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AN ANALYSIS OF DENOTATIVE AND CONNOTATIVE MEANING THROUGH

SYMBOLISM FOUND IN QUEEN'S BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

Made Dwika Wibhisana

English Study Program Faculty of Foreign Languages Mahasaraswati Denpasar University
madedwikawibhisana30@gmail.com

Abstract
Literature refers to something that can express an implicit message from the writer. The song lyric is a
combination of poem and music that can evoke any particular sense of the readers or the listeners through
the symbols written in the song lyric. Based on that reason, the writer is brought to analyze the symbol and
meaning which are expressed in a song lyric by Queen entitled "An Analysis of Denotative and Connotative
Meaning through Symbolism Found in Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody". This article applied the descriptive
qualitative method in analyzing the data source. Through this method, the writer tried to analyze, to explain,
and to find out the classification symbols that contain in the song lyric by using the theory proposed by
Balla (2012) which classified into three kinds they are; natural, artificial, and philosophical symbol. The
result of this analysis showed that 12 symbols contain in the song lyrics involving natural symbol (7 items),
artificial symbol (3 items), and philosophical symbol (2 items). Then, the writer also applied theory from
Leech (1974) about seven types of meaning which narrowed into two they are; denotative meaning and
connotative meaning that used to analyze the symbol from song lyric Bohemian Rhapsody.
Keywords: Semiotics, Symbolism, Bohemian Rhapsody, Denotative, Connotative

Abstrak
Karya sastra merupakan sesuatu yang bisa menyampaikan pesan tersirat dari penulisnya. Lirik lagu
merupakan gabungan dari puisi dan musik yang mana dapat membangkitkan perasaan tertentu bagi
pembaca ataupun pendengar melalui simbol-simbol yang dituliskan di dalamnya. Berdasarkan alasan
tersebut, penulis pun dibawa untuk menganalisis simbol dan makna yang disampaikan di dalam sebuah
lirik lagu dari Queen dengan judul "An Analysis of Denotative and Connotative Meaning through
Symbolism Found in Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody". Artikel ini menerapkan metode kualitatif deskriptif
dalam menganlisis sumber data. Melalui metode ini penulis mencoba untuk menganalisis, menjelaskan,
dan menemukan klasifikasi simbol yang ada pada lirik lagu Bohemian Rhapsody dengan menggunakan
teori dari Balla (2012) yang diklasifikasikan ke dalam tiga macam diantaranya alam, buatan, dan filosofi.
Hasil dari analisis pun menunjukkan bahwa ada 12 macam simbol yang ada pada lirik lagu meliputi alam
(7 simbol), buatan (3 simbol), filosofi (2 simbol). Kemudian, penulis juga menerapkan teori dari Leech
(1974) tentang tujuh macam makna yang dibatasi hanya pada dua jenis meliputi denotatif dan konotatif
yang digunakan untuk menganalisis simbol dari lirik lagu Bohemian Rhapsody.
Kata Kunci: Semiotik, Simbolisme, Bohemian Rhapsody, Denotatif, Konotatif
INTRODUCTION
Language is essential for human beings.
It is a bridge for transferring a piece of
information from one to another human.
Sometimes, language is used by the people to
send the message through the literature. In
most cases, it can express the writer's
feelings, ideas, emotions, and experiences.
Because of those reasons, literature is a field
which is mostly enjoyed by the people in
every generation. Literary works can be
categorized into some classifications, but one
of the famous things is the song. It refers to
the combination of poem and music.
According to Hornby (1974:822) stated that
song lyric is a short poem in several verses
set to music to be sung. Nowadays, it is very
popular because of the way it can deliver the
message from the writer through the
symbolic expression in the lyric.
The word symbol derived from
symballein, meaning 'to throw together', from
the Greek, 'symbolon' and Latin 'symbolum',
which meant emblem, sign, token, and mark.
It can be substituted into a thing, person,
place, and action. Balla (2012) classified
symbols into three categories; they are
natural, artificial, and philosophical symbols.
