AN ANALYSIS OF JOHN DONNE’S POEM “LOVE’S ALCHEMY” AND PERCY B

SHELLEY’S POEM “LOVE’S PHILOSOPHY” AND THE CONTRIBUTION

FOR ENGLISH EDUCATION

THESIS

Submitted as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for Bachelor Degree in English

Department Faculty of Teacher Training and Education University of Mataram

By:

RISMAYANTI ADAM

E1D113128

ENGLISH EDUCATION PROGRAM LANGUAGE AND DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION

UNIVERSITY OF MATARAM

2019

iv

DECLARATION

I certify this thesis entitled An Analysis of Love in John Donne’s Poem “Love’s Alchemy”

and Percy Shelley’s Poem “Love’s Philosophy” and the Contribution for Education is result

of my own work, except on the part of references source and this thesis has not been submitted

for any other degrees to any other universities or institutions.

Mataram, Januari 2019

Rismayanti Adam

E1D113128

v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Praise to Allah S.W.T and the greatest gratitude to Him, for the guidance and blessing so

that the writer is finally able to write this thesis entitled An Analysis of Love in John Donne’s

Poem “Love’s Alchemy” and Percy Shelley’s Poem “Love’s Philosophy” and the Contribution

for Education.

This thesis submitted as a partial fulfillment of the requirement for the bachelor degree in

English Education. Without the assistance of the following numbers of people who have great

contribution and influences on the writing of this thesis, the writer may difficult to finish it. She

is deeply indebted to these people and would like to say her sincere.

1. Thanks to Dr. H. Nuriadi, SS., M. Hum as the first advisor who had given his guidance,

advice, suggestion and encouragement for the completion of this thesis.

2. Thanks to Eka Fitriana, SS., MA as the second advisor who had given his guidance, advice,

suggestion, and encouragement for the completion of this thesis and who has helped and guided

me along the study.

3. Thanks to Mh. Isnaini SS., MA as my third examiner, who also had given me a lot of new

knowledge during my revision.

4. Thanks to Prof. Drs. H. Mahyuni MA., Ph. D as my academic advisor who kindly guide the

writer.

5. Thanks to Dr. Muhammad Amin, M. Tesol as my academic advisor who kindly guide the

writer.

v

6. Thanks to all the lecturers, who had shared their knowledge sincerely, of the English

Department Faculty of Teacher Training and Education University of Mataram.

7. Thanks to my beloved father, Matsehrianto, who had worked hard for my education. I love

him from the depth of my heart, thanks a lot for your support, charity, patience, time and

everything. Then, thanks to my mother Baiq Wirdianti, always cooks for us and discipline us.

She is the women that I love the most.

8. Thanks to my brothers, Andi and Aldy who always support me unconditionally. Thanks to

Fadly who had helped corrected my chapter four’s grammar. Thanks to my classmates who

always make me laugh. And thanks to all people who have kindly helped me during my last

semesters

Finally, I realize that this thesis is far from perfection. Therefore, critic and suggestion

are needed for the perfection of this thesis.

Mataram, Januari 2019

The writer

viii

AN ANALYSIS OF JOHN DONNE’S POEM “LOVE’S ALCHEMY” AND PERCY B

SHELLEY’S POEM “LOVE’S PHILOSOPHY” AND THE CONTRIBUTION FOR

ENGLISH EDUCATION

Rismayanti Adam

E1D113128

ABSTRACT

This research is aimed at identified the way loves are described in the “Love’s Alchemy” poem

and “Love’s Philosophy” poem and discover the contribution of those poems for education

purpose. The researcher uses qualitative method. The primary data of this research are taken

from the “Love’s Alchemy” and “Love’s Philosophy” poem. Meanwhile the secondary data are

taken from the books, journal, articles, internet sites and dictionary that are related to the study.

After analyzing the data of those poems, the writer found the way loves are described in those

poems, and the similarities and differences between “Love’s Alchemy” and “Love’s Philosophy”

in terms of form and meaning. The love that is portrayed in “Love’s Alchemy” is a metaphysics

love or platonic love. Meanwhile in “Love’s Philosophy” the love must be implemented through

physical touch. There are some figurative languages that uses in “Love’s Alchemy” such as;

oxymoron, alliteration, paradox, metaphor, repetition, personification, simile and antithesis.

Meanwhile the figurative languages that uses in “Love’s Philosophy” are personification,

repetition and symbols. The writer also found the contribution of this study for education which

contains many aspects that can be learned by students. These aspects are; cognitive, emotive and

evaluative.

Keywords: Poem, Physical Love, Metaphysics Love, Education

ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLEPAGE………………………………………………………………………………………..

APPROVAL………………………………………………………………………………………ii

RATIFICATION…………………………………………………………………………………iii

DECLARATION…………………………………………………………………………………iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT………………………………………………………………………...v

DEDICATION…………………………………………………………………………………...vii

ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………………….viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………………………………………………ix

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of Study……………………………………………………………………….1

1.2 Research Question………………………………………………………………………….5

1.3 Objectives of Study…………………………………………………………………………5

1.4 Scope of Study……………………………………………………………………………...6

1.5 Significances of Study……………………………………………………………………...6

1.6 Definition of Key Terms……………………………………………………………………6

CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1 Relevant Study……………………………………………………………………………...9

2.2 Poetry as Literature………………………………………………………………………..10

2.3 Love and Its Kinds………………………………………………………………………...18

2.3.1 Definition of Love……………………………………………………………………...18

2.3.2 Kinds of Love……………………………………………………….............................19

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2.3.2.1 Metaphysics Love…………………………………………………………………19

2.3.2.2 Romantic Love…………………………………………………………………….22

2.4 Character Education…………………………………………………………………………24

CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD

3.1 Research Design…………………………………………………………………………...30

3.2 Source of Data……………………………………………………………………………..31

3.3 Method of Collecting Data………………………………………………………………...31

3.4 Method of Analyzing Data………………………………………………………………...32

CHAPTER IV FINDING DISCUSSION

4.1 Findings…………………………………………………………………………………...33

4.1.1 The Way Love Is Described in “Love’s Alchemy” and “Love’s Philosophy” ….……33

4.1.1.1 The Way Love Is Described in “Love’s Alchemy”……………………………….33

4.1.1.2 The Way Love Is Described in “Love’s Philosophy”………………………….…34

4.1.2 The Differences and Similarities between “Love’s Alchemy” and “Love’s Philosophy”

Form and Meaning……………………………………………………………………..34

4.1.2.1 The Differences of Form and Meaning between “Love’s Alchemy” and “Love’s

Philosophy”………………………………………………………………………34

4.1.2.2 The Similarities of Form and Meaning between “Love’s Alchemy” and “Love’s

Philosophy”………………………………………………………………………35

4.1.3 “Love’s Alchemy” and “Love’s Philosophy” for Education Purposes……………….37

4.2 Discussions………………………………………………………………………………..38

4.2.1 The Way Love Is Described in “Love’s Alchemy” and “Love’s Philosophy”………...38

4.2.1.1 The Way Love Is Described in “Love’s Alchemy”……………………………….38

xi

4.2.1.2 The Way Love Is Described in “Love’s Philosophy”……………………………49

4.2.2 The Differences and Similarities between “Love’s Alchemy” and “Love’s Philosophy”

Form and Meaning…………………………………………………………………….57

4.2.2.1 The Differences of Form and Meaning between “Love’s Alchemy” and “Love’s

Philosophy”……………………………………………………………………....58

4.2.2.2 The Similarities of Form and Meaning between “Love’s Alchemy” and “Love’s

Philosophy”……………………………………………………………………....65

4.2.3 “Love’s Alchemy” and “Love’s Philosophy” for Education Purposes……………….67

CHAPTER V CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

5.1 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………...71

5.2 Suggestion…………………………………………………………………………………73

REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………………..75

APPENDICES…………………………………………………………………………………...79

1

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

For a poet, the depiction of love is illustrated through various honest

expressions that they write in a literary work, in which the work of literature has

illustrated a mandate about love. As part of these manifestations of love, we give a

picture of the aspects of love in different perspectives by adding two poems as an

aspect which can be derived from the honest submission of the authors. As one

aspect that is a cultural component, love has a role in creating conformity to

norms and rules in society. Love is a beautiful expression if love goes according

to its purpose, but love can also be a negative thing when it works on the basis of

wrong goals. In the perspective of a writer, they portray an honest, open, and far-

reaching form of love. Sometimes a person interprets love as a necessity, this is

natural because the manifestation of love is intrinsically inherent in the soul of

every human being, so it is very realistic that everyone expresses the need for a

love, including the need to love and be loved.

Many people engage in suicide on behalf of love, because they do not

clearly understand the manifestations of love itself, they consider love to be an

absolute possession, when it is absolute only belongs to God. Love should be

based on an awareness of the notion that the love of a living thing is bound to

meet the separation of death, and there is no absolute love in the world because it

will meet a separation, for the only love is the love of God. That is what we must

realize in order to happen, the incident about suicide in the name of love does not

2

happen, because love is a manifestation of the heart, so it is inappropriate when it

must be in blame. This is reflected in a John Donne‘s poem entitled ―Love‘s

Alchemy‖ where Donne states that ―And as no chemic yet th'elixir got‖. It

because elixir is an alchemic term and it has not to be found yet like the miracle of

love that has not to be found yet and seems impossible to be found too.

John Donne is well-known with his metaphysical poems, he is even

considered as the pioneer of metaphysical poetry (Mahavidyalaya, 2012: 447).

Metaphysics is the part of philosophy that is about understanding existence and

knowledge (Roach, Jones, Setter &Esling, 2008: 85). He explores arguments of

scholastic philosophers in his poetry ―Affects the Metaphysics‖ and then it

became a school of poets in 1779. He used this metaphysical mode on the poem to

oppose the idealized view of life and love pleasure that is considered as a central

tradition in Elizabeth poetry (Abrams and Harpham, 2009: 192-193), and it is very

visible in this ―Love‘s Alchemy‖ poem. This poem, by its ‗alchemy‘, chooses to

talk about metaphysics of love, the essence that loves to human are only

imposture like stated in the poem ―O! ‗tis imposture all‖. This poem represents

the alchemy, the miracle of love that can change something to be better as a lie. It

is really contradicted to the general view of love that love can give happiness and

power as love means like and having a strong feeling of like.

In addition, Plato states that love is not irrational phenomenon that

suddenly occurs. It has a beginning. It lives in a human‘s world idea that occupied

by human‘s soul. Plato believe that before a human‘s soul and human‘s body

united, human‘s soul is exist in the world of idea. Plato emphasized in his work

3

Phaedothat the human soul is the first aspect of human that superior to human‘s

body. Human has two worlds although their body and soul have united. The

human body lives in the material world with all the physical needs and the human

soul lives in the world of ideas with its spiritual needs. Love is human‘s spiritual

needs.

Furthermore, human‘s body is a tool for human‘s soul to reach the good

aims of human‘s soul, but it can be a barrier for human‘s soul at the same time

because of human‘s body needs. That makes Plato ignite the concept of love

called Platonic love that describes love is a motivation to do good things and fill

the human‘s spiritual needs. Platonic love is fixed on all objects on the basis of

humanity. Platonic love is just to satisfy the needs of the soul after giving good

things to the world, not to pursue material gains like sex or other rewards.

Some writers describe the description of love with the language of

parables, sometimes this description is describing the real life of the writer, they

call that Love is a real glory even though not directly described. Of the

glorification, an English poet Percy Shelley reflects on his poem entitled ―Love‘s

Philosophy‖. Shelley describes his feeling that in love with someone and

persuaded her to accept his love. Love's Philosophy poem is a romantic lover's

playful argument, putting forward his case for the union of love. Natural imagery

and strong rhyme appeal to the reader's senses, presenting this relationship as

something innocent, simple and inevitable. 'Philosophy' here means an argument

or a way-of-thinking. He begins his explanation of the philosophy of love by

describing different parts of nature. He talks about ―the fountains‖ and the way

4

they ―mingle with the river‖. Shelley then mentions the rivers, and how they meet

with the ocean. These all symbolize people and imply that people are meant to

mingle with one another. Shelley then says that ―the winds of heaven mix forever

with a sweet emotion‖. With this description, Shelley suggests that the physical

and the emotional are connected in some way. Shelley‘s perspective of love is

similar to Robert Sternberg who ignited the triangular love theory.

