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Research Title : Analysis of Figurative Language and Imagery in Taylor Swift’s Songs

Journal : Journal Anglo-Saxon Vol. VIII No. 1 (ISSN: 2391 5292)


Author : 1) Siallagan, S. R., 2) Manurung, S., 3) Sinaga, J. B.
Year of Publication : 2017

1. Why is the research conducted?


This study was focused in analyzing the kinds of imagery and figurative language that
occur in Taylor Swift’s song lyrics of “1989” album. The researcher chose this album
because there are so many figurative language and imagery found in the song lyrics of
this album. The objective of the study are namely; 1) to identify the kinds of figurative
language and imagery used in Taylor Swift’s songs in “1989” album; and 2) to analyze
the meaning of each kind of figurative language and imagery found in the song lyrics.
Comments: this research seems interesting to conduct since most people, starting from
kids to adult, liked Taylor Swift’s songs, and they would be interested to understand
the figurative meaning of the lyrics they always listen.

2. How was the research conducted?


The researcher used a descriptive qualitative method, in which the data are described
systematically to get an accurate and factual result. The source of the data was taken
from song lyrics of “1989” album sung by Taylor Swift which consist of thirteen songs.
The researcher used documentation method as the way to collect the data.
Comments: The uniqueness of this research is that this research did not require the any
subject, setting, and instrument in order to collect the data since the research needed
only the songs and theory to describe and explain the figurative meaning of the lyrics.

3. How was the data presented and discussed?


The data was presented by explaining the figurative language and imagery analysis of
a-one-line lyrics (1 sentence) within each song of the album. Then, the data was
discussed by mentioning the analysis result of the 13 songs of the album, such as the
kinds of figurative language used, the dominant of figurative language used, kinds of
imagery used, and the dominant of imagery used.
Comments: instead of mentioning the result, the research discussion should relate the
problem of the study to the result with also supported by theories. In fact, the researcher
did not mention any theories and the author in the discussion.

4. What is the conclusion?


The conclusion of the research is that figurative language and imagery have important
roles in this album, which are to beautify the song and help the listener to imagine the
story and character within the lyrics.
Comments: the conclusion does not seem to match with the title, purpose, and the
findings in which the researcher was supposed to mention the kinds and meaning of the
lyrics instead of the function.

5. How are the references relevant to the research?


The references used by the researcher are mostly relevant. Because the researcher
analyzed the figurative meaning, using the literature such as poetry seems suitable.
Comments: the researcher did not use the latest APA style in making the references,
such as mentioning the first name of the author in full instead of in abbreviation, or
making the name of the article italic.

6. What is your overall comment for the research?


This researcher seems quite clever for selecting the topic of the research, in which
analyzing all songs in an album is pretty challenging that might interest the reader to
read. In fact, the researcher only analyzed a single lyric (a sentence) of the entire lyrics
of the song which means that it does not require much efforts to do that. Furthermore,
I think the researcher was really enjoying to conduct this research, because she would
listen to nice songs every time he would analyze the meaning.

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