Personification in DPR Ian’s Selected Song Lyrics from “Dear Insanity…”

Album

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

BY
BINTANG ANDINI
SRN. 20340022

ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION FACULTY
MUHAMMADIYAH UNIVERSITY OF METRO
2023
 Chapter I
Introduction
A. Research Background
Language is one of the tools for human communication. Without language,
people will not able to communicate with others. Beside that, people need language
to interact, to look and give people information. In literary works, people use
language in various ways, spoken and written language. According to (Oxford
Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 2015) language is the system of communication in
speech and writing that is used by people of particular country area. People can
express their emotion, feeling, and thought by language. That is why language take
important role in our daily life, because without language people will never be able to
communicate with the others. According to Rahamani (2020), song is a music with
meaningful words from the researcher. The use of language is something that is very
important in literary works, because various literary works are formed from the use of
creative and good language by writers.
Language serves as a means to convey and describe one's feelings. Through
language one can process ideas and thoughts that are in the heart and then
expressed, and realized into something interesting and beautiful, such as: poetry,
novels, and songs. The style of language expresses sentiments and ideas with a
particular language according to the personality, character, and inventiveness of the
researcher to achieve the effect of beauty. The three elements of the beauty effect
are the aesthetic effect (style), the poetic effect, and the effect of creating meaning.
The aesthetic element is characterized by the peculiarities of 2 choice of words,
sentence structure, forms of figurative language, use of cohesion, etc.
The style of language expresses sentiments and ideas with a particular language
according to the personality, character, and inventiveness of the researcher to
achieve the effect of beauty. The three elements of the beauty effect are the
aesthetic effect (style), the poetic effect, and the effect of creating meaning. The
aesthetic element is characterized by the peculiarities of 2 choice of words, sentence
structure, forms of figurative language, use of cohesion, etc.
Language plays a significant role in song. Nowadays, song has been part of
everyone’s life. Song is a kind of art that expresses a lot of aspects of life. It is
created based on human consciousness and imagination. It is a relatively short
musical composition and it contains vocal parts that are performed by human voice
and generally featured words, called lyric. Lyric is the words which are used to
compose a song. Some lyrics are typically of a poetic. A lot of song lyric represents
the reality, fact of life, or experiences of the writer. Song lyrics are the same as poetry
in terms of arranging the words of the lines and song lyrics contain lines like poems
do.
Songs usually consist of many figurative languages, especially personification, to
make the lyrics more interesting, imaginative, and meaningful but not too obvious.
Figurative language is a way of expressing oneself that does not use a word’s strict
or realistic meaning. Figurative language, which is common in comparisons and
exaggerations, is usually used to add creative flourish to written or spoken language
or to explain a complicated idea. According to Hutauruk (2017), figurative language
deviates from the standard meaning of a word or sentence to create an ordinary
literal meaning. It goes beyond the literary meaning of words to achieve a specific
effect. By comparing or contrasting people, objects, or situations, figurative language
can be used to describe feelings. Based on Carroll (2021), using simile,
personification, idioms, metaphor, metonymy, irony, hyperbole, etc. refer to a greater
or lesser degree than what is mean and make sense of the lyrics. From the definition
Hutauruk above, it can be concluded that figurative language conveys a message
that aims to have a particular impact on the listener.
One of the dominant elements in song is personification. Personification is a
branch of figurative language. Figurative language itself is non-literal wording that
adds creativity or rhetorical meaning to writing, and personification make
comparisons between two things that share one attribute. They state that one thing is