Stenberg stated the triangular theory of love holds that love can be

understood in terms of three components that together can be viewed as forming

the vertices of a triangle. These three components are intimacy, passion, and

commitment. Each component manifests a different aspect of love. Intimacy

refers to feelings of closeness, connectedness, and bondedness in loving

relationships (Sternberg & Barnes, 1985: 24). It thus includes within its purview

those feelings that give rise, essentially, to the experience of warmth in a loving

relationship.

Passion refers to the drives that lead to romance, physical attraction,

sexual consummation, and related phenomena in loving relationships. The

passion component includes within its purview those sources of motivational and

other forms of arousal that lead to the experience of passion in a loving

relationship. Commitment refers to the short-term, to the decision of loving each

other, and in the long-term, to one's commitment to maintaining that love. These

two aspects of the commitment component do not necessarily go together, in that

one can decide to love someone without being committed to the love in the long-

5

term, or one can be committed to a relationship without acknowledging that one

loves the other person in the relationship (Sternberg, 1988: 51).

In conclusion, the truthful expressions of the poem clearly illustrate how a

man of literature glorifies a love, in the sense that the love has a worth of keep and

keeps on all forms of taint which might damage the image of a love. A literary

man assumes only two souls, which is the life that enlivens him, and the work that

magnifies him. They will guard the work they make, because a literary work is a

noble expression born on the basis of love, the love of a writer to his work, to

literature, to culture, and to the value and the message he wants to convey through

the work.

1.2 Research Question

Based on the background of the study above, this research will discover

some answers for the following questions:

1. How loves are described in ―Love‘s Alchemy‖ and ―Love‘s Philosophy‖?

2. What are the differences and similarities between ―Love‘s Alchemy‖ and

―Love‘s Philosophy‖ form and meaning?

3. What are the contributions of literary works for education?

1.3 Objectives of Study

The objectives of the study are:

1. To explain how loves are described in ―Love‘s Philosophy‖ and ―Love‘s

Alchemy‖.

2. To identify the differences and similarities between ―Love‘s Alchemy‖ and

―Love‘s Philosophy‖ formand meaning.

6

3. To describe the contributions of literary works for education.

1.4 Scope of Study

This study investigates the differences and similarities between content

and meaning of two poems (―Love‘s Alchemy‖ and ―Love‘s Philosophy‖). The

writer will convey how loves are described in those poems and explain the

contribution of the literary works for education.

1.5 Significances of Study

There are two significances of study. Those are theoretical and practical

significances:

Theoretically,this research is done to apply some theories on literature

which clearly shows how their benefit is helping research for anyone. The study

can be used as a reference to understand the content of ―Love‘s Alchemy‖ and

―Love‘s Philosophy‖. This research also can be used by many people who are

related to literature especially from the English Department. Hopefully, this study

could be the references for the next researchers who are interested in analyzing the

two poems.

Practically, the writer hopes this study can provide more general

knowledge about the interpretation of ―Love‘s Alchemy‖ poem and ―Love‘s

Philosophy‖ poem and it will improve human‘s perspective of love.

1.6 Definition of Key Terms

To avoid misunderstanding about the topic of this research, the writer

wants to explain some terms used as follow:

7

1. Poem : Apiece of writing in which the words

arecarefully are chosen for

theimagesandideastheysuggest, and in which

the sounds of the words

whenreadingaloudoftenfollow a particular rhythmic

pattern(dictionary.cambridge.org).

2. Contribution :Something that you give or something that you do

that helps in achieving an end result

(dictionary.cambridge.org).

3. Meaning (of Poem) : The meaning is something that is concluded from a

word, so the meaning of the object is very

intertwined. If a word cannot be linked to its object,

certain events or circumstances we cannot get the

meaning of the word. in poetry, themeaning is

closely related to the selection of words by the poet

in his poetry. Because poetry is a literary form with

few words can reveal many things, the words must

be chosen as carefully as possible. The choice of

words in poetry is closely related to meaning, sound

harmony, and word order (Tjiptadi, 1984:19).

4. Metaphysics Love : Metaphysic love is an unlimited love where no

human brains and mind can reach the absolute

8

understanding (Ross, D., Ladyman, J. & Kincaid, H.

:2013)

5. Romantic Love : According to Sternberg (1988), Romantic love

contains the component of intimacy (intimacy),

passion (passion) and commitment (commitment).

9

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1 Relevant Studies

Some of the researchers have conducted the study about ―Love‘s Alchemy‖

by John Donne and ―Love‘s Philosophy‖ by Percy B Shelley. Nisak (2016) with

her research‘s title ―Love as Represented in John Donne‘s Love‘s Alchemy‖. This

research describes love as seen in Donne‘s ―Love‘s Alchemy‖ poems is love

among human or couple love as seen in the word /bridegroom's/ in the second

stanza. There are four main elements that are used to describe love in this poem,

they are ambiguity, irony, paradox,and tension. The ambiguity tells about how

ambiguous the existence of love, its miracleand its sacrifice are; whether they are

real or not. The paradox shows the unreal existence of love; love, it miracle and

its sacrifice are a fake/ imposture. The irony finds that love does not really exist,

its miracle and its sacrifice are false, while the tension appears from the belief in

spiritual love and bodily love, also from the differences between the idealized

view and the reality.

Apriliawan (2013) with his research‘s title Love in Samuel Taylor

Coleridge‘s ―Desire‖ and Percy B Shelley ―Love‘s Philosophy‖. This research

analyzes the human‘s feeling of love. The feeling of love is depicted in a poem

entitled ―Desire‖ by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Percy Byshee Shelley's ―Love's

Philosophy‖. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the intrinsic elements of

Samuel Taylor Coleridge's ―Desire‖ poetry and Percy Byshee Shelley's ―Love's

10

Philosophy‖, to analyze feelings of love through the learning of id, egoand

superego, and to analyze the categories of love shown in both poems.

―Love‘s Philosophy‖ by Percy B Shelley explains the feeling of love that

appears in someone. The feeling of love towards others makes him want a

relationship and share the love with a person. The author gives an image that

nature interacts with its companion. He wants to explain that physical contact is

supposed to happen in any couples. He demonstrates this phenomenon to explain

that he is also supposed to hug and kiss his partner. His egoexplains to his loved

ones that everything in nature has a pair. With this explanation, he shows his

longing to live with his loved ones.

―Love‘s Alchemy‖ and ―Love‘s Philosophy‖ are good poems which have

their imagination about love. Those poets are truly conveying love based on their

perspective.

2.2 Poetry as Literature

The word ‗literature‘ is coming from the Latin word that is ‗litteratura‘

meaning that it is form or piece of writing. Literature is proposing culture. Spiller

(1974) stated that literature is portrait and record of certain nation's experiences.

Due to its large scope, literature certainly deals with thoughts, rationality, logic,

vision, mission, principles of life, besides applying emotion and imagination. It

truly comes from, by and for human beings, their lives and their civilization.

Literature can be categorized into a work of art, namely; aesthetics,

creativity, a form of genius and emotive utterance. As a matter of fact, all kinds

and forms of arts are in the frame of these basic ideas. Firstly, the work is

11

aesthetic because it brings about a sense of beauty either through its form or

content. Secondly, literature is viewed as a creative work because it is truly a

result of creativity; or it is created only by one person. It is very personal, it is

something coming from the deep side of someone, personally. Thirdly, literature

is called as a form of genius because literature as a work of art is born due to an

author‘s power of intelligence where imagination, knowledge, and logic are

working together in producing any story and facts in the work. And fourthly,

literature is called as an emotive utterance because it is able to express or utter an

author‘s emotion, vision, and principle honestly.

Literary works have some subgenres, such as prose, drama and poetry, but

poetry is a work which offers and exposes a truth in higher level (Poetics: 2003).

Poetry is truly poetic or assumed to be poetic and restricted in its composition and

use of the language. Poetry is also called a poem. The poemrefers to a piece of

writing, while poetry refers to knowledge, quality, and feature shown by a poem,

as a work of art. There are some kinds or subgenres of poetry, which have been

popularized by the Western people to all over the world so far. Those are a ballad,

lyrics, sonnet, blank verse and free verse.

Ballad is a short narrative poem which is written to be sung and has a

simple but dramatic theme. Ballads can be of love, death, the supernatural or even

a combination of the three. Many ballads also contain a moral which is expressed

(most often) in the final stanza. If ballad poetry is called ‗ballad‘ or ‗narrative

poetry‘ due to the feature of its content, a lyric poetry to be called ‗lyric‘ is

12

because of its content, too. It is said by Barnet, et al. (1963) that lyric is a piece of

the poem which seems to be an emotional and reflective soliloquy.

Furthermore, the sonnet is a short rhyming poem with 14 lines. The

original sonnet form was invented in the 13/14th century by Dante and an Italian

philosopher named Francisco Petrarch. The form remained largely unknown until

it was found and developed by writers such as Shakespeare. Sonnets use the

iambic meter in each line and use line-ending rhymes.

Blank-verse poetry is written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. Iambic

pentameter is a metering device typically used in English poetry, consisting of

five iambic feet in each written line. An iamb is a metrical foot that consists of an

unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable, which follows the typical

inflection of human speech. Blank-verse poetry was used prolifically by William

Shakespeare in his poetry and plays. Meanwhile, free-verse poetry is a modern

poetry style developed by 20th-century poets who felt constrained by the rigidity

of the formulaic poetry that was traditional at the time. An example of free verse

poetry is Walt Whitman's "Song of My Self". In this kind of poetry, the poet

arranges either rhymed or unrhymed lines of poetry in no set metrical pattern

(Nuriadi, 2016: 139).

The kinds of poetry above may be clearly visible from its form, but what

about the meaning of the poem? To understand the words or expressions of the

poem needs more times. It means that a reader cannot automatically understand

what the message of the expression really means. Therefore the reader needs to

13

know the elements of the poem to discover the message of the poem. There are

some intrinsic elements of poetry.

a) Diction

Diction is the word choice. All of the words in a poem are dictions; they

have been really selected by its poet in delivering anything from him or

herself. It is said ‗selected‘, because principally a poet really wants to use

any words that can represent what he or she precisely means, as depicted

in his/ her emotion (Pradopo, 2007:54).

b) Meter

This is the basic structural makeup of the poem. The lines in the poem

are in iambic tetrameter, as demonstrated in the third stanza.

c) Stanza

Stanza in poetry is defined as a smaller unit or group of lines or

paragraph in the poem. A particular stanza has a specific meter, rhyme,

scheme, etc. Based on the numbers of lines.

1) Stanza are named as couplet (2 lines)

2) Tercet (3 lines)

3) Quartain (4 lines)

4) Cinquain (5 lines)

5) Sestet (6 lines)

6) Septep (7 lines)

7) Oktave (8 lines)

14

d) Rhyme

Rhyme is determined through the sounds, not the same letters. Rhyme

can be defined as the same sounds and the fixed consistent variation of

sounds, either, vowels/ diphthongs or consonants, found in the middle or

at the end of lines.

There are six types of rhymes, such as:

1) End rhyme: rhyming sounds at the end of lines.

2) Internal rhyme: rhyming sounds within lines.

3) The presence of the internal rhymes which are in the middle of lines

of poems is common because of two kinds of sound, i.e. assonance

and alliteration. Assonance is the repetition of the same vowel

sounds inlines of a poem, while alliteration is the repetition of the

same consonant sounds in lines of the poem.

4) Feminine rhyme: the rhyme that occurs when the words consist of

two syllables and each of the words has stressed sound in the first

syllable, and the second is unstressed.