One symbol can represent many things either
knowledge, reality, or existence. Every single
people always needs the principles in their
life. Therefore, a symbol may be meaningful
morals and values for the people to
understand the truth of life.
Queen is a British rock band that existed
in 1970. There are 4 members as the original
formation they are; Freddie Mercury (lead
singer), Brian May (guitarist), John Deacon
(bassist), and Roger Taylor (drummer). This
band is very popular. Some many albums and
songs were already written and established.
One of the favorite songs which is an icon for
the band is Bohemian Rhapsody. It is six
minutes single which consists of several
sections: an intro, a ballad segment, an
operatic passage, a hard rock part, and a
reflective coda. This song is a masterpiece
all the time because it is very powerful and
contain a lot of symbolic expression through
the lyric. On the other hand, it will always be
a timeless song which can make the listeners
travel to the unlimited imaginations and at the
end of the day, every single people either they
lived in the different generation; past,
present, or future, the question will still lead
them to the similar questions like the writer
and also Freddie Mercury which is about the
reason for human existence in the world.
Inspiring by that phenomenon of
Bohemian Rhapsody's effect on the human's
life, the writer takes An Analysis of
Denotative and Connotative Meaning
through Symbolism Found in Queen's
Bohemian Rhapsody. Based on the title
above, the writer would like to analyze the
following problems:
1. What is the classification of symbols
expressed in Bohemian Rhapsody?
2. What is the denotative & connotative
meaning implied through the symbolic
expression in Bohemian Rhapsody?
To avoid plagiarism, the writer reviewed
some studies which are related to this study.
First, a study entitled The Types of Idiom
and Their Meaning in Maroon 5's Hands All
Over Album by I Putu Widi Antara (2015),
Udayana University. The study focused to
analyze the types of idioms that can be
identified in the song lyrics of Maroon 5's
Hands All Over Album by using the theory
proposed by Palmer (1976) and to find out the
meaning of the idioms by using Leech's
theory (1974).
Second, a study entitled Denotative and
Connotative Meaning in One Direction's
Songs Lyric: A Semantic Perspective by
Arsiska Sari & Paramita Kusumawardhani
(2016), Akademik Bahasa Asing BSI Jakarta.
This study aimed to find out some words that
contain connotative and denotative meaning
on a specific object in the three one
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direction's songs lyric by using Leech's
theory (1974) about 7 types of meaning.
Third, a study entitled Symbols,
Metaphors, and Personifications in Owl
City's Song Lyrics Based on Psychological
Perspective by Krisna Tankubara (2016),
Sastra Inggris STIBA Nusa Mandiri. This
study purposed to analyze the personality of
Owl City through elements such as symbols,
metaphors, and personifications in his songs
qualitatively and descriptively.
Fourth, a study entitled Semiotic Study
of Symbol for Sandy the Mute Character in
Rise of Guardian Movie by Ni Kadek Winda
Yanti (2018), Udayana University. The study
aimed at identifying the concept as the
representation of the symbols by using
Saussure's theory and also describing and
analyzing the meaning behind the use of the
symbols by using theory from Leech (1974).
Fifth, a study entitled The Analysis of
Figurative Language in Bohemian
Rhapsody's Lyric by Queen by Octa Pratama
Putra, Herlin Widasiwi Setianingrum, Sufi
Alawiyah, Fitriyah Fitriyah & Juniato
Sidauruk (2020), Universitas Bina Sarana
Informatika. This study is coincided with
seeking out the use of figurative language
content in Bohemian Rhapsody lyric by
Queen by using a qualitative method to
analyze the data source.
There are some similarities from this
research with five previous studies. There are
three studies from I Putu Widi Antara (2015),
Arsiska Sari & Paramita Kusumawardhani
(2016), and Ni Kadek Winda Yanti (2018)
are similar in the use of Leech's theory (1974)
in analyzing the data source to find out the
types of meaning. Then, the method to
analyze the data source is similar to all of the
previous studies which used the qualitative
method. Last, the data source used in the fifth
reviewed study is similar in using Bohemian
Rhapsody by Queen. Meanwhile, there are
some differences between the previous
studies with this study, the first previous
study used the song lyrics of Maroon 5's
Hands All Over Album and analyze the types
of the idiom by using Palmer's theory (1976).
