgement is conformed by
certain condition in life. In a family, for example, as has been touched
previously, the presence of the male is a must because there are some
works that require the functioning of the male’s physical power, for
example for protecting the family members. Besides, in a family, the
male is always given a priority, for example in his share of food, leisure
time, etc. Moreover, in Balinese culture in particular, when a female
from a higher caste gets married to a male from a lower caste, the
female will automatically become the member of the lower caste family,
but not the other way round. On the other hand, when a male from
a higher caste gets married to a female from a lower class, the male
will remain with his original caste.
Considering the translating procedure of Vinay and Darbelnet
(in Venuti(ed.), 2000:86), the translation of katamu lagi: “kau hanya
perempuan” → yet still you say : “you are only a woman” shows
an instance of literal translation, namely the direct transfer of the line
from the SL poem into a grammatically and idiomatically appropriate
TL poem. This procedure is chosen because the structure is as easily
digestible as the original.
Now that all the 28 lines of the poem have been analysed with
the focus on the use of various figurative expressions in those lines as
well as on the nature of their translation equivalence in the TL, it is time
now to come to the last chapter of this thesis, namely the chapter on
the conclusion of the study, as well as on the suggestion for further
similar but more intensive and extensive researches.
84
Conclusion and Suggestion
CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
5.1 Conclusion
After analyzing the SL poem and its translation with the focus
on the translation of the figurative expressions employed in it, some
conclusions can be presented as follows:
Firstly, Seven types of figurative expressions can be identified
in the SL poem, which include euphemism, hyperbole, metaphor,
metonymy, personification, sarcasm, and synecdoche. The use of these
figurative expressions are all motivated by and interconnected under
the force of the theme of the poem as shown in the diagram below:
85
sarcasm, and synecdoche. The use of these figurative expressions are all
motivated by and interconnected under the force of the theme of the poem as
Figurative
shown in the diagram below:Language in a Poem Translation
Euphemism
Synecdoche
Hyperbole
Sarcasm Theme
Personification
Metonymy
Metaphor
Figure 2.
88
The procedures of translation adopted in translating those

figurative expressions into the TL are of three types, namely literal
translation, transposition and modulation. The frequencies and
distribution of the use of these figurative expressions are shown in
the table below:
Tabel 1
Figurative Lines Total
No
Language SL Poem TL Poem SL Poem TL Poem
1 Metaphor 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9
13, 15, 16, 22, 23, 13, 15, 16, 22, 23, 14 13
24, 26 24, 26
2 Metonymy 6, 11, 12, 20, 21, 27 6,12, 20, 21, 27
6 5
3 Sarcasm 5, 7, 9,13, 17, 21, 5, 7, 9,13, 17, 21, 7 7
26 26
86
Conclusion and Suggestion
4 Personification 10, 12, 18 10, 12, 18 3 3

5 Synecdoche 4, 16, 21 3, 16 3 2
6 Euphemism 3 4 1 1
7 Hyperbole 18 18 1 1
Total 35 32
The above statistic shows that the number of figurative expressions