5) Masculine rhyme: the rhyme that occurs when the words consist of

one single syllable and automatically being stressed, so it causes the

rising sound.

e) Theme

According to Hunter in Ferani (2012) said that ―a poem‘s theme is the

statement it makes about its subject; summarizing a paraphrase in one or

two sentences often yields the theme‖. It means that the theme of the

15

poem is an important thing and it is a central idea that the poet wants to

tell. The theme is also based on poet‘s experiences and it provides with

the universal truth about the life or the human condition.

f) Figurative Language

A figurative language is a form of language or expressions used verbally

in order to describe or figure out one intention, idea, or message of one

speaker (Nuriadi, 2016: 162). There are several kinds of figurative

languages, namely:

1) Simile

A simile is an explicit comparison between two different things,

actions or feelings, using words ‗as‘ or ‗like‘, including the word

‗seem‘ or ‗look‘, as it shown in the following examples:

My luve is like red, red rose -------------- Robert Burns

Your teeth are like stars ------------------ Denise Rogers

2) Metaphor

The metaphor is a figure of speech in sense of comparison of two

things directly without using the word ‗like‘ or ‗as‘ as it is found in a

simile. Look at the examples:

She is all states, and all princess, I ----------------- John Donne

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee ------- Shakespeare

3) Personification

16

Personification is a figure of speech which personifies an inanimate

object; or it is by which animals, abstract ideas, or inanimate things

are referred to as if they were human, as in Sir Philip Sidney‘s line

and William Wordsworth's below:

Invention, Nature‘s child, field stepdame Study‘s blows.

A host of golden daffodiels, beside the lake, beneath the trees

fluttering and dancing in the breze.

4) Symbolism

Symbolism is the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by

giving them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal

sense. Generally, it is an object representing another to give it an

entirely different meaning that is much deeper and more significant.

5) Irony

The irony is a figure of speech or figurative language in which

words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different

from the actual meaning of the words.

6) Paradox

The paradox is a figurative language or a statement which is so

surprisingly self-contradictory as to provoke us into seeking another

sense or context in which it would be true.

7) Antithesis

Antithesis emphasizes the idea of contrast by parallel structures of

the contrasted phrases or clauses. The structures of phrases and

17

clauses are similar, in order to draw the attention of the listeners or

readers.

8) Oxymoron

Oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two opposite ideas are

joined to create an effect. The common oxymoron phrase is a

combination of an adjective proceeded by a noun with contrasting

meanings, such as ―cruel kindness,‖ or ―living death‖.

9) Alliteration

Alliteration is derived from Latin‘s ―Latira‖. It means ―letters of

alphabet‖. It is a stylistic device in which a number of words, having

the same first consonant sound, occur close together in a series.

10) Repetition

Repetition is a literary device that repeats the same words or phrases

a few times to make an idea clearer and more memorable. There are

several types of repetition commonly used in both prose and poetry.

g) Rhetoric Devices

Rhetoric devices are the devices in a poem in order to show the sense of

poetic-ness for the poem through deception of thought (Altenbernd,

1970: 22). Rhetoric devices consist of several forms such asrhetorical

question, pleonasm, enjambment and periphrasis.

1) Rhetorical Question

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A rhetorical question is a question delivered by a lyric speaker or

narrator through poems which is no need to be answered by the

reader or listener.

2) Pleonasm

Pleonasm is the use of unnecessary additional words; or a phrase in

which such needles repetition occurs.

3) Enjambment

4) Enjambment is the running over the sense and grammatical structure

from one verse line or couplet to the next without a punctuated

pause.

5) Periphrasis

Periphrasis is a roundabout way referring to something by means of

several words instead of naming itdirectly in a single word or phrase.

2.3 Love and Its Kinds

2.3.1 Definition of Love

Basically, love exists within man as the nature of man. Love

should be viewed as a sacred thing because at this age there are many

problems that arise as an act on behalf of love but in fact prohibited by

religion like adultery. If we lead that love to goodness, then the holy and

lawful love rises. If we direct our love based solely on the lust, then a dirty

and unloved love will emerge. In the Islamic view, love is seen as fitrah.

The word fitrah is defined by the original nature, the talent, the innate

sense of religion (Surat al-A'raf: 172). Let‘s take a look at this word of

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Allah: ―Dijadikanindahpada (pandangan) Manusia kecintaan kepadaapa-

apa yang diingini, yaitu: wanita-wanita, anak-anak, harta yang banyak

dari jenis emas, perak, kuda pilihan, binatang-binatang ternak dan sawa

hladang. Itulah kesenangan hidup di dunia, dan di sisi Allah-lah tempat

kembali yang baik (surga).‖(QS. 3: 14).

According to Shihab (1999), love is the tendency of the heart to

something because of pleasure or benefit that can be obtained from the

loved one. Love generally divided into two objects; love to the human and

love to the things (nature, pet, hobby). Those emerge pleasure or benefit to

the lover. In this study, the writer divided love into two kinds as reflected

in each poem that will be analyzed; metaphysics love and romantic love.

2.3.2 Kinds of Love

In this study there are two different kinds of love as objects of research,

they are; metaphysics love and romantic love.

2.3.2.1 Metaphysics Love (Platonic Love)

Philosophy is different from other sciences. When science tries

to answer the practical side of life, philosophy looks for the

fundamental side of life. This fundamental side is the foundation of

everything so this is also the basis of all reality in the world. This is

then referred to by Heidegger as metaphysics, a fundamental reality of

everything. Metaphysics comes from the word meta which means to

transcend and physics of the word phusis which means nature. Thus,

metaphysics learns about everything that underlies everything that

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exists in the universe. This reality exists without having to be

questioned, but this tends to be forgotten even though humans often

reach certain limits in life that cannot be answered with science. These

questions can only be answered through philosophy by questioning

what is really behind them (Regardie, 1946: 31).

Metaphysics is not just knowing, but also understanding.

Sensory knowledge only knows from the physical side, but metaphysics

tries to understand what really is the basis of everything. Metaphysics

implies that everything in this world is basically abstract, that is the

answer to all questions. Everything, in any way, if it continues to be

questioned, it will reach an inevitable limit, which inevitably leads to

the original question. So it is not wrong if one way to understand

metaphysics is through repetition of questions about a reality until the

question stops and he no longer gets an answer. At this point,

originality finds itself as the core of the truth of reality. This reality is

no longer partial by only confining itself to the sensuous world, but is

universal which includes everything. This universality also includes the

idea that the original question is a question as well as an answer. He no

longer explains other characteristics through presupposition because he

himself is both a presupposition and a condition of himself. It is in itself

without any predicate. He is a subject in himself.

This perspective is widely used by John Donne in building his

poetry. Donne's poetry is associated with what is called "the type of

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metaphysical poetry". John Donne lived in the leadership of Queen

Elizabeth I in England. Before Queen Elizabeth came to power, Britain

had entered a renaissance era. Renaissance itself comes from French

which means "resurrection" or "rebirth". The Renaissance era was

marked by changes that were once theological in nature and focused on

God being humanistic, focusing on worldly thoughts (Jones, 2017: 38).

This inspired John Donne to write poems with metaphysical

nuances, such as one of his poems entitled "Love's Alchemy". Donne

revealed the metaphysical side of love by liking love like 'elixir'. In

alchemy, elixir should be a mysterious substance that can cure diseases

and prolong life, and touches of Philosopher stones can turn iron into

gold. But Alchemists, despite their lifelong devotion to search, failed to

find this substance. It remains a mystery despite all their efforts.

Likewise, the true nature of love is a mystery.

In his love theory, Donne strongly supports spiritual love. He

holds that love is not the name of the relationship between two bodies

but is a form of ecstasy; unification of two souls; where two souls of

lovers communicate with each other and they remain intoxicated in the

trans of love. True love makes lovers join together and forget those who

are separate entities. The more pure love, the more they (souls) are

destroyed. Donne‘s once said in his poem A Valediction: Forbidding

Mourning.

As ‗twist two equal Armies, Fate

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Suspends uncertain victorie,

Our souls, (which to advance their state,

Were gone out,) hung twixt her and me.

And whilst our souls negotiate there,

We like sepulchral statues lay;

All day, the same our postures were,

And we said nothing all the day. (The Extasie)

Our two soulestherefore, which are one,

Through I must goe, endure not yet

Abreach, but an expansion,

Like gold to ayerythinnesebeate. (A Valediction: forbidding Mourning)

2.3.2.2 Romantic Love (Physical Love)

According to Sternberg (1997: 18), romantic love contains the

component of intimacy, passion and commitment. Of the three

components, it can form eight combination of types of love that is

nonlove, liking, Infatuation love, empty love, romantic love,

companionate love, fatuous love, consummate love. People who are in

love have different levels of love, there is a very intimate and intimate,

but not rarely seen the couple often fight even some divorced even

though married. This difference in levels of love has many causes, one

such as the influence of personality type. Personality indeed is unique,

so that no one person is exactly the same as the person others, even

though they are born twins one egg. There are indeed millions

23

ofpersonality variations, but according to Hartman (2004: 23), the

personality of each person can be classified accordingly basic motives,

needs,and desires that tend to be stable throughout life. According to

Sternberg (1988: 13), love is a story, a story written by each person.

The story reflects the personality, interests,and feelings of a person to a

relationship. The story of each person comes from the "scenario"

already he knows, whether from parents, experiences, stories and so

forth. This story usually affects the person how he behaves and acts in a

relationship.

Sternberg (1988: 32-34), is famous for his theory of the

Triangular Theory of Love (triangle of love). The love triangle contains

components: (1) intimacy, (2) passion and (3) commitment. Intimacy is

an emotional element, in which there is warmth, trust and a desire to

build relationships. Its characteristics include someone will feel close to

someone, happy to talk to him until a long time, feel longing if not long

meet, and there is a desire to join hands or embrace each other's

shoulders. Passion is a motivational element based on an inner drive

sexual self. Commitment is a cognitive element, a decision to be

continuous and keep running a life together. According to Sternberg

(1988: 36), each component is in each person different degree. There

are only high in passion but low on commitment. While ideal love is

when the three components are in proportion according to a certain

time. For example in the early stages of the relationship, the greatest is

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the component of intimacy. After intimacy continues on more passion

large (in some cultures), accompanied by greater commitment. For

example through marriage.

2.4 Character Education

Lickona states that understanding character building is a deliberate effort

to help someone so that he can understand, pay attention, and do core ethical

values. And more broadly he mentions education character is a deliberate effort to

realize virtue, that is good quality of humanity objectively, not only good for

individuals, but also good for the community, Lickona also means character

education is deliberate effort from all dimensions of social life to help optimal

character formation. After knowing the meaning of character education, it needs

to be explored as well the meaning and meaning of the character. Lickona quotes

views a Greek philosopher named Aristotle that good character defined by doing

the right actions regarding with someone and someone else. That means we need

to control ourselves, our desires, our desires for do good things for others.

Character education is more than slogans. Character education must help

children truly understand what good character traits are, and must help them

think through how to live a life based on good traits. Character education should

teach kids how to make good choices when faced with difficult

situations. Character education best practices are available from schools who

have implemented character education programs. One popular character

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education program called Character Counts. Trustworthiness, Respect,

Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, Citizenship.

Lickona mentions ten essential character that must be invested in students

both at school, at home, and in the community or community, that are : Wisdom

(Good assessment; capability to make reasonable decisions, Know how to

practice virtue What differentiate important in life; ability to determine priority),

justice (Fairness, Respect for others , Respect yourself, Responsible, Honesty,

Politeness,Tolerance), fortitude (Bravery, Flexibility, Patience, Perseverance

,Durability), self control (Self discipline, The ability to manage emotions and,

someone's encouragement, The ability to hold or delay, satisfaction, The ability

to resist temptation, Moderation, Sexual self-control), Love( Empathy,

Pity,Kindness, Generosity , Service , Loyalty, Love the Homeland, Ability to

forgive, Social Care), positive attitude (Hope, Enthusiasm, Flexibility, Sense of

humor,), Hard work (Initiative, Craft, Target setting, Standing power), integrity

(Adherence to moral principles Confidence in conscience that properly formed,

Ability to remember words, Ethical consistency), gratitude (Habits to be

grateful, appreciate the achievment, recognize mutual debt, No complaining) ,

modesty (Self-awareness, The desire to admit mistakes and responsible for

fixing it, The desire to be a better person). From all the educational character

points presented by Lickona, the educational character values that are

appropriate to education in Indonesia are the values of honesty, tolerance, love

of the homeland, respect for achievement, social care and responsibility.

