STYLISTIC IN MAYA ANGELOU’S SELECTED POEMS

Abstract

This study aims to find out the language features used in Maya Angelou’s selected poems and to figure out the meaning in Maya Angelou’s selected poems through the use of language features. In this study the writer used qualitative descriptive approach in which this study described all the data. The theory which was used in this thesis was Geoffrey Leech’s theory to analyzed level of language. They are phonological level, grammatical level, lexical level and semantical level. The results showed that there were four language level found in Maya Angelou’s selected poems. The first was phonological level, which found in the poem were alliteration, assonance, consonance, and rhyme scheme. The second was grammatical level, the writer found the various tenses, there were simple present tense, simple present perfect tense and simple past tense to see the relation between tenses and the meaning of the poem. The third was Lexical level were nouns, verbs, adjectives and pronouns to see the choice of words that Maya Angelou used in her poem. The semantical level consisted to figurative language were simile, hyperbole, metaphor, and imagery. For the Phenomenal Woman poem, had a message for all women to conveyed that radiate your own beauty, without see the other woman beautiful standard and confidents to themselves. Our Grandmothers poem reveal that the woman avoided slaved and tell her children the worst that could happen, it was feeling injustice. Mother, a Cradle to Hold Me poem conveyed the mother love and speaker love to his mother and his afraid to lost his mother.