another thing. Personification are used in songs with the aim of making the song
more interesting, beautiful and pleasant to hear. Generally, personification are not
literally easy to understand, because they have a particularity. Personification is hard
to understand by most people, but in the song lyrics personification is commonly
used by composers is to inform feeling and more. Because it is assumed to be easier
to understand by using personification instead of using the literal one.
Personification is a sort of metaphorical language in which non-human entities
are depicted as having human characteristics, as in: "The rain poured down on the
wedding guests, indifferent to their plans." Personifying the rain by describing it as
"indifferent" is an example of personification because rain cannot be "indifferent," nor
can it feel any other human emotion. However, emphasizing that the rain is uncaring
artistically underlines the rain's awful timing. Personification can help writers develop
more vivid descriptions, make readers perceive the world in new ways, and more
strongly capture the human experience of the world (since people frequently interpret
non-human phenomena in the world as having human characteristics).
Moreover, personification is important in the song lyrics in order to focus on
giving the listeners a thought of weirdness that allows listeners to develop a greater
sense of identification with non- human entities which described as if they have
human abilities and attributes as well as it can make the thing easier to understand
and more vivid in the listeners' imagination.
Therefore, in this research, the researcher tries to find the personification DPR
Ian songs from Dear Insanity album. Christian Yu, known under the stage names
DPR Ian and Rome, is a Korean-Australian singer, songwriter, rapper, director, and
composer in Dream Perfect Regime (DPR), is one of the most well-known and
successful musicians today. His songs and works have achieved unfathomable
popularity worldwide.
As a result, research on DPR Ian songs can provide insight into his impact on
popular culture and the music industry. DPR Ian’s songs have always had deep and
emotional lyrics. Research on the lyrics and themes of these songs can reveal
aspects that researchers can identify and analyze, such as feelings, love, life, and
human experiences. This provides a space for the exploration of psychological and
social themes that may be present in the music.
DPR Ian’s songs contain instances of personification. Personification is a literary
device in which non-human objects or creatures are given human characteristics.
there are instances of personification in DPR Ian songs. Personification is a literary
device that attributes human characteristics to non-human objects or creatures.
Example of personification from the song "Mood": "My love brings all the lion". In this
lyric, "my love brings all the lion" are personified as something that can "brings lion”
because his love." The personification gives these abstract concepts a sense of
ability to gives someone a dangerous love like a lion. The another example
personification is from the song "So Beautiful": "I love when the skies can’t sleep." In
these lyrics, "skies” are attributed to humans with the ability to "sleep”. This is an
example of personification that gives human traits to abstract concepts.
The researcher is interested in analyzing some of the song lyrics from DPR Ian's
album "Dear Insanity..." because they generally indicate social experiences and are
related to living conditions that occur in society, especially for young people. This is
related to the use of personification in everyday life to express the social reality in
society.
Teenagers seem to like the lyrics since they relate to their current
circumstances, and the song from the "Dear Insanity..." album is already well-known
and has been played a lot since it was released. The following songs from the "Dear
Insanity..." album will be examined by the researcher in this album: Don’t Go Insane,
Bad Cold, Violet Crazy, So I Danced, Peanut Butter & Tears, and Welcome to the
Other Side.
B. Research Focus
The goal of the study is to examine understanding and interpretation through
Personification in DPR Ian’s Selected Song Lyrics from “Dear Insanity…”
Album. The message in a song can be understood by analyzing the lyrics. We can
deduce the songwriter's intended message by examining the song's structure,
linguistic style, and word choice.