found in the SL poem is different from that of the TL poem, an evidence
that not all of the figurative expressions of the SL poem are translated
figuratively. Despite the difference between the two poems in terms
of the number of figurative expressions employed in them the theme
as well as the message of the SL poem are well maintained in the TL
poem.
Secondly, The use of such figurative expressions is consistently
motivated by the theme of the poem which is related to the woman’s
emotion and attitude in response to a patriarchal culture-derived social
injustice in the society which has established the male’s supremacy
over the female.
Thirdly, The condition of equivalence in the translation of the
figurative expressions from the SL poem into the TL poem can be
described as follows: Metaphor is the most frequently used figures in the
poem, being found in most lines, namely in lines 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10 13,
15, 16, 22, 23, 24, 26, of which some are translated into corresponding
metaphors in the TL with the same images (lines 1, 2, 13, 15, 22, and
24), some into metaphors with different images (lines 3, 5, 23, and 26),
one nonfiguratively (line 10), one into metaphor with extra description
added about the topic (line 9) and the rest into metaphors with extra
description added about the image of the comparison (lines 7 and 16).
Metonymy is used in lines 6, 11, 12, 20, 21, and 27, and some of them
are retained and therefore show correspondence with the figures in
87
the TL (lines 6, 12, 20, 21, and 27); and one is translated nonfiguratively
(line 11). Sarcasm occurs in lines 5, 7, 9, 13, 17, 21, and 26, and all of
them are retained in the TL. Personification is found in lines 10, 12, 18,
and they are also retained in the TL. Synecdoche is employed in lines
4, 16, and 21, and two of them are maintained in the TL (lines 4 and
16), while one is translated nonfiguratively (line21). Euphemism which
is used only in line 3 is maintained in the TL. Hyperbole is applied only
in line 18, and this figure is kept in the TL.
5.2. Suggestion
Figurative expression is something common in one’s use of
language. In ordinary day-to-day communication, figurative expression
is no exception. However, this is more often taken for granted, and its
use is therefore beyond one’s consciousness. Figurative expression is a
way of conveying things in terms of what, at first glance, they are not
(see Smith, 1985). Poems, in particular, use figurative expressions which
help build up the beauty of the poem, which therefore guarantee more
enjoyment to the readers. Besides, figurative expressions can provide
freshness of expression and precision of meaning.
In this study, the poem is analysed with the focus on figurative
expressions. The focus on a certain aspect will of course cause the
neglect of other aspects. In fact, there are still many devices (poetic
devices) that can be analysed in this poem, such as diction, rhyme,
alliteration, assonance, etc. But these are not the devices under attention
in this study. Therefore, other researches are very much needed to
study the use of those devices toward establishing more and more
solid interpretation and evaluation of the meaningfulness of the design
under which such devices are employed in the poem. This is my main
suggestion to future researchers.
88
Bibliography
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Basnett, Susan-McGuire.1985. Translation Studies. London and New

York : Methuen, Inc.
Catford, J.C. 1965. A Linguistic Theory of Translation. London: Oxford
University Press.
Cork, Vern. 2000. Bali The Morning After. Australia: Darma Printing.
Cork, Vern. 2004. The Sweat of Pearl. Magelang: Indonesiatera.
Foley, William, A. 1997. Anthropological Linguistics. An Introduction.
UK: Blackwell Publisher Inc.
Gutt, Ernst-August, 2000. Translation as Interlingual Interpretive
Use. In Venuti (ed.) 2000:376-396, London and New York:
Routledge.
Halliday, M.A.K. 1985. An Introduction to Functional Grammar.
London: Edward Arnold.
Hasan, Diana Citra. 2000. Penerjemahan Metafora Bahasa Inggris
ke dalam Bahasa Indonesia. Studi Kasus atas Penerjemahan
Metafora yang terdapat dalam Novel Absolut, Bloodline, dan
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Raising Sun serta Terjemahannya Kekuasaan Absolut, Garis

Darah, dan Matahari Terbit. Tesis Magister tidak diterbitkan.
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Program Pascasarjana Universitas Indonesia.
Hasan, Ruqaiya. 1989. Linguistic, Language and Verbal Art. Victoria:
Deakin University.
Hatim, Basil. 2001. Teaching and Researching Translation. England:
Longman.
Holman, C. Hugh & William Harmon. 1992. A Handbook to Literature.
New York: Macmillan.
Keraf, Gorys. 2002. Diksi dan Gaya Bahasa. Jakarta : PT. Gramedia
Pustaka Utama.
Larson, M.L. 1989. Meaning-Based Translation. A Guide to Cross-
Language Equivalence. Second Edition. Lanham: University
Press.
Leech, G. 1974. Semantics. Middlesex, UK: Penguin Books.
MacLachlan, G & Ian Reid. 1994, Framing and Interpretation. Australia:
Melbourne University.
Margono. 2000. Essentials of Theory and Practice of Translation.
Denpasar : Fakultas Sastra Universitas Udayana.
Martinich, A.P. (ed.).1996. The Philosophy of Language. Third Edition.
New York: Oxford University Press.
McArthur, Tom. (ed.) 1992. The Oxford Companion to the English
Language. New York: Oxford University Press.
McGlynn, John H.(Ed. & Trans.) 1990. On Foreign Shores: American Images
in Indonesian Poetry. Jakarta: The Lontar Foundation.
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Leiden: E.J. Brill.
Nida, E.A 2000. Principle of Correspondence. In Venuti (ed.) 2000,
London and New York: Routledge.
Ortony, Andrew (ed.) 1979. Metaphor and Thought. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Putra Yadnya, Ida Bgs. 2004. Implikasi Budaya dalam Terjemahan.
Orasi Ilmiah dalam Rangka Memperingati HUT ke-46 dan BKFS
ke-23 Fakultas Sastra Universitas Udayana.
Resen, I.W. 2004. ‘Salju’ and ‘Snow’ in Comparison. In Poestaka,
Berdialog dengan Jepang. Denpasar: Yayasan Guna Widya,
Fakultas Sastra Universitas Udayana.
Smith, Sybille,1985 Inside Poem. Victoria : Pitman.
Sudaryanto. 1993. Metode dan Aneka Teknik Analisis Bahasa. Jakarta:
Duta Wacana University Press.
Sudrama, Ketut. 2003. Strategies For Translating into Indonesian
English Metaphors in Novel ‘Master of the game’ by Sydney
Sheldon (thesis). Denpasar : Udayana University.
Sutjiati Beratha, N.L. 2003. Peran Semantik dalam Penerjemahan.
Orasi Ilmiah Pidato Pengenalan Jabatan Guru Besar Tetap dalam
Bidang Ilmu Bahasa Inggris pada Fakultas Sastra Universitas
Udayana.
Tri Ediwan, I Nyoman. 2004. Propositional Analysis of the Novel ‘The
Wedding’ and Their Translation ‘Pernikahan’. Denpasar:
Udayana University.
Venuti, Laurence (ed.). 2000. The Translation Studies Reader. London
and New York: Routledge.
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Vinay, Jean-Paul and Darbelnet Jean. 2000. A Methodology For