Next, the second study used One Direction's
song lyrics as the data source. Afterward, the
third study used Owl City's song lyrics, and
also analyzed the metaphor, personification,
and symbol based on the psychological
perspective by using DiYanni's theory
(2004). Then, the fourth study used data
source was taken from the movie Rise of the
Guardian released in 2011. Last difference,
the fifth study focused on analyzing the
figurative language covering metaphor,
simile, personification, hyperbole,
alliteration, so on that found in Bohemian
Rhapsody.
Semiotics is a study of a sign. Sign
functioned as a substitution for everything
which can significantly represent something
else. According to Sebeok (2001:3), a sign is
any physical form that has been imagined or
made externally (through some physical
medium) to stand for an object, event,
feeling, etc., known as a referent, or for a
class of similar (or related) object, event,
feeling, etc., known as a referential domain.
Saussure (as cited in Sebeok 2001; 5-6),
defines two parts of signs as a signifier (a
form of a sign) and signified (the image or
concept that is represented). Also, there is the
'typology of signs': starting from Pierce's
trichotomy (as cited in Sebeok 2001:10) are
icon, index, and symbol. An icon is a sign that
is made for representing a similarity between
the signifier and its referent. An index is a
sign that shows the signifier is connected to
the signified which is being represented. On
the other hand, a symbol has no resemblance
between the signifier and the signified but it
stands for its referent in an implicit arbitrary,
conventional way.
The symbol is an element that is used for
meaning development in the literature. It can
deliver the ideas and emotions of the writer.
A symbol can illustrate many things at one
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moment and bring an endless imagination to
the readers based on their interpretation. It
follows that what the text literary says
(predictable) is somehow contradicted by
what it means and suggests (unpredictable).
The symbol is very necessary to be
contextualized because of the meanings can
be a contrast in space and time. Bonaventure
Balla-Omgba is an Assistant Professor at
Winston-Salem State University in Northern
California. His study is focusing on the
semiotics field. He wrote a book entitled
Symbolism, Synesthesia, and Semiotics,
Multidisciplinary Approach. According to
Balla (2012: p. 20), a symbol is the concrete
representation of an abstract reality. Balla
also classified three categories of symbols
they are: natural, artificial, and philosophical
symbols.
A natural symbol is something that can
be generated from nature. It is implied to be
universal and identical in every society all
over the world. It can do a shift of meaning
based on the context of its usage in the
literature. Natural symbol implicitly defines
the emotion and reflection of the writer to the
reader. It can convey meaning through color
patterns, things, places, and more. For
example, the wind is the symbol of mental
activity. There is no sign to understand where
the wind will blow. It also reflects the
development of mental abilities such as
human minds, feelings, and emotions. No one
can predict the human condition and situation
mentally. Because it is an abstract, happiness
can be expressed by a breeze, sadness can be
expressed by a storm, and anger can be
expressed by a tornado.
An artificial symbol is something that
can be created conventionally by society.
Living in an environment where the people
can speak through the symbol which suggests
specific ideas, concepts, notions, values,
lifestyles, and ideals. It can demonstrate
something which is usually used by the
people who lived in the society such as flag,
money, and landmark, so on. For example,
Sang Saka Merah Putih symbolizes the
Indonesian people. Two-color patterns are
combined to make the formation. Red is a
symbol of courage and white symbolizes
purity. When it is reflected the Indonesian
people to fight their independence, there are
two things which illustrate them; red
represents the human blood and white
represents the human spirit.
A philosophical symbol is something
that challenges the critical thinking/analysis
of life and existential realities. It postulates
and spark a sharp reflection on ontological
realities and encourage people to find the
answers to eschatological questions. It is
related to death, judgment, and the final
destiny of the soul and humankind.