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Character education includes and complements a broad range of

educational approaches such as whole child education, service learning, social-

emotional learning, and civic education. All share a commitment to helping young

people become responsible, caring, and contributing citizens.Because students

spend so much time in school, our schools offer a critically important opportunity

to ensure that all students get the support and help they need to reach their full

potential. Schools that embrace character education become places people want to

be because they bring out the best in everyone. To be effective in schools,

character education must involve everyone—school staff, parents, students, and

community members—and be part of every school day. It must be integrated into

the curriculum as well as school culture. When this happens and school

communities unite around developing character, schools see amazing

results.Character education is not new—and it is something we can all agree on.

The current movement is simply a reminder of education‘s long history of

stressing shared values and character.

Trustworthiness, integrity, self-discipline, respect, responsibility, fairness,

caring, citizenship, compassion, honesty and perseverance are characteristics that

we want our leaders, our life partners and our friends to posses. More importantly,

we want our children to develop these characteristics so that they will be good

friends, leaders and partners.Making ―good people‖ is not the only benefit of

character education. Research demonstrates that students who attend schools that

practice character education programs have higher academic achievements. There

appears to be a strong correlation between the virtues of good character and being

27

a good academic student. Character education makes collaborative skills explicate

by emphasizing the importance of specific behavior such as honesty, fairness and

responsibility. When student leaders allocate responsibility fairly when working in

groups, all students are able to contribute and take pride in the end result. A focus

on responsibility helps students realize the importance of doing homework and

handing it on time. When students do not take responsibility for their homework

they often struggle academically.

Character education explores feelings and the motivations behind

behavior. The ability to reflect on oneown behavior, an important component of

character education, helps students think about how they can improve their study

skills in all subjects, particularly those subjects that they struggle with. Reflective

students are able to be honest when asked if they are putting forth their best effort.

These students are also able to take the responsibility of asking for additional

assistance and show respect by showing up for appointments they have made with

their teachers for the additional help. Perseverance is also a necessary

characteristic of academic success. Working through a difficult math problem

without giving up, memorizing those tedious multiplication tables and sometimes

just getting the homework done after an evening of hockey practice, makes for

successful academic students. Perseverance helps students overcome academic

challenges. For students who are involved in extra curricula programs, it enables

them to keep up with homework and assignments so that they continue to perform

well academically.

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In the implementation of the values developed in the cultural education

and character of the nation according to the Ministry of National Education is as

follows:

1. Religious, is the attitude and behavior that obedient in implementing religious

teachings that are adhered to, tolerant of the implementation of other religious

services, and live in harmony with followers of other religions.

2. Honest, behavior based on an attempt to make himself / herself trustworthy in

words, actions and work.

3. Tolerance, attitudes and actions that respect different religions, ethnic,opinions,

attitudes, and actions of others different from themselves.

4. Discipline, actions that indicate orderly conduct and abide by various rules and

regulations.

5. Hard work, behaviors that show genuine efforts to overcome barriers to

learning and tasks, and complete tasks as well as possible.

6. Creative, thinking in doing things to produce new ways or results from

something you already have.

7. Independent, attitudes and behaviors that are not easy to depend on others in

completing tasks.

8. Democratic, way of thinking, acting and acting that judge equally the rights and

obligations of himself and others.

9. Curiosity, attitudes and actions that always seek to know more deeply and

extensively from something he learns, views, and hears.

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10. The spirit of nationalism, way of thinking, acting and insight that put the

interests of the nation and the State above the interests of self and his group.

11. Love of the homeland, that is the way of thinking, acting, and doing that

shows loyalty, awareness and appreciation of language, physical environment,

social, culture, economy, politics and nation.

12. Appreciate the achievements, attitudes and actions that drive him to produce

something useful for society and recognize and respect the success of others.

13. Friendly / communicative, actions that show the pleasure of talking,

associating, and cooperating with others.

14. Peaceful love, words and actions that cause others to feel happy and secure for

his presence.

15. Love to read, the habit of providing time to read the various readings that give

good to him.

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CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHOD

3.1 Research Design

The method that the writer uses in this research is a qualitative method.

The research procedure of it is to produce descriptive data in the form of written

or spoken words and will not be interpreted by numbers. According to Creswell in

his book entitled Research Design, ‖Qualitative research is a means for exploring

and understanding the meaning individuals or groups ascribe to a social or human

problem‖ (2009: 18). In other words, this research method deals with the

interpretation of the researcher, but the interpretation must be supported by

explanation and arguments, rather than claiming to offer mere descriptions. From

the definitions above the writer conclude that qualitative method is the research

method that produced the data in form of a word based on interpretation of the

researcher that supported by explanation and argumentation that comes from the

research result.

This method used to describe and compare the concept that exists in the

two poems ―Love‘s Alchemy‖ by John Donne and ―Love‘s Philosophy‖ by Percy

B Shelley. The purposes are to find the similarity and differences of those poems

based on its form and meaning. Here, the writer analyzing the meaning and the

concept that exist in the two poems.

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3.2 Source of Data

The primary data of this are taken from the poem ―Love‘s Alchemy‖ by

John Donne and ―Love‘s Philosophy‖ by Percy B Shelley. Meanwhile, for the

secondary data, the writer conducts library research to find any related sources

that may support the primary data. The secondary data may be taken from the

internet, books, journals, articles and any sources.

3.3 Method of Collecting Data

The first step that the writer takes to collect the data is conducting the

library research. It is a method of collecting data that focus to find the information

or data through documents whether it is a book, journal or article that can support

the research.

There are some ways to collect the data, but in this thesis, the writer will

usethe close reading and documentation method.Close reading is an attempt to get

a full understanding of a reading material (Tarigan, 1984: 36). Close reading is

one of the first reading skills terms introduced by educational practitioners Roger

Farr and Nancy Roser in a book entitled ―Teaching a Child to Read‖ published by

Harcourt Brace Jovakovic Inc., New York, United States, in 1979. Meanwhile,

documentation is records of past events (Sugiyono, 2011: 329-330). The

documents can be in the form of writing, painting and monumental works of

someone. So the documentation method is a method to collect the data which is

searching the data needed through note taking, transcript, book, newspaper,

magazine and another source (Arikunto, 2006).

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The steps that the writer takes to collect the data are:

1. Reading the poem of John Done ―Love‘s Alchemy‖ and Percy B Shelley

―Love‘sPhilosophy‖ intensively.

2. Investigating and note takingthe form and the content of John Donne‘s

poem ―Love‘s Alchemy‖ and Percy B Shelley‘s poem ―Love‘s

Philosophy‖.

3. Identifying the form and meaning of John Donne‘s poem ―Love‘s

Alchemy‖ and Percy B Shelley‘s poem ―Love‘s Philosophy‖.

3.4 Method of Analyzing Data

In term of analyzing data, the writer focuses to analyze the concept of love

that exist in the poem of John Donne ―Love‘s Alchemy‖ and ―Love‘s Philosophy‖

by Percy B Shelley and determine the differences and the similarities of the

poems. It based on ―comparative study‖ as the theoretical framework of this

research.

The steps that the writer follows to analyze the data are:

1. Identifying the data that has been classified.

2. Describing the data from ―Love‘s Alchemy‖ between the data from

―Love‘s Philosophy‖ that has been interpreting by the writer.

3. Explaining the similarities and differences between ―Love‘s Alchemy‖ and

―Love‘s Philosophy‖ based on the data that has been classified.

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CHAPTER IV

FINDING AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Findings

According to the data collections done by the researcher on ―Love‘s

Alchemy‖ by John Donne and ―Love‘s Philosophy‖ by Percy Bysshe Shelley, it is

found three main aspects that described longer in each subtitle.

4.1.1 The Way Love Is Described in “Love’s Alchemy” and “Love’s

Philosophy”

4.1.1.1 The Way Love Is Described in “Love’s Alchemy”

The love as pictured in John Donne‘s ―Love‘s Alchemy‖ is love

among human beings as it is expressed in word /bridegroom‘s/ (2nd

stanza). He uses four elements to describe love they are tension, paradox,

irony, and ambiguity.

The tension element carries the beliefs in spiritual love and

physical love and also its differences between idealized view and reality.

Irony finds that love does not exist so does not its sacrifice and miracle.

While paradox sees the existence of love in unreal and its miracle and

sacrifice are an imposture. And ambiguity finds love as an ambiguous

substance and those miracles and sacrifices of love are real or not. Donne

also uses some kind of figurative languages such as personification,

alliteration, oxymoron, metaphor, simile and repetition to described love.

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4.1.1.2 The Way Love Is Described in “Love’s Philosophy”

Love‘s Philosophy poem is a romantic lover‘s argument that puts

forward his relationship for the union of love. Percy Bysshe Shelley uses

natural imagery and strong rhyme appeal to the readers that portray his

pure and innocent feeling. There are some figurative languages that used

by Shelley, such as; personification, metaphors, symbolism and rhetorical

questions. The term ―philosophy‖ in this poem means an argument or a-

way-of-thinking.

Love is portrayed very clear by using parts of nature to analogize it

as if he (Percy Shelly) is meant to mingle to his love. He emphasizes the

nature of human beings as well as ―the fountains‖ are naturally ―mingle

the river‖. In other words, he says human beings are meant to depend upon

one and another in a relationship because it is natural. This also describes

that physical contact or attachment with loved ones is a natural thing.

4.1.2 The Differences and Similarities between “Love’s Alchemy” and “Love’s

Philosophy” in Terms of Form and Meaning

4.1.2.1 The Differences of Form and Meaning between “Love’s

Alchemy” and “Love’s Philosophy”

In poetry, content and form combine to create meaning. Poetic

content refers to a poem‘s language. Elements like the poem‘s type, stanza

structure, line lengths, rhyme scheme, and rhythm express its form.

35

Together, content and form make meaning, which is the message the poet

gives to the reader (study.com).

Generally, the different illustration about love can be seen

obviously. In ―Love‘s Alchemy‖, John Donne criticizes ‗physical love‘

which is an imposture thing and only provides a temporary happiness. The

true happiness of love is only experienced through spiritual love or

platonic love. Meanwhile Percy B Shelley see love as the natural thing that

human can feel. According to Shelley, love is interdependent and to feel

the love human need to touch each other.

To find out the meaning of both poems, the researcher analyzes

each line and stanza then relates them with background history of the

poet‘s lives in the past. It is because the poems created are influenced by

the period of life of the poets itself.

4.1.2.2 The Similarities of Form and Meaning between “Love’s

Alchemy” and “Love’s Philosophy”

Both of these poems talk about love and its tendencies to attach in

physical and spiritual contact. In "Love‘s Alchemy," John Donne sets up

an analogy between the Platonists, who try, endlessly, to discover spiritual

love, and the alchemists, who in Donne‘s time, tried to extract gold from

baser metals.

Donne is trying to show a different side to love, expressing his

beliefs that spiritual love does not exist and those who are searching for it

36

are only wasting their time. He suggests that all love relies on heavily

based sexual connections, which is why the first lines give a great sexual

reference.

The poem opens with two lines that lay the groundwork for the

analogy and that have a sexual implication. The word "digged" and the

image of "love‘s mine", obviously allow for the comparison between the

Platonist‘s and the alchemists.

Percy Bysshe Shelley‘s ―Love‘s Philosophy‖ is a beautiful poem

about love. Percy Bysshe Shelley writes that a divine being created nature

to not be alone. He states that since it was a divine creation for nature,

doesn‘t that mean we are to be with the one we love?

He shows us how beautiful nature is and that love is just as

beautiful. The poem compares love and nature as the same thing. Percy

sees all these examples of love and how nature is natural and it is natural

for things such as mountains kissing the heavens or fountains mingling

with rivers. But for some reason, this girl won‘t be with him. He is trying

to convince her to be with him.