Translation. In Venuti (ed.) 2000, London and New York:
Routledge.
92
Appendices
APPENDICES
Appendix 1
SL Poem
The SL poem is taken from a bilingual anthology of poetry by
Balinese poets about Bali, Bali: The Morning After. It is written by
Oka Rusmini, a famous woman of letters. This poem consists of twenty
eight lines and it is divided into eight stanzas. Line numbering is
provided for easy reference in the analysis.
PERCAKAPAN
1 aku mencoba berkaca pada urat daun
2 bicara pada kesuntukan warna pohon
3 rasa yang berair kubiarkan meninggalkan benih
4 dua puluh jari-jariku menyentuh tanah
5 pintalan itu menyumbat setiap suara yang kumuntahkan dari
pikiran
93
6 “pegang nafasku!”
7 katamu:
“perempuan hanya bisa memuntahkan dagingnya”
8 kau lelakiku
9 kau juga gumpalan daging,akan membusuk
10 tanah melumatmu,akar pohon memotong sisa dagingmu
11 tulangmu menggemukkan tanah
12 laut menghabiskan berpuluh tahun yang kau pinjam
13 katamu:
“perempuan hanya bisa menjilati dagingku”
14 kau lelakiku
15 hanya bisa berkaca lewat dongeng bundamu
16 kau tak punya retakan wajahmu
yang mampu menegakkan kakimu
17 kau tidak punya roh
18 hanya dongeng mengajari tumpukan ketololan
19 kau lelakiku
20 bundamu tidak punya suara sendiri
21 dia pinjam suara laki laki
untuk menegakkan kaki dan menipiskan ketololannya
22 cerminmu dipinjam dari kesuburan bumi
23 kalau kau punya retakan wajahmu,lelakiku
24 kau akan lihat patahan daging-daging busuk
94
Appendices
menutup jubahmu yang berkilat

25 juga lupa lelakiku
26 kau hanya segumpal daging
menunggu busuk
27 kembalikan tahun yang kau pinjam pada hidup
28 katamu lagi
“kau hanya perempuan…”
1993
95
Appendix 2
TL Poem
The SL poem “Percakapan”is translated into “Conversation” by
Vern Cork, an Australian. This TL poem is also taken from a bilingual
anthology of poetry by Balinese poets about Bali, Bali: The Morning
After. It consists of twenty eight lines and eight stanzas. Line numbering
is provided for easy reference in the analysis.
CONVERSATION
1 I try to see myself in the veins of a leaf
2 speak to the ultimate colour of a tree
3 my fingers and toes touch the earth
4 I am careless of the dampness and leave my progeny
5 that cord blocks each cry my thoughts throw up
6 “hold your breath!”
7 you say:
“a woman can only spew up flesh and blood.”
8 you are my husband
9 you too are made of flesh and will decay
10 the earth will consume you, roots of trees cut through what
remains of you
11 your bones will fertilize the earth
12 the sea will bring an end to the decades loaned to you
13 you say:
96
Appendices
“a woman can only lick my flesh”