Symbolism can figure out the meaning which
can be the values and beliefs of the human
being. It can be fundamental for
understanding existential facts and life.
Existentialism is connected to the
philosophical theory that emphasized the
existence of the person as someone who
decides their own life through action or
willingness to find out their identity.
Battery and yin yang are the symbols of
life balance. Life is represented as harmony
between the opposite. It is filled with each
other. This concept is known as Dualism.
Everything lived in co-existence, such as
male-female, body-mind, light-dark,
positive-negative, and good-evil. This
concept suggests everyone can decide what
they want in their life. There are no people
who can interfere with someone's life
because it will be nothing. White and black
dots can represent everything about the
human situation and condition depend on
what they want to choose.
Meaning is the purpose of the writer to
share the message through the form of
language to the readers. It defines as a bridge
for the writer to speak with the readers about
their personal feelings and thoughts. Leech,
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(1974) mentioned there are seven types of
meaning they are; denotative meaning
(meaning by dictionary), connotative
meaning (meaning by suggesting of mind),
social meaning (social context), affective
meaning (convey about personal feeling),
reflected meaning (multiple conceptual
meaning), collocative meaning (association
of words), and thematic meaning (message of
the meaning). The usage of meaning is
narrowed to both denotative and connotative
meanings which are used to interpret the
meaning in the song lyrics of Bohemian
Rhapsody.
Conceptual meaning (sometimes called
denotative or cognitive meaning) means the
literal meaning of a word, a gesture, or any
mark without emotion. It also refers to the
word which is taken from the dictionary.
Denotative meaning is widely assumed to be
the central factor in linguistic communication
(Leech, 1974: p. 9). For example, dove means
a stocky seed- or fruit-eating bird with a small
head, short legs, and a cooing voice.
Connotative meaning means a word that
implies to the reader's expression. According
to Leech (1974: p.12), the connotative
meaning is the communicative value an
expression has under what it refers to, over
and above its purely conceptual content. For
example, dove means purity, love, peace, and
faith.
METHOD
The data source used in this study is
taken from Queen's Greatest Song Bohemian
Rhapsody in their album A Night at the
Opera. It is the Queen's fourth studio album
that was released on November 21st, 1975.
This song entitled Bohemian Rhapsody is
chosen as the data source for its rich symbolic
expression that is expressed in the song lyric
which is needed for this study. Furthermore,
the symbol that is written in this song lyric is
very interesting since the meaning might be
morals and values for the people to
understand the truth of life.
The data that is collected by the writer
from Queen's Greatest Song Bohemian
Rhapsody was observed by using the library
method which following by several steps
they are;
1. Listening to the song of Bohemian
Rhapsody on YouTube.
2. Reading the song lyric of Bohemian
Rhapsody repeatedly from
https://www.genius.com/.
3. Identifying the data of Bohemian
Rhapsody by taking a note.
4. Selecting the data related to Bohemian
Rhapsody.
The data which has been collected were
analyzed by using the qualitative method
based on the theory that is used for the study.
Qualitative research is understanding people
from their frames of reference and
experiencing reality as they experience it
(Corbin & Strauss, 2008) as cited in (Tailor,
2016: 8-9). In this study, the writer focused
to classify the type of symbols which convey
the meanings based on the theory in usage.
The collected data related to the first problem
was classified by using the theory proposed
by Balla (2012). This theory is used to find
out the classification of symbols contained in
the song lyric Bohemian Rhapsody. To
support the first problem, the data collected
was explained by using theory from Leech
(2015) about types of meaning.
The data will be presented by using the
table to get factual and accurate answers for
the first research question. It will also be
explained descriptively to get an
understandable answer for the second
following question about the symbolic
meaning.