C. Research Question
Based on the background of research, there are some question that need to be
answered through this research; they are:
1. What are the types of personification found in the song lyrics of DPR Ian’s selected
song?
2. What are the meanings of personification expression in the song lyrics of DPR
Ian’s selected song?

D. Research Objectives
Based on the research question, researcher concludes objective of the research.
There are some objective of the research as follow the research question:
1. To find out personification words found in the song lyrics of DPR Ian’s selected
song
2. To find out the meaning of personification expression in the song lyrics of DPR
Ian’s selected song

E. Research Benefits
The researcher expects this research will give a lot of benefits and valuable
knowledge to the readers, especially students of English Education at
Muhammadiyah University of Metro, English teachers, and future researchers. The
researcher wishes this study can improve and strengthen the insight of semantics,
particularly personification, for students of English Education at Muhammadiyah
University Metro. So they can increase their skills and insight about personification in
the semantic course.
 CHAPTER II
THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK

A. Previous Study
There are some previous research of metaphor which is related to
personification in the song and music. In order to avoid the similar corpus and
explanation, there should be a review of previous research. The following in other
related research that the researcher has read.
The first previous study was done by I Gede Jana Utama (2015), English
Departement, Faculty Of Arts, Udayana University. The title of this research is
“Analysis of Personification Used in the Blink 182 Songs”. This study is aimed at
finding out the type personification expression and its meaning in six songs written by
American punk-rock band, Blink 182, taken from the album “Self-Titled” (2003),
“Neighborhoods” (2011) and “Dogs Eating Dogs” (2012)” and analyze the meaning of
personification expression used in those songs. The descriptive qualitative method is
used in this study. The researcher was analyzed the personification used in the song
lyrics of Blink 182 based on the theory proposed by James J. Paxson (1994) and K.L.
Knickerbocker & H. Willar Reninger (1963). The result of this studies is there are two
personification expressions found in two songs from Blink 182. Those songs were
taken from two latest albums of them. The sentence that was marked above has a
connotative meaning. The use of personification expression in the song lyric is used
to make the effect of beauty and avoid the rigid lyric. On the other hand, those
expressions used in to the song just because the writer wants to beautify and make
the lyric more interesting in order to the listeners are interested to listen those songs.
The second previous study was done by Siti Istikomah, Nur Hidayat, and Festi
Himatu (2023), PGRI Semarang University, Faculty Language and Arts Education,
English Education Study Program. The title of this research is “Personification Found
in Jammie Miller’s Song Lyrics”. The aim of this study is to analyse the
Personification found in the lyrics of Jammie Miller's song 2021. The purpose of the
researchers conducting research on Jammie Miller's songs was to find
Personifications in Jammie Miller songs in 2021 and to explain the meaning of
Personification in the lyrics of Jammie Miller Songs in 2021. The method used in this
study is descriptive research with a qualitative approach. From the results of data
analysis, it can be concluded as follows: 1) There is Personification in every lyrics of
Jammie Miller's song in 2021, researchers found 22 lyrics containing Personification.
2) The researcher concluded that in the lyrics of the song, found in every song tell
love and sacrifice, there are many Figurative languages spoken, one of them is
Personification. The purpose of the research is to make it easier to learn and
understand the content of the meaning used in each song whose purpose is to
beautify the meaning of the song. This study used qualitative descriptive analysis.
The third previous study was done by Ni Putu Puspa Wedayanti, Ni Nyoman
Deni Ariyaningsih, and I Gusti Ayu Vina Widiadnya Putri (2021) English Department,
Faculty of Foreign Languages, Mahasaraswati Denpasar University. The title of this
research is “An Analysis of Personification Found in John Meyer’s Selected Song
Lyrics”. This study is mainly aimed at finding out the personification type in figurative
language and the meaning of personification found in John Meyer’s selected song
lyrics. The data source are John Meyer’s selected song lyrics. To answer the first
problem, this study used theory proposed by Knickerbocker and Reninger (1963)
about figurative language and classified the song lyrics into one type namely
personification. Meanwhile to answer the second problem the theory of meaning
proposed by Leech (1981) was used. There are six song lyrics by John Meyer
analyzed in this study. This study used qualitative descriptive analysis. The analysis
was started by continuously listening to the selected songs by John Meyer.