15 you can only see yourself through your mother’s fairy tales
16 you have no lines of experience on your face
that enable you to stand on your own two feet
17 you don’t have the spirit
18 only myths which teach you a heap of foolishness
20 your mother had no voice of her own
21 she borrowed the words of men
to stand up for herself and reduce her foolishness
22 your mirror is borrowed from the fertile earth
23 if you had lines on your face, my husband
24 you could see pieces of rotting flesh
covering your shining cloak
25 you’ve forgotten, my husband
26 you too are only flesh and blood waiting to decay
27 to return the years you’ve borrowed for living
28 yet still you say:
“you are only a woman…”
1993
97
Appendix 3
Poet’s Biography
Name : Ida Ayu Oka Rusmini

Date of birth : July, 11th 1967
Sex : Female
Religion : Muslim
Marital status : Married
Address : Jl. Purnawira VIII/5 Denpasar
Occupation : Journalist for the Bali Post as well as a woman
of letters
The anthologies that contain her works include: Doa Bali Tercinta
(1983), Rindu Anak Mendulang Kasih (1967), Bali Behind the Seen
(Australia, 1996), Utan Kayu: Tafsir dalam Prmainan (1988), Menagerie
4 (2000), Bali: The Morning After (Australia, 2000), and Bali Living
in two Worlds (Basel, 2000).
She has received many awards for her works. Her short story
“Putu Menolong Tuhan” was chosen as the best short story of Femina
magazine, her novelette “Sagra” won the best serial story in the same
magazine, her short story “Pemahat Abad” was awarded the best short
story of 1990-2000 by Horison, a literary magazine. She is often invited
to attend national and international forum on literature. Besides, she
also attended The International Poetry Festival in Surakarta, and Literary
Festival Winternachten in Den Haag and Amsterdam.
Her works that have been published are: Monolog Pohon (1997),
Tarian Bumi (2000), Sagra (2001), Kenanga (2003), and Patiwangi
(2003).
98
Appendices
Appendix 4
Translator’s Biography
Name : Vern Cork