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RESULT & DISSUSION
1. Result
This chapter is focused on the result of
the collected data that is analyzed by the
writer by using the theory that concerns the
classification of the symbolic expressions
used in the song lyric of Bohemian Rhapsody
by Queen. The data will be presented by the
table to shows the classification of symbols
proposed by Balla (2012) that contain in
Bohemian Rhapsody.
Bohemian Rhapsody's Lyric
Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide
No escape from reality
Open your eyes
Look up to the skies and see
I'm just a poor boy
I need no sympathy
Because I'm easy come, easy go,
A little high, little low
Any way the wind blows doesn't really
matter to me, to me
Mama, just killed a man
Put a gun against his head
Pulled my trigger, now he's dead
Mama, life had just begun
But now I've gone and thrown it all away
Mama, ooh
Didn't mean to make you cry
If I'm not back again this time tomorrow
Carry on, carry on as if nothing really
matters
Too late, my time has come
Sends shivers down my spine
Body's aching all the time
Goodbye, everybody, I've got to go
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth
Mama, ooh (Any way the wind blows)
I don't wanna die
I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all
I see a little silhouetto of a man
Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the
Fandango?
Thunderbolt and lightning, very, very
frightening me
(Galileo) Galileo
(Galileo) Galileo
Galileo-Figaro Magnifico
But I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
He's just a poor boy from a poor family
Spare him his life from this monstrosity
Easy come, easy go, will you let me go?
Bismillah! No, we will not let you go
(Let him go) Bismillah! We will not let you
go
(Let him go) Bismillah! We will not let you
go
(Let me go) Will not let you go
(Let me go) Will not let you go
(Never, never, never, never let me go) Ah
No, no, no, no, no, no, no
(Oh, mamma mia, mamma mia) Mamma
mia, let me go
Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for
me, for me!
So you think you can stone me and spit in
my eye?
So you think you can love me and leave me
to die?
Oh, baby, can't do this to me, baby!
Just gotta get out, just gotta get right outta
here
(Ooh)
(Ooh, yeah, ooh, yeah)
Nothing really matters, anyone can see
Nothing really matters
Nothing really matters to me
Any way the wind blows
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 Table 1 this song is represented to someone who is
Symbol Classification wondering about his life. He is confused
Lyric Symbol about the reason for his existence in the
Landslide Natural world. It is reflected in the word "fantasy", he
Wind Natural thought that life is unreal, just a big illusion.
Skies Natural The reason because he always struggles to
Shiver Natural hide something unreal, either his identity or
Silhouetto Natural his desire. He was tired to be alive within the
Scaramouche Artificial fake personality. Therefore, he wanted to
Thunderbolt and Natural express everything that he wanted to deserve
lightning in this world which is about something that is
Galileo and Figaro Artificial very in contrast to society.
Bismillah Philosophical
Beelzebub Philosophical DATA 2:
Skies (n) in "Open your eyes, look up to the
From the table above, there are 12 words skies and see."
taken from the lyric and contained symbolic
expression in Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen (Bohemian Rhapsody, Line 6)
based on the theory proposed by Balla
(2012). Several symbols are taken from the The word "skies" in the sixth line refers
lyric, natural symbols (7 points), artificial to the natural symbol because it is an element
symbols (3 points), and philosophical of nature. Then, it is also an expression for
symbols (2 points). the connotative meaning because it sounds
like there is something wanted to deliver by
2. Discussion the songwriter through this word. The writer
In this part, the analysis of symbols in here argued that this is about a reflection of
Bohemian Rhapsody used the theory of types society's expression because in the song it is
of meaning proposed by Leech (1974), sung by the back vocal. They wanted to
denotative and connotative meaning. prevent the main character here to do
something which is very in contrast to reality.
DATA 1: They also did not want the main character
Landslide (n) in "Caught in a landslide, no here lived in misery and told him to surrender
escape from reality." to God. Everything will be better if he
followed the suggestion. Because those
(Bohemian Rhapsody, Line 3) people thought that God is the savior for
someone hopeless. But the main character
The word "landslide" in the third line here is a rebellious person. He did not need
refers to the natural symbol because it is any advice. He wanted to follow what he
related to the phenomenon of nature. It also believed. Freddie wrote it in:
has a connotative meaning since it is reflected  I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy.
as something different from what it looks  Because I'm easy come, easy go, little
like. Freddie Mercury started this song with: high, little low.