Both poems display love as a substance that connects human

beings in a relationship. And the relationship requires not only spiritual

contact but physical contact because it is natural. John Donne and Percy

deliver the meaning of love as human beings‘ needs in a different way.

37

When Donne emphasizes the misteryous of love, Percy tend to imply that

love can be seen on parts of nature as if they are human beings.

4.1.3“Love’s Alchemy” and “Love’s Philosophy” for Education Purposes

―Love‘s Alchemy‖ and ―Love Philosophy‖ contain many aspects

that student can learn. Through interpreting the way loves are described in

those poems, students can have the new perspective of the meaning of

love. There are two different point of view that make the students will be

able to see love in two side.

First, in ―Love‘s Alchemy‖ poem, love is described in something

that can bring happiness, sadness and miracle. But John Donne described

it as an imposture thing. From the 1-6 lines, John Donne stated that no one

can really know about love although they have spent their whole life to

observe it. Furthermore Donne then states that love can bring the

happiness or all the good thing that human expect if it is run with human

soul.

So Donne emphasize that love is something spiritual. Something

that human really needs but it is about ―to loved‖ rather than ―to be loved‖.

Love is human‘s soul needs. To satisfy the human‘s soul the only thing

that human need to do is to give something to others sincerely.

Meanwhile in ―Love‘s Philosophy‖, Percy B Shelley described

love as a natural thing that occurs in universe. Shelley assumed that

anything in this world has their paired and it has set in the ―law divine‖.

38

Love is a natural thing that cannot be refused by human. Shelley portrayed

love as a beautiful thing by using personification and symbolism figurative

languages, such as; See the mountains kiss high heaven And the waves

clasp one another.

4.2 Discussions

4.2.1 The Way Love Is Described in “Love’s Alchemy” and “Love’s

Philosophy”

The words that the poet uses are not the same as the words in

the dictionary. A poet does not only mean to convey straightforward

meanings. More than that, poets want to form certain images in the minds

of their readers. Imaging is the expression of the poet's sensory feelings

into words and expressions so that the image of the atmosphere is more

concrete (DjojoSuroto, 2005: 20-21). Therefore the way poet describing

something in one poem could be different with another poet.

4.2.1.1 The Way Love Is Described in “Love’s Alchemy”

Love‘s Alchemy by John Donne is apt and suggestive

which can be described as a process of finding out Elixir. While

Elixir is a cure of life and it enables to prolong life. Further

explanation said Elixir is a mysterious substance that can cure any

diseases and can give a person an endless life.

39

Comparing to the meaning carried by this poem will end to

a subjective conclusion by the researcher that Elixir is never found

and remains a mystery as well as love does. Despite all of the

efforts of the Alchemist, he never found what Elixir is. This is the

same as the true nature of love. It is a real feeling that every person

can feel but doesn‘t exist in real life.

Readers are challenged to love and pay the risk, as long as

they are noticed. Donne will make us know that we can be as

happy as him if we understand that the game of avoidance, elusive

pursuit, must first occur where the bridegroom must bear ridicule,

realizing that the feminine principle will never produce masculine

energy. A person who is compassionate (male) should not look for

a woman whose qualities are generally related to masculine and

states that he has made him a partner because of his thoughts or

personality, assuming that in a woman he will find the angelic

intellect.

Cursing is a reference to marriage vows, bound in heaven,

and on earth, and his wedding day, he believes he hears heaven

itself singing directly from heavenly balls. However, Donne said

the opposite was true: Hope not for the mind in women, because

the best, they are ―mummies have.‖ This can be read as a simple

misogyny, but also as something deeper. Instead of purely mocking

40

the women identified with Satan, Donne tells us that nature has

determined that men and women are two parts of the whole.

Alchemist has learned this in his desire for transmutation,

which ends with unification and transcendence. The principle of

active men manifested in semen and the sun must be brought into

harmony with feminine, manifested in passivity and nature.

―Love‘s Alchemy‖ by John Donne:

#1st stanza

Some that have deeper digg’d love’s mine than I,

Say, where his centric happiness doth lie;

I have lov‘d, and got, and told,

But should I love, get, tell, till I were old,

I should not find that hidden mystery.

Oh, ‗tis imposture all!

And as no chemic yet th‘elixir got,

But glorifies his pregnant pot

If by the way to him befall

Some odoriferous thing, or medicinal,

41

So, lovers dream a rich and long delight,

But get a winter-seeming summer‘s night.

On the first line of this stanza, John Donne says,

Lines Figurative language

(1) ―Some that have deeper

digg‘d love‘s mine than I,‖

Metaphor

Donne compares love‘s alchemists to alchemists whose life

pursuit was turning base metals into gold (with absolutely no

success). In line 1 he compares love‘s alchemists to miners digging

for truth. Furthermore, it can be described as if the poet says

nobody has ever experienced love as deep as he did. By saying so

he delivers the meaning where the essence of happiness of lovelies.

But even though he enjoys the pleasure of love, having

someone that he loves, and even telling all of his life to others, he

would never be able to explain the real and true nature of love.

Lines Figurative language

(8) ―But glorifies his pregnant

pot‖

Personification and Alliteration

42

―Pregnant Pot‖ in line 8 is an interesting choice of words.

The ―soul mate‖ alchemist crowd believed that Platonic, non-

physical love, was the ultimate in happiness. Donne mocks that

notion by saying they have a ―pregnant pot‖. Donne uses

alliteration to enhance the actions being performed or the feelings

being experienced and to assist with the rhythm on line 1, 8, 12,

and 17.

From the very beginning, we found references to

metallurgical and mining art, which are part of the famous

Paracelsus. Donne, after referring to ―centric happiness‖ in the

Ptolemaic system where the human world is the center of

everything, and that even he must continue to have full love in this

life, he will never be able to know the full scope of the ―mystery.‖

What is this mystery? This is love itself, maybe between men and

women, and ―mummy,‖ or the alchemist philosopher‘s stone.

Lines Figurative language

(1) Some that have deeper

digg‘d love‘s mine than I,

(2) Say, where his centric

happiness doth lie;

(3) I have lov‘d, and got, and

Antithesis

43

told,

(4) But should I love, get, tell,

till I were old,

(5) I should not find that

hidden mystery.

(6) Oh, ‗tis imposture all!

Donne contrasts the claims of the alchemists in lines 1-2 to

his own experience in lines 3-5. He concludes in line 6 that the

alchemists are ―imposture(s) all.‖

For the purpose of argument, Donne uses the analogy of

alchemical analysis and religious love, and so he issues on to attack

his rival poets by drawing a parallel between alchemy and platonic

theory into the bottom.

Lines Figurative language

(7) And as no chemic yet

th‘elixir got,

(8) But glorifies his pregnant

pot

(9) If by the way to him befall

Simile

44

(10) Some odoriferous thing, or

medicinal,

In lines7-10, Donne describes the alchemists–those trying

to turn base metals into gold–as doing nothing more than making

their pot fill of chemicals full and smelly. In lines 11-12, he states

it‘s just like those seeking for soul mates who ―dream a rich and

long delight. But get a winter-seeming summer‘s night.‖

Donne could be a realist. He uses the devices of the

opponents and throws them back at their faces: he says that he has

tried and unsuccessful, which makes it credible. The figure of

alchemy is used as a central conceit for the poem so as to allow a

brand new twist to the standard concepts regarding love and its

experience.

Such manner of turning the other way up in an uncommon

manner is Donne‘s powerful poetic strategy that an intelligent

reader will perceive.

Lines Figurative language

(12) But get a winter-seeming

summer‘s night.

Oxymoron

―Winter-seeming summer‘s night‖ is an oxymoron. It

highlights the ridiculousness that anyone would attempt to

45

understand love. Otherwise, it comes to a conclusion that love is a

mysterious. And those who claim to know and understand the

secrets of love are all liars.

#2nd

stanza

Our ease, our thrift, our honour, and our day,

Shall we for this vain bubble‘s shadow pay?

Ends love in this, that my man

Can be as happy‘as I can, if he can

Endure the short scorn of a bridegroom‘s play?

That loving wretch that swears

‗Tis not the bodies marry, but the minds,

Which he in her angelic finds,

Would swear as justly that he hears,

In that day‘s rude hoarse minstrelsy, the spheres.

Hope not for mind in women; at their best

Sweetness and wit, they‘are but mummy, possess‘d.

46

The poem itself is an analogy of an Alchemist who is looking

for Elixir. He puts all of his efforts and energy to discover the

substance and comes across something fragrant and medicinal, as it

the same as lovers‘ dream of rich and long joy in each other

company, but in the end, all they get is just vain. Dreams of the

lovers as vain as the Alchemists‘ who failed to discover the Elixir

even though they sacrificed their whole lives to the searching

process.

Lines Figurative language

(13) Our ease, our thrift, our

honour, and our day,

Repetition

―Our‖ is used four times in the first line of stanza two. Donne is

rallying ―us‖ to combat this onslaught of kooks, who feel that love

exists in the sphere and is more pure than love on the physical plane.

The word ―our‖ is used four times in the first line of the second

stanza. He promotes intellect by calling upon the audience to

understand his view and ask themselves.

Referring to the analogy of John Donne‘s ―Love‘s Alchemy‖

above, the lovers should not spend all of their lives in an indulgence

of the pleasure of relationship based physical contact (sex) which is

as vain as the shadows cast by bubbles.

47

Furthermore, love does not mean physical indulgence in sex, if

it does so, he would be able to enjoy all of the pleasures of it once he

has gone through ―humiliating‖ wedding in the Church.

Lines Figurative language

(17) Endure the short scorn of

a bridegroom‘s play?

Metaphor

―Bridegroom‘s play‖ refers to marriage as though is a game,

which has rules that one must learn and abide by to be happy.

Speaker speaks in a blunt, matter-of-fact manner, as though what he

is saying is the undeniable truth. He avoids complicated words and

uses negative diction to describe love and women.

John Donne also emphasizes that love is not spiritual. Those

miserable couples who swear that marriage is the moment where two

souls and minds are united, and who find that their loved ones

(brides) are ―pure spirit‖ like an angel is totally brainless according

to Love‘s Alchemy. At their best women have sweetened and wit,

but when once they have been enjoyed they remained as dead flash

with no minds or souls.

48

The title ―Love‘s Alchemy‖ is an ironic phrase that sets the

tone of sarcasm from the title of the poem. By the time of John

Donne, people had started considering the medieval science of

Alchemy as an empty, absurd and impractical metaphysical idea.

Therefore, if the Alchemy of gold was a stupid issue, then the

Alchemy of love was additionally equally stupid.

By ―Love‘s Alchemy‖ Donne suggests that the amazing poetic

concepts of Platonic love that all the Elizabethan contemporaries

were singing regarding day and night. Donne‘s title so suggests his

concept that the, therefore, referred to as religious (metaphysical)

love was as stupid an impractical as Alchemy: Donne‘s plan of

affection is that true love is an intimate relation or attachment of the

mind and spirit that is established and promoted by physical intimacy

or attachments. Therefore, the title itself satirizes the platonic love

theory of Elizabethan sonneteers.

Donne believes that love begins with physical passion and

attachment and so solely it ascends to spirituality. The body is that

the foundation of the soul. Only the unification of the body leads to

the unification of the soul. The physical side of anything is equally

necessary to approach and perceive its essence inside.

―Love‘s Alchemy‖ is an expression of exasperation against a

typical ―theory‖ of love, the platonic ―idealist‖ theory that rejected

49

the body, the material and real side of the connection. Donne uses

grim wit to rib the concept of religious love that the Elizabethan

poets overused and took for granted; that logic of love and

relationship between man and woman has supported the Neo-

Platonic theories and scholastic theology of the Renaissance.

These poets compared the expertise of human love with God‘s

act of creation order and sweetness of the cosmos. In scholastic

theology, love was thought as a manifestation of the latent impulse

that seeks to trace a relation with its maker. Thus to those poets, to

feel the religious love was to endure an experience and ask for the

hidden mysteries of the universe.

