THE EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION OF SADNESS AS SEEN IN ADELE’S SONG LYRICS

Abstract

The research aims to describe how the words are used to express the feeling of sadness and to
show literal and non-literal of sadness expression in Adele’s song lyrics. According to Spinoza B
(1997) sadness is a mood characterized by feelings of disadvantage and loss. The data of this
research were taken from a number of Adele’s song lyrics that consist of sadness expression. The
method used in this research is qualitative method stated by Bodgan and Taylor (1975). The
theories that the writer used were emotional expression, repetition, figurative language, question,
idioms, and contexts (Fussel, 2002, Yanti 2013, Crabtree, 1991). The results of this research
show the are some ways to express the emotion of sadness through the words use, for example
blue,burst and bleed, depressed, sorrow, hurt, etc.. And, the use of figurative language especially
in the use of metaphor, personification, and hyperbole. In conclusion, the use of figurative
language gives additional meaning in the expression of sadness.

Keywords:emotion, literal expression, non-literal expression, figurative language, context.