Afterward, the researcher read the lyrics of the selected songs, wrote down and
categorized it into personification expression. Based on the analysis, the researcher
found the 5 total of personification and 5 connotative meaning in John Meyer’s
selected song lyrics.
The fourth previous study was done by Genvil Darmarris and Vina Widiadnyana
Putri (2021) Universitas Mahasaraswati Denpasar. This article is entitled "An
Analysis of non-living personification in Northlane’s selected songs". This article aims
to identify which lyrics are containing the non-living personification used in the
selected songs of metal band Northlane and its meaning. The theory used is the
theory from Zhu (1991) to identify which lyrics from selected songs such as: Free fall,
Talking Heads, Eclipse, Vultures those are containing the non-living personification
and theory meaning from Leech (1981). In this article, the method used in this
research is the library method. The method used for presenting data is an informal
method, which means that the data will be described qualitatively with the description
method which includes several descriptions and support for formal methods, which
means that in this article there is a table used to explain the classification of the data
used. After analyzing the data, the writer concluded and found the result that in each
songs such as: Free fall, Talking Heads, Eclipse, Vultures there are some lyrics that
contain non-living personification based from theory of personification by Zhu (1991),
but there are only 5 types of meaning found from 7 types of meaning based on the
theory of meaning by Leech (1981) that found from the data such as Conceptual,
Connotative, Social, Affective And Thematic meaning.
The fifth previous study was done by Yuliyah Prasastri (2014) “An Analysis of
Personification Words Found in the Song Lyrics of Taylor Swift Albums and Its
Application in English Language Teaching”. Teacher Training and Educational
Sciences Faculty. Muhammadiyah University of Purworejo. The study is aimed to find
personification words, to analyze the meaning of personification of words, and to
explain the application of personification words found in the song lyrics of Taylor
Swift albums. The result of the research is expected to enrich English vocabulary in
English Language Teaching. The research is conducted by using descriptive
qualitative and by taking song lyrics of Taylor Swift albums as subject of the
research. The data was collected by reading the song lyrics, trying to comprehend
the content of every single song lyric, detecting the song lyrics that includes
personification words, and identifying and coding the personification words
discovered in the song lyrics of Taylor Swift albums.
In the studies mentioned above, the researchers looked at a particular song or
item for their investigation. In this study, the researcher used 5 songs from Ed
Sheeran's Subtract album as the research subject. For the research subject of this
study, take the Ed Sheeran album into account. The earlier studies covered JohN
Meyer, Northlane, Jammie Miller, Blink 182, and Taylor Swift. However, the songs
Boat, Eyes Closed, Sycamore, Borderline, and Colourblind from Ed Sheeran's
Subtract album were examined and discussed in this study.
The researcher should have covered and examined all varieties of metaphorical
language in the earlier research that she described above. However, some of those
researchers simply look at the personification that has been used frequently or
frequently in the prior studies. The researcher next addressed more complex and
distinctive personification in this study so that more varied and diversified effects
could be examined. The information was then acquired using the websites Genius
and Spotify.
Previous studies only employed one study item. Because of this, earlier study
had a narrow focus and did not offer readers any fresh information. This study aims
to investigate the subject in more detail and breadth because of this. By doing this, it
is possible to develop a more thorough comprehension of the subject, giving readers
access to more knowledge. Additionally, by conducting this research, new insights
and theories may be made, which would help readers comprehend the topic even
better.
B. Theoretical Review
A) Concept of Language
Language primarily serves as a tool for conveying messages, and this
communication typically occurs within a social framework. This underscores the
importance of comprehending and acknowledging the links between a language
and the individuals employing it for communication to be successful. Every day,
we employ language in a variety of contexts and for a vast array of purposes. In
addition to serving as a tool for communication, language is also utilized for
education and identification with a specific cultural group. (Olaifa, Taye Paul,
2014)
A system is a language. Language, like the human body, is a complicated
whole. Language works on the basis of sounds, words, and structure. These are
combined with one another to form language, a sophisticated totality. Phonetics,
grammar, and vocabulary are systems in and of themselves that make up a
language. (Husain, 2015)