4.2.1.2 The Way Love Is Described in “Love’s Philosophy”

The title of this poem carries some heavy implications. The term

―Philosophy‖ implies that the poet understands a set of logical laws which

love must obey. It also bears the meaning that love works in certain and

specific ways even though it is still hard to understand. There are many

understandings of love but Percy Bysshe Shelley tries to suggest that love

can be understood through logic and the use of philosophy.

50

#1sttanza

The fountains mingle with the river

And the rivers with the ocean,

The winds of heaven mix for ever

With a sweet emotion;

Nothing in the world is single;

All things by a law divine

In one spirit meet and mingle.

Why not I with thine?—

On the first stanza of the poem, the speaker starts his explanation

of the philosophy of love by portraying parts of nature. He talks about ―the

fountains‖ and the way it ―mingle with the river‖ and the speaker

continues by describing other natures as if they are human beings. By

delivering such analogy, the speaker tries to say that human beings are

meant to be with others like the fountains with the river and so is the river

with the ocean and so on.

Lines Figurative language

(1) The fountains mingle with

the river

Repetition

51

(7) In one spirit meet and

mingle.

(9) See the mountains kiss high

heaven

(14) And the moonbeams kiss

the sea:

(16) If thou kiss not me?

Words like ―mingle,‖ ―clasp,‖ and ―kiss‖ all reveal the physical

nature of the speaker‘s want. However, phrases like ―sweet emotion‖ and

―in one spirit,‖ imply that his wishes square measure deeper than the

physical. He longs to be united with the one he loves spiritually and

showing emotion in addition as physically.

The speaker also says ―the winds of heaven mix with forever with

a sweet emotion‖ which refers to physical and emotional of human beings

are connected in a certain way. He calls it ―a divine law‖ that ―all things‖

in the universe would be ―in one spirit‖ and eventually would ―meet and

mingle‖ one and another.

Lines Figurative language

(1) The fountains mingle with Symbols

52

the river

(2) And the rivers with the

ocean,

The author desires to have a close relationship with his muse. The

symbolism in the poem conveys the desire, and almost lust, of how close

the author wishes to get with his muse and how is compelled to be with

her.

The use of parts of nature on the first stanza symbolizes humanity

and Percy Bysshe Shelley tries to say that human beings were meant to

mingle with one and another, both physically and emotionally in a

relationship. The term of ―in one spirit‖ explains an idea that human

beings are connected in relationship with both physically and emotionally

one and another as well as spiritually.

On the last line of the first stanza, Percy Bysshe Shelley ends it up

by questioning, ―Why not I with thine?‖ This question reveals his desire

for love which is not yet satisfied. It also implies to his beliefs of natural

philosophy that all things in this universe have to be united, body, soul and

mind, and why not him and his lover? It is truly natural when he expects

he can be one unity with his lover. Assuming the question‘s tone implies

that this love is either one-sided-love, or he cannot reach the one he loves,

or he is expressing the question to his very first time lover.

53

#2nd

stanza

See the mountains kiss high heaven

And the waves clasp one another;

No sister-flower would be forgiven

If it disdained its brother;

And the sunlight clasps the earth

And the moonbeams kiss the sea:

What is all this sweet work worth

If thou kiss not me?

The second stanza of ―Love‘s Philosophy‖ is started by describing

the physical interaction of nature. The speaker begins to describe how in

different parts of nature depend on upon one and another.

Lines Figurative language

(9) See the mountains kiss high

heaven

(14) And the moonbeams kiss

the sea:

(16) If thou kiss not me?

Repetition

54

He says ―the mountains kiss high heaven‖ which is very clear to

explain his desire to one he loves. It is natural to depend upon someone he

loves and even nature already gave its example. The speaker ends the

literary work with an issue the same as the one he asked at the top of the

primary text. He asks, ―What is all this sweet work price if grand kiss,not

me?‖ this can be a significant question. He reveals his feelings that

nothing he has ascertained in life or nature holds any price to him if he is

to not be united with the person he loves.

This final line intensifies the tone of the remainder of the literary

work as a result of it implies not solely the speaker‘s intense want for the

one he loves, however additionally his lack of interest in living life except

for her. This permits the reader to know the depths of his love. It is

attention-grabbing, however, that the speaker has already tacit that the one

he loves feels disdain for him.

Lines Figurative language

(9) And the waves clasp one

another;

(13) And the sunlight clasps the

earth

Repetition

He continues to explain the physical relationships between

elements of nature once he claims that ―the sunlight clasps the earth‖. This

55

representational process permits the reader to know the depth of the

speaker‘s feelings. He feels as if to clasp the one he loves in his arms

would be as natural because it is for the rays of the sun to understand the

world. He describes the means ―the moonbeams kiss the sea,‖ further

expressing his physical need for the one to whom he speaks. the continual

personification of nature, and therefore the words accustomed describe the

relationships in this provide insight into the intensity of the speaker‘s

feelings.

The use of flowers then expresses his unsatisfied feelings. It is

frank that he hasn‘t met her lover for a very long time. The term ―sister

flower‖ and claims that it would not ―be forgiven‖ if it were to deny ―its

brother‖. The description leads the reader to the meaning of his love is

unrequited. The word ―disdained‖ seems to explain that then one whom he

speaks to remains separate from him by her own choice. And this is

unnatural because he longs for her so tightly.

Lines Figurative language

(9) And the waves clasp one

another;

(13) And the sunlight clasps the

earth

Personification

56

The mountains and sunlight grab at the heaven and earth. The

human characteristics of kissing and clasping are given to the mountains

and sunlight. The personification adds to the idea that everything on earth

is meant to be with something else.

Hence, it‘s ironic that he will claim that love between the two of

them would be as natural because the meeting of the watercourse and

therefore the ocean once it‘s clear that the one he loves doesn‘t share his

feelings. To her, it‘d feel terribly unnatural to be united with him whether

or not physically, spiritually, or showing emotion. The speaker doesn‘t

appear to offer abundant insight into the emotions or thoughts of the one

he loves apart from a delicate implication that she feels disdain for him.

Thus, the reader will gather that though he feels powerfully for her,

he doesn‘t perceive her feelings nor take them into thought once he claims

that it‘s unnatural for them to be apart, however natural for them to be

along. This provides the readers the concept that though his love is intense,

it‘s quite presumably immature.

He might feel a deep looking for this woman, however, he has not

been ready to determine along with her feelings and honor her feelings. If

he had, he might be able to give up of her. As it is, the poem reveals an

inability to giving up of her and persistence in getting her despite her

feelings toward him. All of those factors will lead the reader to believe that

this poem is one written regarding the classic feeling of unanswered love.

57

4.2.2 The Differences and Similarities between “Love’s Alchemy” and “Love’s

Philosophy” Form and Meaning

Both poems ―Love‘s Alchemy‖ by John Donne and ―Love‘s

Philosophy‖ by Percy Bysshe Shelley have the same topics which talk

about love between human beings and their tendencies to depend upon one

and another. Human beings were meant to have such feelings and

emotions.

On John Donne‘s ―Love‘s Alchemy‖, human beings are said to be

impostures and liars regarding about loves that they think they have found

out the essence of love. As if they are Alchemists who claim to discover

the mysterious substance called Elixir. While Elixir is a substance that is

said can turn stone into gold, prolong life and unite minds and souls of

human beings. In fact, according to the poem, they failed to find it out and

even they have given all of their efforts in pursuing the search.

On Percy Bysshe Shelley‘s ―Love‘s Philosophy‖, he puts parts of

nature to make a sweet analogy of human beings that are meant to be

united as well as ―the fountains‖ and ―the river‖, ―the mountain‖ and ―the

sky,‖ and other nature. Percy slightly tends to imply that the relationship

of human beings is naturally fine to have a physical attachment, not only

spiritual attachment.

58

4.2.2.1 The Differences between “Love’s Alchemy” and “Love’s Philosophy”

Form and Meaning

Love’s Alchemy

The speaker of ―Love‘s Alchemy‖ compares the fruitless searches

of alchemists with those who believe they have found and experienced

true love, the latter of which is impossible to find, according to the

speaker. The speaker claims to have loved and searched for true love but

has not experienced it; thus, it does not exist.

Lines Meanings

(5) “I should not find that hidden

mystery”

Donne has talked, had sex, loved

but still hasn't found platonic

lovers definition of love. This

line depicts feeling of

incompletion and doesn't believe

it if he hasn't seen it; doubtful.

Allusion to the alchemist's elixir

of life (still not found).

The speaker challenges the audience to experience love through his

point of view, which differs from love‘s alchemists and Platonists. He also

patronizes the ―true love experts‖ by claiming that the search for true love

is stupid and a waste of time and comparing it to the science of alchemy.

59

Lines Meanings

(12) “get a winter-seeming

summers night”

Plato's followers don't get what they

found because it isn't real, they are

conned.

Donne lived in a time when the science of alchemy was being

criticized (1572-1631) Alchemists—Medieval scientists who attempted to

find the Philosopher‘s stone (which could turn base metals into gold)

and/or the Elixir (a substance that could cure disease and/or prolong one‘s

life). Despite the alchemists‘ efforts, their search produced nothing, and

the science became an absurd, impractical idea.

Published in 1633 (after Donne‘s death), as a part of Songs and

Sonnets. In ―Love‘s Alchemy,‖ Donne emphasizes that the true nature of

love is and will forever remain a mystery, just as the Elixir (and

Philosopher‘s stone) remained mysteries.

Lines Meanings

(8) “glorifies his pregnant pot” Imagery of love even though the

platonic lover or the alchemists

haven't found anything, they glorify

their research.

60

Donne also contradicts the theory of Elizabethan platonic love:

intimate, affectionate love without physical intimacy. Donne‘s theory of

ideal love began with physical love, intimacy, and attachment and led to a

spiritual connection. While making impostors of those that claim to know

the secrets of love, Donne also suggests that platonic love is just as

ridiculous or impractical as the old science of alchemy.

Love’s Philosophy

Lines Meanings

“The fountains mingle with the

river,

And the rivers with the ocean;”

The spring mixes in with the river

And the river mixes in with the

ocean;

Many times Shelley incorporates nature into his writings. Shelley,

a Romantic writer, often wrote about nature while interchanging it with

romance. In these first two lines, this is displayed when he writes about the

springs flowing into the rivers, which flow into the oceans. Because of his

love for nature, he is able to give this example, which allows the reader to

understand how everything is connected.

61

Lines Meanings

“The winds of heaven mix forever

With a sweet emotion;”

The air of paradise is always

blending with excited feelings

These two lines display the figure of speech personification.

Personification is a type of figurative language in which a non-human

subject is given human characteristics. Therefore, because ―winds of

heaven‖ cannot actually ―mix with emotions‖, attributes that are non-

human, this is an example of personification. Shelley‘s use of

personification creates a mood of tranquility and peace, which connects

the reader to the speaker‘s emotions.

Lines Meanings

“Nothing in the world is single;

Not one thing in this universe is

alone

All things by a law divine”

Everything is wonderful by the

requirement

62

When Shelley writes ―by a law divine‖, he means an eternal law

that will continue to be enforced. At this point in the poem, the speaker is

trying to make his lover understand that because nothing in nature is ever

alone, neither should she be alone. He is persuading his lover to be

together with him. By using this unusual phrase, Shelley makes his reader

understand how each thing in nature is connected.

Lines Meanings

“In another’s being mingle—

Since everything is joined

together—

Why not I with thine?”

Why don‘t you be joined with me?

These last two lines complete the ABABCDCD rhyme scheme of

the first stanza. The rhyme scheme is the ordered pattern of rhymes at the

end of lines of a poem or verse. The words ―mingle‖ and ―thine‖ both

rhyme with the last word of the line above the previous, creating the

CDCD rhyme scheme. Because of this rhyme scheme, the stanza ties in

together, adding a smooth flow to the poem itself.