Date of birth : 11th January 1946
Sex : Male
Address : Jl. Mpu Beradah/2 Payogan, Kedewatan, Ubud
E-mail : [email protected]
Occupation : Teacher, Librarian
The translator, Vern Cork, is an Australian who has been a student and
teacher of Indonesian literature for many years. He has translated the
first anthology of contemporary fiction by Balinese writer, Bali Behind
the Seen besides the anthology of poetry by Balinese poets about Bali,
Bali: The Morning After. Vern Cork also received a translation grant
from the Australian Council for the Arts of translating The Sweat of
Pearls, short stories about women of Bali.
99
100
Indeks
INDEX
A block 49, 61
blood 64, 66, 94, 95, 96, 112, 113
a bibliography 19 body 49, 51, 58, 64, 68, 70, 72, 73, 80, 86,
above 10, 11, 12, 17, 26, 30, 31, 33, 34, 95
39, 44, 45, 46, 49, 50, 52, 53, 54, 55, borrowing 36
76, 101
A calque 36 C
aesthetic sense 15
a fairy tale 77, 78, 82, 83, 85 Circumtextual framing 19
affective meaning 26, 28 cognitive 18, 26
Affective meaning 27 cognitive frame 18
age or life 73, 96 collocative meaning 26
all messages 18 conceptual meaning 26, 27, 28
analysis 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20, 41, 43, connotative meaning 26
44, 46, 47, 48, 50, 51, 52, 64, 74, 76, conversation 51, 67, 94
84, 109, 112 Conversation 11, 41, 47, 112
an index 19 cord 59, 61, 62, 112
antithesis 17, 20, 21 culture 9, 27, 36, 38, 55, 60, 61, 66, 74, 75,
a text 18, 19, 27 89, 98, 101
attitude 24, 28, 29, 63, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89,
D
101
a woman 27, 48, 49, 51, 53, 60, 64, 65, 66, decodes 27
67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, denotative 26
77, 78, 79, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 112, despair 50
113, 114 dia kutu buku 30
Diana Citra Hasan (2000) 16
B dictionary 26
babi guling 36 differences 16, 17
badness 92 Dongeng 77
being experienced 80, 90 dynamic equivalence 31
101
E I
English 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 36, 41, 51, 106, idiomatically 37, 54, 56, 77, 79, 82, 98
107 idioms 21, 31
euphemism 14, 21, 26, 56, 99 illogical to speak 55
Euphemism 21, 101, 102 Indonesian 13, 16, 30, 107, 115
expressions 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, intensive 98
19, 20, 21, 26, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, intercultural communication 32
41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, interests 33
51, 56, 57, 64, 66, 68, 71, 73, 74, 75, interpretation 18, 19, 32, 33, 55, 102
76, 80, 83, 87, 92, 94, 98, 99, 100, interpreted literally 58, 64, 73, 74, 79, 81,
101, 102 90, 96
extensive researches 98 Intertextual framing 19
extra linguistic factors 17 intuitive judgement 44, 49
irony 21
F
K
false meanings 11
figurative expressions 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, Keraf (2002) 19, 21
14, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 26, 29, 32, 33, knowledge 13, 17, 18, 19, 33, 66
34, 35, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48,
49, 50, 51, 56, 57, 64, 66, 68, 71, 73, L
74, 75, 76, 80, 83, 87, 94, 98, 99, languages 11, 30
100, 101, 102 Larson (1989) 19
figurative language 9, 14, 15, 20 Larson (1989:273) 45
figure 17, 20, 23, 25, 45, 58, 59, 60, 102 Larson (1998) 14, 21, 43, 47, 71, 74
flesh 64, 66, 68, 69, 70, 74, 75, 77, 92, 93, Larson (1998:121) 21
94, 95, 96, 112, 113 Larson, 1998:124 72, 82, 85, 97
formal equivalence 31 Larson (1998: 125) 11
Framing 18, 106 Larson, 1998:279 34, 54, 56, 57, 79, 91, 93
G Larson:1998: 279 81
Leech (1977) 19
grammatically 36, 37, 54, 56, 77, 79, 82, Leech (1977:10-27) 26
84, 86, 98 less literally 31
grammatical structure 11 literal translation 35, 39, 54, 56, 77, 79,
84, 86, 98, 100
H
M
Halliday (1985) 21
handsome 28 Macmillan Dictionary 51, 59, 77, 89, 90
Hasan, 1989:29 15 male supremacy 42, 48, 50, 53, 54, 55,
has been explained 53, 57, 64, 74, 75, 76, 57, 58, 59, 60, 63, 64, 65, 68, 70, 73,
78, 89, 92, 93 74, 76, 80, 85, 87, 91, 94, 96
Holman (1992) 21 Martinich (1996) 21
hyperbole 14, 17, 20, 21, 26, 83, 99 maturity 80, 82, 90, 91, 92, 93
Hyperbole 22, 101, 102 McArthur (1992) 19, 21
102
Indeks
McArthur (1992:402) 20 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 53, 54, 55, 56,
Mcmillan Dictionary, 2002) 55, 57 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 63, 64, 67, 68, 70,
meaning 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 71, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 82, 83, 85, 86,
22, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 34, 35, 37, 38, 88, 89, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99,
42, 43, 44, 46, 48, 49, 53, 56, 57, 58, 101, 102, 103, 109, 112
61, 62, 63, 66, 67, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, poetic devices 32, 46, 102
75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 85, 86, 87, poetry 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 41, 109, 112, 115
88, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 96, 97, 102 Propositional 18, 108
meaning-conceptual 27
metaphor 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 17, 20, 21, Q
23, 26, 34, 35, 45, 46, 53, 54, 55, 56, quite likely motivated 20
57, 59, 61, 64, 68, 69, 70, 71, 75, 76,
77, 78, 79, 81, 90, 91, 94, 99, 101 R
metonymy 14, 17, 20, 21, 26, 34, 35, 62,
63, 70, 72, 73, 74, 84, 85, 86, 87, real world 26
96, 99 receptor 11, 18, 31, 32, 34, 46
modulation 37, 38, 39, 58, 59, 62, 63, 66, receptor language 11, 18, 31, 32, 34, 46
67, 69, 71, 73, 74, 81, 87, 91, 93, 94, reference 45, 50, 51, 62, 77, 96, 109, 112
96, 97, 100 refers to 26
Modulation 37 reflected meaning 26, 28
myths 83, 84, 113 Reflected meaning 28
Rendra 29
N reproducing the message 30
researcher 18
nature 24, 61, 70, 72, 73, 96, 98 Resen (2004) 15
needs 32, 33, 44, 60, 75, 76, 82 reviewed 15, 39
New York 10, 11, 12, 44, 45, 46, 105, 106,
107, 108
Nida and Taber (1974:12) 29, 46
S
O
Salju 15, 107
opinion 85, 86, 87 sarcasm 14, 21, 26, 64, 66, 68, 69, 75, 76,
optional modulation 37, 38, 58, 59, 62, 81, 82, 86, 87, 94, 96, 99
63, 66, 67, 69, 71, 73, 81, 87, 91, 93, Sarcasm 24, 100, 102
94, 96, 97 season 12, 44, 46
over 26, 65, 69, 85, 93, 101 seven procedures 35
P simile 17, 20, 21, 34
Sitor Situmorang 10
paradox 21 SL poem 12, 14, 41, 43, 46, 48, 50, 51, 54,
personification 14, 17, 21, 26, 70, 71, 73, 56, 58, 59, 77, 98, 99, 101, 109, 112
74, 83, 99 Smith, 1985:47 50
Personification 24, 70, 71, 101, 102 Snow 15, 107
pleonasm 21 socio-cultural background 33
poem 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, sources 11
20, 26, 29, 32, 35, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, still valid 86, 88
103
stylistically 17 translation 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17,