B) Figurative Language
A group of languages known as "figurative language" employ terms or
idioms that have deeper meanings than their literal translations. Figurative
language is a kind of rhetorical language use that involves meaning-giving and
employing words to influence or persuade readers and audiences (Blanchard,
2019). Figurative language can convey a variety of emotions and ideas. It has to
do with the aesthetically pleasing and deft structure of phrases. It might give
readers a thorough description in their thoughts. In addition, (Alkhammash,
2022) said that metaphorical language is frequently used in everyday
interactions and is not just found in artistic contexts. This indicates that there is a
great deal of potential for research into the patterns and meanings that this kind
of language expresses.
Figurative language is used in literary theory. Generally speaking, songs,
novellas, poetry, and novels use metaphorical language (Saputra, 2015).
Figurative language, in his opinion, is consistently used in the books and other
works that people read and hear on a daily basis. This could add complexity and
aesthetic appeal to a literary work.
The researcher can deduce that figurative language is used to enhance the
beauty and aesthetic quality of the language from the expert viewpoints
presented above. In daily life, figurative language is also commonly used. As a
result, the reader's understanding and what is written are clear. The use of
 figurative language in literary works should be understood by listeners or
readers.

C) Kinds of Personification
Personification is a literary device that involves attributing human
characteristics, emotions, or behaviors to non-human entities or objects. There
are several kinds or types of personification, including:
a) Pathetic Fallacy
Personification of this kind attributes human emotions and sentiments to
inanimate things or aspects of the natural world. Giving the example of the
"angry storm" or the "weeping willow tree."
b) Zoomorphism
Attributing animal traits to non-animal entities or objects is known as
zoomorphism. Saying "roaring engine" of an automobile or "ticking hands" of a
clock, for instance.
c) Prosopopoeia
Prosopopoeia is the practice of giving inanimate objects or abstract concepts
human characteristics, such as speech or the capacity to behave in a human
manner. Putting death as a talking character, for example.
d) Conceit
This is a lengthy metaphor with a lot of personification. It occurs when two very
distinct things or concepts are elaborately compared, frequently endowing one or
both of them with human characteristics. John Donne compares the souls of two
lovers like a pair of compasses in "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning."
e) Anthropomorphism
This is a particular kind of personification wherein human traits, feelings, and
actions are ascribed to animals. Putting talking animals in children's books, for
instance.

D) “Dear Insanity…” Album

The much anticipated visual masterpiece Dear Insanity by Korean-Australian
indie-pop artist DPR Ian is now available for purchase and streaming on all
digital platforms via The Orchard. DPR Ian's 2022 full-length studio album,
"Moodswings In To Order," which enjoyed enormous global success debuting at
#1 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart, #6 on the World's Albums chart, and #7 on
Spotify's Top Albums Debut Global and US charts, respectively, is followed by
the release of "Dear Insanity..." on October 6, 2023, which is nearly 15 months
later.
The seven-track EP features the previously released singles "Peanut Butter
& Tears" and "So I Danced" and was written, directed, and produced by the
multifaceted musician himself. It provides a tantalizing glimpse into the
painstakingly crafted narrative that is still unfolding within DPR Ian's expanding
visual universe. The memoir “Dear Insanity...” details his transition from the
mysterious "MITO" persona to the charismatic new persona "Mr. Insanity."
The EP captures this journey and DPR Ian's artistic development and
creative brilliance in its entirety. The focus single "Don't Go Insane" by DPR
Ian's, which debuted on Apple Music's international New Music Daily broadcast
hosted by Zane Lowe, now has a music video.
 CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHOD

A. Research Design
Research design can be understood from the perspective of a researcher as the
blueprint or plan that guides the entire research process. It is the researcher's
strategic framework for conducting a study, outlining the steps to be followed and the
methods to be employ in order to achieve the research objectives. The research
design provides a road map for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data, ensuring
that the study is systematic, valid, and reliable. Research design according to
Jenkins-Smith (2017), is a research design is the set of steps you take to collect and
analyze research data. In other words, it is the general plan to answer your research
topic or question. It can also think of it as a combination of research methodology
and research method.
The researcher use qualitative research in this research. The methodologies and
methods incorporated in the design of a research study will depend on the standpoint
of the researcher over their beliefs in the nature of knowledge (see epistemology)
and reality (see ontology), often shaped by the disciplinary areas the researcher
belongs to (Sarah Wright et al. 2016).
As a result, the researcher employs a research strategy that yields a description
of the words. Finally, the qualitative method is the most beneficial alternative for this
study. This qualitative research method would be used to analyze personification in
DPR Ian’s selected song from his album, "Dear Insanity…" In this research,
qualitative is the best method for producing a decent analytical result in order to
locate the figurative language for this study

B. Research Setting, Subject, and Object

The study setting or context in which studies are conducted has huge
implications for experiment design, data collection, and interpretation of results.
According to Flood (2012), the research context is the location or area where the
phenomena are being investigated. In qualitative research, the research context is
not usually limited to a specific institution or region. As a result, researchers do not
assign a specific place. Furthermore, this study can be undertaken at any time and in
any location.
Research subject typically refers to the individual or entity being studied or
observed in a research study. It can also refer to the topic or area of investigation
that the researcher focuses on. According to Luspa (2013), a research subject is an
individual who participates in a study or someone whose data is collected. Human
participants were not used by the researcher in this investigation. The researcher,
however, incorporates certain tracks from the Subtract Album.
The Research Object is a collection of materials that tells the story of a work or
research. According to Sholehudin (2020) study, the research object is the research
focuses on a narrow span of the research item. In the sense of publication, the
research object verifies the findings of the investigation. In this research, the
researcher investigate and analyze the personification in selected songs in the “Dear
Insanity…” album by DPR Ian. Then the researcher focuses finding the meaning of
those personification.