63

Lines Meanings

“See the mountains kiss high

heaven

Look at the top of the mountains

stand tall

And the waves clasp one

another;”

And the tide of the ocean crash into

the sea

Shelley likes to make his readers imagine scenes while reading his

poems. With his use of personification, a type of figurative language in

which a non-human subject is given human characteristics, Shelley gives

the reader an image of the mountains being so high that they appear to

touch the sky and the waves of the ocean crashing down into the water.

Lines Meanings

“No sister-flower would be

forgiven

A bed of flowers could not grow

If it disdained its brother;”

Without the help of the seeds

64

Shelley incorporating nature into his writing is used in the two

lines once again. By doing so, the author stresses the speaker‘s point of

people needing others in their lives to support them in order to ―grow like

flowers.‖ Shelley also likes to make the reader discover what he is trying

to say through his poems instead of plainly stating it on the pages.

Lines Meanings

“And the sunlight clasps the earth

And the moonbeams kiss the sea:”

And the sun shines upon the world

and the light of the moon reflects

off of the ocean

Shelley‘s use of diction, or word choice, presents the lines with a

tone of relaxation and comfort; this is how the speaker‘s lover makes

him/her feel.

Lines Meanings

“What is all this sweet work

I cannot find the value of these

65

worth

If thou kiss not me?”

kisses when you are not kissing me

Shelley lived in the time period known as ―Royal and Romantic.‖

During this time, the use and pronunciation of words were very different

compared to the present day. With his use of the word ―thou,‖ while

referring to the speaker‘s lover, this is exposed.

4.2.2.2The Similarities between “Love’s Alchemy” and “Love’s Philosophy”

Form and Meaning

John Donne and Percy Bysshe Shelley are similar in interpreting

love among human beings. Love is an opiate that drives a person who is in

love to pursue the feelings and emotions. They display human beings as a

creature with needs of physical attachment and also spiritual attachment

regarding those needs. Even though John Donne and Percy Bysshe Shelley

display the same theme, love, yet they see love in different ways. The

further explanation of their poems will be delivered below.

The poem opens with two lines that lay the groundwork for the

analogy and that have a sexual implication. The word ―digged‘; and the

image of ―love‘s mine‘; obviously allow for the comparison between the

Platonist‘s and the alchemists. Donne explains that some have experienced

66

more love than he has, and, in having done so, have penetrated ―deeper‘;

into ―love‘s hidden mystery‘; that is, they have reached a point beyond

sensual love where they have found it is true ―centric‘; or essential

happiness.

This would be analogous to alchemists, who, after many attempts,

have been able to extract gold from other metals. Due to the diction that

Donne uses and the manner in which he expresses himself in these two

lines, it is possible to extract their sexual meaning that serves to ridicule

the claims and means of the Platonists as well as the alchemists. The

words ―digged love‘s mine‘; can be interpreted as he has gone through

everything to find out the meaning of love deeper than anyone else.

Love‘s Philosophy is divided into two 8-line stanzas with an

ABABCDCD rhyme scheme. Because the term ‗philosophy‘ means

literarily ‗love of wisdom‘ the poem offers a kind of self-reflective inquiry

into the wisdom of ‗love‘, organically linking it to nature and the physical

world. The main theme presented is that of ‗connection‘ between beings in

the world in general, and between the poet and his beloved in particular.

This emphasis can also be read as a love that is unrequited (not

corresponded), unfulfilled and unsatisfied. The poet is looking at the

natural world around him through love-colored glasses. Nature is on the

side of love: it is a nice spring day, where everything functions in harmony

and perfect union, the rivers flow into the ocean, and flowers pollinate one

67

another and bloom and the sun shines upon the earth embracing

everything, and he feels alone in his feelings: ―Why not I with thine?‖ and

―If thou kiss not me?‖ The entire poem is an allegory of unrequited love

and Shelley uses several poetic devices that appeal to physical senses (the

clearest is, for example, the sense of touch) in order to convey the ‗feeling‘

of his own sensations to the audience.

4.2.3“Love’s Alchemy” and “Love’s Philosophy” for Education Purposes

Literary learning aims for students to be able to understand, enjoy

and utilize literature to develop personalities, broaden their horizons,

improve knowledge, and language skills (Ministry of National Education,

2001). Reading a literary work also can change students‘ mindset and

perspective about something, include love. The students‘ comprehension

can influence students‘ character and behavior. By interpreting ―Love‘s

Alchemy‖ and ―Love‘s Philosophy‖ poems, students will be able to learn

the character education.

The target of character education is to build deep interpersonal

awareness. Learners are guided to be able to establish social relationships

in harmony with others through attitudes and behaviors that are well

trained for good prejudice to others, empathetic, helpful, honest,

responsible and appreciative of differences of opinion. In the other hand,

there are different perception about the purpose of character education.

Lickona says that the purpose of character education is to improve the

68

quality of organizational and educational outcomes that lead to the

attainment of character formation and morals begin learners intact,

integrated and balanced. Through character education it is expected that

participants students are able to independently improve and use their

knowledge, assess internalize and personalize the values of character and

noble character so that the are embodied in everyday behavior.

Character education aims to shape and build patterns thought,

attitude and behavior of learners to be a positive person, having morals,

noble spirit, and responsibility. Ineducational context, character education

is a conscious effortdone to form learners into positive and personal

morals in accordance with the Graduate Competency Standards so it can

be implemented in everyday life. There are three purpose of the Character

Education based Lickona as follows :

a. Facilitate the strengthening and development of certain values so

as to manifest in the child's behavior, both during school process and after

school process (after graduating from school)

b. Correct student behavior that is inconsistent with the values

developed by the school.This goal has the meaning that character

education has a goal to straighten negative child behavior to be positive

one.

c. Establishthe harmonious connections with family and community

in playing the role of character education together.

69

Character education at its core aims to form a nation that is strong,

competitive, noble, moral, tolerant, cooperate, spirited patriotic, dynamic, science

and technology-oriented, all based on faith and piety to God Almighty based on

Pancasila. According to Lickona , the purpose of character education can be

classified into two things:

1. General purpose

To help learners to understand realize and experience values and be able to put

them integrally in life. To achieve that goal educational actions should lead to

good and correct behavior.

Love‘s Alchemy and Love Philosophy contain many aspects that student

can learn. These aspects include cognitive, emotive, and evaluative. Cognitive

aspects use reader information, in an effort to identify non-objects that are

objective. Literary elements which are those objectives besides being able to be

connected with the elements contained in texts or intrinsic elements can also be

called elements outside the literary text itself or extrinsic elements.

Objective intrinsic elements of literature, for example, writing and aspects

of language and discourse structure in relation to the presence of express meaning.

While extrinsic elements include the author's biography, the background of the

creative process of creation and the socio-cultural setting that supports the

presence of literary texts.

Emotive aspects are related to the involvement of the emotional element of

the reader, in an effort to understand the elements of beauty in the literary text that

70

they read, and play a role in understanding the subjective elements. Subjective

elements can be in the form of exposure language that contains the meaning or

connotative-interpretative coercion and can also be in the form of certain

significant elements, such as the appearance of characters and metaphorical

settings.

The evaluative aspect relates to the act of giving an assessment of

beautiful – not beautiful, good – bad, literary works that are read. This activity

does not have to be present in a work of criticism but is personally owned by the

reader. In other words, the involvement of the element of assessment, in this case,

is still general in nature so that every appreciator who has been able to respond to

literary texts that are read up to the stage of understanding and appreciation, is

also able to carry out the assessment.

These four aspects of literature can be found on both poems and students

are able to gain a better understanding in learning literature. Teachers should

include literature in their learning environment in order to create a better

understanding of many kinds of literary works. It also will help both students and

teachers to be able to see the world in a broader perspective.

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CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

5.1 Conclusions

According to the findings and discussion on Chapter IV, the researcher

has finally reached final conclusions for the three main focuses on this

research. As it is mentioned on the very beginning of this research those main

focuses are (1) how loves are described on Love‘s Alchemy by John Donne

and Love‘s Philosophy by Percy Bysshe Shelly, (2) the differences of content

meaning on Love‘s Alchemy by John Donne and Love‘s Philosophy by Percy

Bysshe Shelly, and (3) similarities of content meaning on Love‘s Alchemy by

John Donne and Love‘s Philosophy by Percy Bysshe Shelly.

On this research, it is found that first (1), both poems display love as

basic human needs that require contact or attachment. John Donne on Love‘s

Alchemy implicitly satirizes human beings‘ affection of love which drives

them to go through everything. He sees those who have beliefs of love—and

understand what love is—are true liars or impostures. There is no one who has

gone through everything (digg‘dlove‘s mine than I) as he did and even he

never found love in his search.

John Donne puts Alchemy as his analogy of a man who is pursuing a

substance called Elixir (love). It is claimed such substance is a mysterious

thing which can turn stone into gold and prolong life. But even though the

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Alchemist put his efforts and his life in the search, the Elixir remains

mysterious as well as love. John Donne says love is a mystery.

When John Donne says love is a mystery, Percy Bysshe Shelley with

his Love‘s Philosophy says different things. Percy puts nature to display

tendencies of human beings to one and another. The term of philosophy is the

key to understand what he says in his poem. Percy sees love as part of nature

and human beings tend to depend upon one and another. That is very natural.

Percy emphasizes logic in displaying love as if it can be seen in nature

when ―the fountains mingle with the river‖ and ―the high mountain kiss the

sky.‖ Such a philosophy is a strong base for Percy to say that love needs

physical contact because it is natural ―by a divine law.‖

Second (2), even though John Donne and Percy Bysshe Shelley talk

about love in their poems but it is different in some aspects. John Donne

emphasizes love more on the spiritual aspect. He sees love does not exist

either in physical contact and spiritual. ―Sweetness and wit, they‘are but

mummy, possess‘d.‖ displays once the pleasure of love is enjoyed in a

marriage, love is nothing but a flesh.

Percy Bysshe Shelley displays love as human needs that it should be in

a union. He says nature is a good example of how all things in this universe

are not single and ―All things by a law divine.‖ These beliefs lead readers to

understand that love needs physical attachment. Physical contact is very

73

natural when human beings are in love and that is why he puts parts of nature

on his poem.

The third (3) research question is about similarities of both poems. The

researcher has found similar understandings that love is an opiate that drives a

person who is in love to pursue the feelings and emotions. They display

human beings as a creature with needs of physical attachment and also

spiritual attachment regarding those needs.

The last (4) question is about how these poems or literary works can be

an advantage for students in learning. Love‘s Alchemy and Love Philosophy

and other literary works in general contain many aspects that student can

learn. These aspects include cognitive, emotive, and evaluative. By learning

literary works, students can gain three important aspects that will help them to

expand knowledge and perspective on a literary work.

John Donne and Percy Bysshe Shelley display love as human beings

need that sometimes drive them crazy and go through everything. The idea of

love portrayed on Love‘s Alchemy is slightly emphasize on the ambiguity of

love, neither it exists or does not. While Percy Bysshe Shelley emphasizes

more on the idea of love exists and needs physical attachment.

The poems can make students‘ comprehension about love more

clear and influence students‘ character and behavior. By interpreting

―Love‘s Alchemy‖ and ―Love‘s Philosophy‖ poems, students will be able

to learn the character education. The target of character education is to

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build deep interpersonal awareness. Learners are guided to be able to

establish social relationships in harmony with others through attitudes and

behaviors that are well trained for good prejudice to others, empathetic,

helpful, honest, responsible and appreciative of differences of opinion.

5.2 Suggestions

The researcher hopes this research can be an additional reference for

those who are looking for literary work analysis. The findings are highly

recommended for education material purposes and also to introduce classic

literature to students. This research is still not perfect yet welcoming any kinds

of critics, comments, suggestionsand references to create solid and strong

arguments.

75

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Love’s Alchemy

By: John Donne

Some that have deeper digg'd love's mine than I,

Say, where his centric happiness doth lie;

I have lov'd, and got, and told,

But should I love, get, tell, till I were old,

I should not find that hidden mystery.

Oh, 'tis imposture all!

And as no chemic yet th'elixir got,

But glorifies his pregnant pot

If by the way to him befall

Some odoriferous thing, or medicinal,

So, lovers dream a rich and long delight,

But get a winter-seeming summer's night.

