Exploring Figurative Language in Mariah Carey’s Caution Album: A Semantic Study

Abstract

The present study aims to explore the types and meanings of figurative language in Mariah Carey’s latest album, Caution. A descriptive qualitative method was employed to analyze 37 data in the form of words, phrases, and sentences. A note-taking technique from Sudaryanto (2015) was applied in collecting the data. For analyzing the data, the researchers began by observing, identifying the category of the figurative languages, and classifying the types and the meaning. The present study utilized Perrine’s theory in analyzing the types of figurative language and Leech’s theory in revealing the meanings of the figurative language in the album. Results of the study demonstrated that there were eight types of figurative language found in Mariah Carey’s Caution album, namely, metaphor (20 data), hyperbole (9 data), simile (1 datum), personification (1 datum), metonymy (2 data), symbol (2 data), paradox (1 datum), and irony (1 datum). Furthermore, in analyzing the meaning, this research utilized the connotative and conceptual meaning of the figurative language found on the album.