C. Research Instrument
A research instrument is a tool used to collect, monitor, and manage data
pertinent to a certain study purpose in order to evaluate patients, clients, students,
instructors, and other people. These tools are most commonly used in the fields of
fundamental sciences, health sciences, and education. The research instrument,
according to Ussher (2020), is a thorough description of the assessment tools
created to assess the research. Additionally, he concurred in his assertion that the
utilization of research equipment is the most important consideration.
The researcher employs both the primary and supporting instruments in this
investigation. The researcher employs himself as the primary instrument in this study.
In contrast, the researcher uses documentation for the supporting equipment to back
up the research that the researcher is conducting.
1. The Researcher as Human Instrument
Since one of the goals of the instrument is to help this research, the primary
instrument in this qualitative study is utilized to collect the data. According to this
study, the researcher is the instrument because no other instrument is more
crucial for gathering data than the researcher.

2. Tabulation
 The process of organizing the data into a table is called tabulation. The
information derived from the analysis required by the writer. The table is meant
to assist the researcher in compiling all of the data that needs to be examined.

D. Data Collecting Technique

The method by which a researcher gathers data for a study is referred to as the
data collecting technique. The method by which a researcher collects data for a study
is described by the data collecting technique. Additionally, the method of data
collecting can be used to determine the focus of the study. As a result, research
without the right methodology will not produce the greatest results.
In this instance, the study collected data utilizing a process tabulation. And how
to use tabulation is:

1) Tabulation:
a. Tabulation is the process of organizing qualitative data in a structured and
systematic manner to facilitate analysis and comparison.
b. Create tables or matrices to display summarized information. You can use
Microsoft Excel or specialized qualitative research software.
c. Categories or codes from your data can be organized into rows or columns.
Each cell can contain a summary or description of the data relevant to that
intersection.
d. Tabulation can help you identify patterns, common themes, or differences within
your data.

The major source for this study would be DPR Ian’s “Dear Insanity…” album,
outside from that. Following are the steps for gathering data for this study:
1. Listen to the selected songs in the “Dear Insanity…” album by DPR Ian in
Spotify
2. Read the lyrics of the selected songs in the “Dear Insanity…” album by DPR
Ian in Genius website
3. Make a list of lyrics from the album that contains personification
4. Create a tabulation in excel or a spreadsheet to document the lyrics and their
associated figurative language and imagery.
5. Categorize the personification that appears in those songs.
6. Analyze the results and conclude the use of personification in the selected
song from “Dear Insanity…” album.
E. Research Data Analyzing Technique
After gathering the data and providing an answer to the study question, the
researcher then examines the data. Creswell and Poth (2018) emphasize that data
analysis in qualitative research involves systematically organizing, categorizing, and
making sense of the data collected. They discuss various techniques such as coding,
thematic analysis, and constant comparison to analyze qualitative data and generate
themes or categories. Information is examined as part of this process to spot trends,
correlations, and patterns as well as any potential anomalies. Additionally, it might
involve the creation of hypotheses, the use of suitable statistical methods, and the
relevant presentation of the findings.
Data analysis can also be employed to derive important insights and conclusions
from the data. In the end, it is crucial to the success of any research endeavor and is
a fundamental part of the research process. It is also an essential tool for making
decisions in many facets of life. Following being gathered from various data sources,
the data was assessed using the following procedures:
1. Reading and recognizing the entire lyric to detect personification. The first
stage in data collection is for the researcher to read the lyrics and identify the
personification utilized.
2. After identifying the data, the researcher classifies it according to the
categories of personification.
3. Analyzing the significance of personification in “Dear Insanity…” album by
DPR Ian. The researcher studies every song. The researcher investigates the
meaning by analyzing the lyrics surrounding meaning.
4. Write the personification in the tabulation instrument.
5. Generates descriptive information on the results of various analyses of
personification.