 Is this a real life? He needed no sympathy either it is from
 Is this just a fantasy? family, friends, society, or anyone. Because
Then, the next line came with the term when he just followed what people told him,
"landslide" implied. The writer argued that it is not satisfied himself, it killed him just

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like everything come easy and go easy, just
an emptiness that filled his heart.
DATA 3:
Wind (n) in "Anyway the wind blows."
(Bohemian Rhapsody, Line 10)
The word "wind" in the tenth line refers
to the natural symbol because it is also an
element of nature. This term is related to the
connotative meaning because there is a
hidden meaning that wants to be expressed.
The writer argued that it means nothing
should have cared. It happened when the
main character dares to start his new life.
Society already has gotten away from him.
Everyone rejected him to be a part of them.
But in the end, the main character here just
thought that it did not matter for him as long
as he found his happiness. Freddie wrote it in:
Anyway the wind blows doesn't really matter
to me, to me
DATA 4:
Shivers (n) in "Sends shivers down my spine,
body's aching all the time."
(Bohemian Rhapsody, Line 21)
The word "shivers" in the twenty-first
line refers to the natural symbol because it
represents something related to the human's
life in nature. This word is a denotative
meaning because it reflected the human act.
The writer argued that something has made
the character is living in pain. It is his fake
personality, wrong identity. The person here
wanted to escape from that struggle because
it always shares wound to his heart and makes
him not live under his control.
DATA 5:
Silhouetto (n) in "I see a little silhouetto of a
man."
(Bohemian Rhapsody, Line 28)
The word "silhouetto" in the twenty-
eighth line refers to the natural symbol
because it represents something in nature. It
is also a denotative meaning because it
reflected the meaning literally. The writer
argued that a new figure is already illustrated
by the character described in this song. He
found his new identity with a set of a new
personality. He is enjoyed being that new
character.
DATA 6:
Scaramouche (n) in "Scaramouche,
Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango?"
(Bohemian Rhapsody, Line 29)
The word "Scaramouche" in the twenty-
ninth line refers to the artificial symbol
because it is made conventionally by society.
The term "Scaramouche" is a stock character
from the Italian clown tradition commedia
dell'arte. This symbol also reflected
connotative meaning since it has a hidden
meaning that wants to be revealed. The writer
argued that the character's life is a joke which
can be illustrated from his journey in life. He
always observed everything. He played a new
character and found a new identity and
lifestyle. Freddie wrote it in:
 Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do
the Fandango?
Fandango is a Spanish dance that can be
illustrated as something that can be explored.
The way to find his identity which is
symbolized by "Scaramouche and Fandango"
very clearly represents that the character's life
here is very boring at first, that's why he
wanted to find his real-life by exploring
everything including his identity.
DATA 7:
Thunderbolt (n) in "Thunderbolt and
lightning very very frightening me."
8

Lightning (n) in "Thunderbolt and lightning
very very frightening me."
(Bohemian Rhapsody, Line 30)
The words "Thunderbolt and
Lightning" refer to the natural symbols
because both are elements of nature. They
also reflected the hidden meaning which can
be categorized as connotative meaning. The
writer argued that because he is very far away
to explore his identity until it brought a
plague which can make him suffering later.
The words "thunderbolt and lightning" are
like a punishment for the people who made
mistakes in their life. It seemed like the main
character here is in the situation. He just
regretted exploring his identity until he
forgets his existence, about the reason for his
life in the world. But everything is late, he
cannot go back to his old life. Therefore, he
must deserve every consequence that waits
for him in the future.
DATA 8:
Galileo (n) in "(Galileo) Galileo, (Galileo)
Galileo, Galileo Figaro Magnifico."