stylistic meaning 26, 27 18, 19, 20, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34,
Stylistic meaning 27 35, 36, 37, 39, 41, 43, 45, 46, 47, 51,
Sudrama (2003) 16 54, 56, 57, 58, 59, 62, 63, 66, 69, 71,
supremacy 42, 48, 50, 53, 54, 55, 57, 58, 72, 73, 74, 76, 77, 79, 82, 83, 84, 85,
59, 60, 63, 64, 65, 68, 70, 73, 74, 76, 86, 87, 89, 91, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98,
80, 85, 87, 91, 92, 93, 94, 96, 101 99, 100, 101, 115
Sutjiati Beratha (2003) 17 Translation 9, 32, 36, 105, 106, 107, 108
symbol 43 transposition 37, 39, 90, 100
synecdoche 14, 21, 26, 34, 35, 58, 59, 79, Transposition 37
81, 86, 87, 99 Tri Ediwan (2004) 18
Synecdoche 25, 58, 101, 102
U
T
untruth 92, 93
tangle 59, 60, 61, 62 urat daun 53, 54, 109
the erection of the temple 28 useful 12, 16, 17, 18
the figurative expressions 14, 20, 21, 29,
32, 42, 43, 49, 50, 51, 57, 74, 80, V
99, 101 Vinay and Darbelnet (in Venuti(ed.),
The image dongeng 79 2000) 66, 96
the interpretation 18
thematic meaning 26 W
Thematic meaning 29
the metaphor proper 17 welcome 11, 45, 46
the monument 28 which 9, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21,
the original 16, 31, 32, 34, 54, 56, 66, 74, 22, 23, 25, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34,
77, 79, 82, 84, 86, 96, 98 35, 36, 37, 42, 43, 44, 45, 48, 49, 50,
the references 19 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60,
TL poem 12, 14, 41, 43, 46, 50, 56, 59, 82, 61, 62, 63, 66, 67, 69, 72, 74, 75, 78,
98, 101, 112 80, 81, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 89, 90, 91,
to spew up 64 92, 96, 99, 101, 102, 103, 113
to touch a feeling 56 While Keraf (2002: 126) 21
to vomit 64 wider sense 16, 17, 20, 35
tradition 57, 58, 60, 61, 88, 89
transfers information 33 Y
translated 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 22, 30, 34, you 10, 11, 12, 22, 23, 25, 44, 46, 63, 64,
35, 38, 44, 45, 46, 54, 56, 57, 59, 61, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 73, 74, 77, 79, 80,
62, 63, 69, 71, 72, 77, 79, 83, 85, 87, 81, 82, 83, 84, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95,
90, 91, 95, 101, 102, 112, 115 96, 97, 98, 112, 113
translating English metaphor 16
translating figurative expressions 11, 14,
34, 43, 45, 47, 71
104
Indeks
ABOUT AUTHOR
Dr. N.K. Dewi Yulianti,S.S., M.Hum.