Our ease, our thrift, our honour, and our day,

Shall we for this vain bubble's shadow pay?

Ends love in this, that my man

Can be as happy'as I can, if he can

Endure the short scorn of a bridegroom's play?

That loving wretch that swears

'Tis not the bodies marry, but the minds,

Which he in her angelic finds,

Would swear as justly that he hears,

In that day's rude hoarse minstrelsy, the spheres.

Hope not for mind in women; at their best

Sweetness and wit, they'are but mummy, possess'd.

LOVE’S PHILOSOPHY

By: Percy B Shelley

The fountains mingle with the river

And the rivers with the ocean,

The winds of heaven mix for ever

With a sweet emotion;

Nothing in the world is single;

All things by a law divine

In one spirit meet and mingle.

Why not I with thine?—

See the mountains kiss high heaven

And the waves clasp one another;

No sister-flower would be forgiven

If it disdained its brother;

And the sunlight clasps the earth

And the moonbeams kiss the sea:

What is all this sweet work worth

If thou kiss not me?

Percy B Shelley Biography

Poet, Author, Playwright (1792–1822)

Known for his lyrical and long-form verse, Percy

Bysshe Shelley is one of the most highly regarded

English Romantic poets of the 19th century. His

works include The Masque of Anarchy and Queen

Mab.

Synopsis

Born in Broadbridge Heath, England, on August 4, 1792, Percy Bysshe Shelley is one of the epic

poets of the 19th century, and is best known for his classic anthology verse works such as Ode to

the West Wind and The Masque of Anarchy. He is also well known for his long-form poetry,

including Queen Mab and Alastor. He went on many adventures with his second wife, Mary

Shelley, the author of Frankenstein. He drowned in a sudden storm while sailing in Italy in 1822.

Childhood and Adolescence

Percy Bysshe Shelley, a controversial English writer of great personal conviction, was born on

August 4, 1792. He grew up in the country, in the village Broadbridge Heath, just outside of

West Sussex. He learned to fish and hunt in the meadows surrounding his home, often surveying

the rivers and fields with his cousin and good friend Thomas Medwin. His parents were Timothy

Shelley, a squire and member of Parliament, and Elizabeth Pilfold. As the oldest of their seven

children, Shelley left home at age of 10 to study at Syon House Academy, roughly 50 miles

north of Broadbridge Heath and 10 miles west of central London. After two years, he enrolled at

Eton College. While there, he was severely bullied, both physical and mentally, by his

classmates. Shelley retreated into his imagination. Within a year’s time he had published two

novels and two volumes of poetry, including St Irvyne and Posthumous Fragments of Margaret

Nicholson.

In the fall of 1810, Shelly entered University College, Oxford. It seemed a better academic

environment for him than Eton, but after a few months, a dean demanded that Shelley visit his

office. Shelley and his friend Thomas Jefferson Hogg had co-authored a pamphlet titled The

Necessity of Atheism. Its premise shocked and appalled the faculty (“…The mind cannot believe

in the existence of a God.”), and the university demanded that both boys either acknowledge or

deny authorship. Shelley did neither and was expelled.

Shelley’s parents were so exasperated by their son’s actions that they demanded he forsake his

beliefs, including vegetarianism, political radicalism and sexual freedom. In August of 1811,

Shelley eloped with Harriet Westbrook, a 16-year-old woman his parents had explicitly

forbidden him to see. His love for her was centered on a hope that he could save her from

committing suicide. They eloped, but Shelley was soon annoyed with her and became interested

in a woman named Elizabeth Hitchener, a schoolteacher who inspired his first major

poem, Queen Mab. The poem’s title character, a fairy originally invented by Shakespeare and

described in Romeo and Juliet, describes what a utopian society on earth would be like. In

addition to long-form poetry, Shelley also began writing political pamphlets, which he

distributed by way of hot air balloons, glass bottles and paper boats. In 1812 he met his hero, the

radical political philosopher William Godwin, author of Political Justice.

Harriet and Mary

Although Shelley’s relationship with Harriet remained troubled, the young couple had two

children together. Their daughter, Elizabeth Ianthe, was born in June of 1813, when Shelley was

21. Before their second child was born, Shelley abandoned his wife and immediately took up

with another young woman. Well-educated and precocious, his new love interest was named

Mary, the daughter of Shelley’s beloved mentor, William Godwin, and Mary Wollstonecraft, the

famous feminist author of A Vindication of the Rights of Women. To Shelley’s surprise, Godwin

was not in favor of Shelley dating his daughter. In fact, Godwin so disapproved that he would

not speak with Mary for the next three years. Shelley and Mary fled to Paris, taking Mary’s

sister, Jane, with them. They departed London by ship and, mostly traveling by foot, toured

France, Switzerland, Germany and Holland, often reading aloud to each other from the works of

Shakespeare and Rousseau.

When the three finally returned home, Mary was pregnant. So was Shelley’s wife, Harriet. The

news of Mary’s pregnancy brought Harriet to her wit’s end. She requested a divorce and sued

Shelley for alimony and full custody of their children. Harriet’s second child with Shelley,

Charles, was born in November of 1814. Three months later, Mary gave birth to a girl. The

infant died just a few weeks later. In 1816, Mary gave birth to their son, William.

A dedicated vegetarian, Shelley authored several works on the diet and spiritual practice,

including "A Vindication of Natural Diet" (1813). In 1815, Shelley wrote Alastor, or The Spirit

of Solitude, a 720-line poem, now recognized as his first great work. That same year, Shelley’s

grandfather passed away and left him an annual allowance of 1,000 British pounds.

Friendship with Lord Byron

In 1816, Mary’s step-sister, Claire Clairmont, invited Shelley and Mary to join her on a trip to

Switzerland. Claire had begun dating the Romantic poet Lord Byron and wished to show him off

to her sister. By the time they commenced the trip, Lord Byron was less interested in Claire.

Nevertheless, the three stayed in Switzerland all summer. Shelley rented a house on Lake

Geneva very near to Lord Bryon’s and the two men became fast friends. Shelley wrote

incessantly during his visit. After a long day of boating with Byron, Shelley returned home and

wrote Hymn to Intellectual Beauty. After a trip through the French Alps with Byron, he was

inspired to write Mont Blanc, a pondering on the relationship between man and nature.

Harriet’s Death and Shelley’s Second Marriage

In the fall of 1816, Shelley and Mary returned to England to find that Mary’s half-sister, Fanny

Imlay, had committed suicide. In December of that year it was discovered that Harriet had also

committed suicide. She was found drowned in the Serpentine River in Hyde Park, London. A

few weeks later, Shelley and Mary finally married. Mary’s father, William Godwin, was

delighted by the news and accepted his daughter back into the family fold. Amidst their

celebration, however, loss pursued Shelley. Following Harriet’s death, the courts ruled not to

give Shelley custody of their children, asserting that they would be better off with foster parents.

With these matters settled, Shelley and Mary moved to Marlow, a small village in

Buckinghamshire. There, Shelley befriended John Keats and Leigh Hunt, both talented poets and

writers. Shelley’s conversations with them encouraged his own literary pursuits. Around 1817,

he wrote Laon and Cythna; or, The Revolution of the Golden city. His publishers balked at the

main storyline, however, which centers on incestuous lovers. He was asked to edit it and to find a

new title for the work. In 1818, he reissued it as The Revolt of Islam. Though the title suggests

the subject of Islam, the poem’s focus is religion in general and features socialist, political

themes.

Life in Italy

Shortly after the publication of The Revolt of Islam, Shelley, Mary and Claire left for Italy. Lord

Bryon was living in Venice, and Claire was on a mission to bring their daughter, Allegra, to visit

with him. For the next several years, Shelley and Mary moved from city to city. While in Rome,

their first-born son William died of a fever. A year later, their baby daughter, Clara Everina, died

as well. Around this time, Shelley wrote Prometheus Unbound. During their residency in

Livorno, in 1819, he wrote The Cenci and The Masque of Anarchy and Men of England, a

response to the Peterloo Massacre in England.

Death and Significance

On July 8, 1822, just shy of turning 30, Shelley drowned while sailing his schooner back from

Livorno to Lerici, after having met with Leigh Hunt to discuss their newly printed journal, The

Liberal. Despite conflicting evidence, most papers reported Shelley’s death as an accident.

However, based on the scene that was discovered on the boat’s deck, others speculated that he

might have been murdered by an enemy who detested his political beliefs.

Shelley’s body was cremated on the beach in Viareggio, where his body had washed ashore.

Mary Shelley, as was the custom for women during the time, did not attend her husband’s

funeral. Percy Bysshe Shelley’s ashes were interred in the Protestant Cemetery in Rome. More

than a century later, he was memorialized in Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey.

John Donne Biography Poet (c. 1572–1631)

John Donne, leading English poet of the Metaphysical school, is

often considered the greatest loved poet in the English language.

Synopsis

The first two editions of John Donne's poems were published

posthumously, in 1633 and 1635, after having circulated widely

in manuscript copies. Readers continue to find stimulus in his

fusion of witty argument with passion, his dramatic rendering of

complex states of mind, and his ability to make common words yield up rich poetic meaning.

Donne also wrote songs, sonnets and prose.

Profile

John Donne was born into a Catholic family in 1572, during a strong anti-Catholic period in

England. Donne’s father, also named John, was a prosperous London merchant. His mother,

Elizabeth Heywood, was the grand-niece of Catholic martyr Thomas More. Religion would play

a tumultuous and passionate role in John’s life.

Donne’s father died in 1576, and his mother remarried a wealthy widower. He entered Oxford

University at age 11 and later the University of Cambridge, but never received degrees, due to

his Catholicism. At age 20, Donne began studying law at Lincoln’s Inn and seemed destined for

a legal or diplomatic career. During the 1590s, he spent much of his inheritance on women,

books and travel. He wrote most of his love lyrics and erotic poems during this time. His first

books of poems, “Satires” and “Songs and Sonnets,” were highly prized among a small group of

admirers.

In 1593, John Donne’s brother, Henry, was convicted of Catholic sympathies and died in prison

soon after. The incident led John to question his Catholic faith and inspired some of his best

writing on religion. At age 25, Donne was appointed private secretary to Sir Thomas Egerton,

Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England. He held his position with Egerton for several years

and it's likely that around this period Donne converted to Anglicanism.

On his way to a promising career, John Donne became a Member of Parliament in 1601. That

same year, he married 16-year-old Anne More, the niece of Sir Egerton. Both Lord Egerton and

Anne’s father, George More, strongly disapproved of the marriage, and, as punishment, More did

not provide a dowry. Lord Egerton fired Donne and had him imprisoned for a short time. The

eight years following Donne’s release would be a struggle for the married couple until Anne’s

father finally paid her dowry.

In 1610, John Donne published his anti-Catholic polemic “Pseudo-Martyr,” renouncing his faith.

In it, he proposed the argument that Roman Catholics could support James I without

compromising their religious loyalty to the pope. This won him the king’s favor and patronage

from members of the House of Lords. In 1615, Donne was ordained soon thereafter was

appointed Royal Chaplain. His elaborate metaphors, religious symbolism and flair for drama

soon established him as a great preacher.

In 1617, John Donne’s wife died shortly after giving birth to their 12th child. The time for

writing love poems was over, and Donne devoted his energies to more religious subjects. In

1621, Donne became dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral. During a period of severe illness, he wrote

“Devotions upon Emergent Occasions,” published in 1624. This work contains the immortal

lines “No man is an island” and “never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”

That same year, Donne was appointed Vicar of St. Dunstan’s-in-the-West and became known for

his eloquent sermons.

As John Donne’s health continued to fail him, he became obsessed with death. Shortly before he

died, he delivered a pre-funeral sermon, “Death’s Duel.” His writing was charismatic and

inventive. His compelling examination of the mortal paradox influenced English poets for

generations. Donne’s work fell out of favor for a time, but was revived in the 20th century by

high-profile admirers such as T.S. Eliot and William Butler Yeats.