Figaro (n) in "(Galileo) Galileo, (Galileo)
Galileo, Galileo Figaro Magnifico."
(Bohemian Rhapsody, Line 33)
The word "Galileo & Figaro" in the
thirty-third line refers to the artificial symbol
because it is made conventionally by the
society in the previous era. These symbols
are reflected connotative meaning because
there is the implicit meaning that wants to be
expressed. Galileo was an Italian astronomer,
physicist, and engineer, sometimes described
as a polymath, from Pisa. Meanwhile, Figaro
was a scheming Spanish barber who appears
as a character in eighteenth-century French
plays. It was composed by Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart. Both, Galileo and Mozart
are symbols of evolution in their field.
Galileo was well known in science while
and Mozart was well known in music. It
refers to the main character who is successful
to do an evolution for his own life. He finally
deserved his choice. It is magnificent. But,
everything is not always with a good ending.
It is just like Galileo and Mozart, even though
they started an evolution but in the end, they
just faced their death because of their success.
Galileo died because he invented the sun-
centered system, then got socially isolated
until his last day and Mozart was killed with
poison by his hater. Meanwhile, in this song,
the character here is started to close from his
death because of his own mistake. But, no
one can blame for it. That's why he must take
it sincerely.
DATA 9:
Bismillah (n) in "Bismillah! No, we will not
let you go!"
(Bohemian Rhapsody, Line 38)
The word "Bismillah" refers to the
philosophical symbol since it represents
something about religion and faith. This term
also reflects the connotative meaning because
there is a hidden meaning that one wants to
deliver. The word "Bismillah" is related to
the "name of God" in Islam. But, the writer
here argued that it is not just related to
religion but it characterizes that the main
character is very depressed with his own life.
He did everything but he deserved nothing.
All of the things have been taken from him.
Sometimes, when that position comes to
someone's life again, actually there are still
other people who want to help. It is explained
by back vocal in:
 Bismillah! No, we will not let you go
 (Let him go) Bismillah! We will not let
you go
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 (Let him go) Bismillah! We will not let
you go
 (Let me go) Will not let you go
 (Let me go) Will not let you go
There are some lyrics of "Bismillah! We
will not let you go" that refer to the other
people who wanted to help the main character
once again. But, in the end, the main
character here always wants to go. He said
that just let him go to what he chose whatever
the consequence is.
DATA 10:
Beelzebub (n) in "Beelzebub has a devil put
aside for me, for me, for me!"
(Bohemian Rhapsody, Line 46)
The word "Beelzebub" refers to the
philosophical symbol because it is also
related to something about religion and faith.
This symbol reflects the connotative meaning
because of the hidden meaning that wanted to
be revealed. The writer argued that this is the
answer of the main character here for the
reason he wants to go and take aside from
God and obey the devil symbolize as
"Beelzebub". Beelzebub is represented as the
prince of Hell and also the other name for
Satan.
The main character here is very confused
to decide on his belief. There is a terrible
struggle in his self to choose a good or bad
thing. Those things are represented by
"Bismillah" and "Beelzebub". But at the end
of the day, he finally claimed that "Beelzebub
has a devil put aside for me", which means
the bad things have already influenced him
and he could not escape from it. Therefore,
he decided to continue his journey on that
path for the rest of his life.
CONCLUSION
Based on the analysis of this study, the writer
concluded there is some classification of
symbols found in Bohemian Rhapsody by
using the theory proposed by Balla (2012).
There are 12 used for this song and with the
following classification; natural (7 symbols),
artificial (3 symbols), and philosophical (2
symbols). Each symbol has its representation
for the meaning that wanted to express for the
listeners and most of them are connotative
meanings. Through the concept which is used
proposed by Leech (1974), the meaning of
symbols in this study pictured the
chronological phenomenon which happened
to the human's life in reality. They can
convey the meaning beautifully and evoke
the particular sense of listeners to unlimited
imagination to interpret the meaning and also
understand what the songwriter wanted to
express in the song about the reason for
identity existence in the world.
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