IRONY IN WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAM’S “THE WIDOW’S LAMENT IN SPRINGTIME”& ROBERT FROST’S “BEREFT”

ABSTRACT

Selfitria Rachmadani. 10.05.1.1.1.000.44. Irony in William Carlos Williams “The Widow’s Lament In Springtime” & Robert Frost “Bereft”. Thesis. English Study Program, Faculty of Social and Cultural Sciences, University of Trunojoyo Madura. Advisor: Dr. Suryo Tri Saksono
Irony in William Carlos William’s “The Widow’s Lament In Springtime” & Robert Frost’s “Bereft”.
Irony is a literary device or figure that may be used in the service of sarcasm or ridicule or may not by Perrine (2002), this study analyzes two poems; “The Widow’s Lament in Springtime” by William Carlos Williams and “Bereft” by Robert Frost. Those poems describe the sorrow of lonely people and their difficult time when they lose their beloved persons. Especially, the first poem describes the widow who always tries to become a strong woman when she is left by her husband. It is different with the second poem that tells about the loneliness of the male character in his life and his great faith in god.
This study intends to answer two formulated research problems, namely (1) What kinds of irony are there in “The Widow’s Lament in Springtime” by William Carlos Williams & “Bereft” by Robert Frost. (2) What are the meanings of the irony in these two poems. This is a qualitative research, which focuses on the words and phrases of the poem that reflect the true meanings of the irony in these two poems.
Finally, after the writer analyzes the data, it can be concluded that in first poem “The Widow’s Lament in Springtime” by William Carlos Williams there are ten irony: six situational irony and four dramatic irony. They can reflect the true meanings of the irony. Then, second poem, “Bereft” by Robert Frost, consists of eleven irony: five dramatic irony, one verbal irony, and five situational irony.
It can be understood that these two poems, “The Widow’s Lament in springtime” and “Bereft” use some kinds of irony in his poem. Next, in first poem is found the true meanings of the irony like spring. Spring and new growth bring the ideas of renewal, rebirth, and so on, but in this poem, spring symbolizes the darkness and the death of widow’s husband. Finally, in “Bereft” poem is found the true meanings of the irony such “Word I was in my life alone”. What the speaker says and the poem means are different, because the real meaning of the poem itself is the speaker never left by his family and his friends.
Keywords: irony, sorrow, alone, death, left.