The author of this book is an English lecturer at the Indonesian
Institute of the Arts, Denpasar (ISI Denpasar), Bali. She completed her
doctoral studies in Linguistics at Udayana University, Denpasar, Bali in
2016. She has been teaching English since the year 2000 and started
her career as a lecturer at STIE Triatma Mulia, Badung, Bali. In 2008 she
started working as a lecturer at the Indonesian Institute of the Arts
Denpasar
She used to work as a radio announcer, as a tour guide and as a
customer service staff in a foreign exchange bank. After working at the
Indonesian Institute of the Arts,Denpasar, she became the head of ISI
Denpasar public relations and was also an announcer at a private TV
station while also active as a moderator, speaker and participant in FGD
at universities throughout Bali.
Amidst her activities with Tridarma of Higher Education as a lecturer
and with additional duty as coordinator of the language laboratory
at the Indonesian Institute of the Arts, the author won a multiyear
research grants over a three year period from the Ministry of Research,
Technology, and Higher Education in a Reseach Grant, research grants
for young lecturers and also community service (Iptek bagi Masyarakat).
105
Also, she received two creative grant for the creation of an English
language dance drama in 2017 entitled “The Finding of Sita”, and in 2019
entitled “Daksa Curses Lord Siva”
In addition to teaching English, the author is also active as a
teacher of BIPA (Indonesian Language for Foreign Speakers), and active
in presenting articles on the local, national and international levels.
This book is her third publication and the author hopes that this
book is fully taken advantage of by readers and she will keep writing so
as to produce further works. The author who is the owner of Deva Devi
English Course can be contacted at 081237670044/081.999.024.151
and also E-mail at [email protected].
106

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Translation, Figurative Expression and Poem

Dr. N.K. Dewi Yulianti, S.S., M.Hum.

Figurative Language in a Poem Translation

Cover Design : Adi Cahyono

First publised, July 2019

First published in English by Penerbit Lintang Pustaka Utama Yogyakarta

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in

For my parents & my children with love

If we sincerely want to love God,

It is by the grace of Almighty God that this book “Figurative

Denpasar, July 2019

Dr. N. K. Dewi Yulianti, S.S., M.Hum.

TRANSLATION, FIGURATIVE EXPRESSION

1.1 Interesting Issues Relating to The Use of Figurative

works such as poetry often contain figurative words or expressions. For

Kau musim, kau laut

The sentence in bold in the poem above is an example of the use of

in the flow of traffic

For New York is you

You are the seasons, you are the ocean

The translator of the poem above, according to Larson in

In the example above, the meaning of figurative expression, in

1. to apply the knowledge of and to identify and analyze the strategies

1.2 Significance of the Study

1.3 Scope of the Study

motivates their use and how the equivalence is established between

2.1. Literary Review

is caused by slight stylistic difference such as the use of exclamation

The study concludes that there are several strategies that

translator to produce an idiomatic translation in which all messages

certain kind of theoretical discourse. Circumtextual framing is framing

2.2.1 Figurative language

words in distinctive ways that achieves a special effect. In his discussion

 Kinds of figurative expressions

• Irony, Irony is words with an implication opposite to their usual

• Metaphor, metaphor is a figure of speech which concisely

• Metonymy, It is a word which is used for something related to

• Paradox, Paradox is a term in rhetoric for a situation or statement

• Personification, Personification is the assigning of human

• Pleonasm, Pleonasm is the use of more words than necessary, either

• Sarcasm, it is a term in rhetoric and general use for sneeringly

• Simile, Simile is a figure of speech, in which a more or less fanciful

• Synecdoche, It is a figure of speech concerned with parts and

2.2.2 Concepts of Meaning

whose chief function is to express emotion. In this case, the speaker

focus, and emphasis. It is often that an active sentence has different

2.3 Theoretical Framework

and lexical adjustments. However, since no two languages are identical,

2.3.3 Theory of relevance

In relation to the principle of relevance described above,

In translating the SL into the TL, the translator makes some

2.3.4 Strategies for translating figurative expressions

In addition to those strategies mentioned above, there are five

The three general strategies in which metonymy and synecdoche

2.3.5 Procedures of translation

further categorized into only two methods of translations, namely direct

Free or optional modulation is generally adopted because of

In doing a research, methodology is very important, because it

3.1. Data Source

There are two personal reasons for choosing this poem:

Kinds of figurative expressions

Determining the Theme

Theme Motivates the Use of Figurative Expressions