The Lost of Something Precious

 

1. Metaphor and Metonymy

            Metaphor is the implied comparison between two things of unlike nature. Metaphor is the application of a name or descriptive term to an object to which it is not literally applicable. Metaphors transfer meaning by using a term to describe something else. Metaphors transfer meaning from one conceptual structure to another and so allow the readers to understand one domain of experience in terms of another.

 

            Metaphor was used in the line “Then, we were all the Children of Innocence”. The poet used the term “children of innocence’ to mean that they were young and innocent.

 

            Metonymy is the substitution of some attributive or suggestive word for what is actually meant. Metonymy occurs when the name of one thing is given to another thing with which it associated.

 

            In the poem The Lost of Something Precious, the poet used metonymy to substitute a word with another word that is closely associated to it. The phrase “sands of time” was used to replace the word “years”. In the lines, “My heart would skip a beat each and every time you’d give me that smile” and “My heart would skip a beat every tome we would stop and talk a while” the literal meaning is a mixture of happiness, excitement and at the same time nervousness is being felt by the poet every time his or her friend would smile at him/her or talk to him/her. The line “With those words, you kill my heart from the core” also uses metonymy. The poet meant that with the harsh words that his/her friend told him/her, the poet became extremely sad or devastated.

 

2. Denotation and Connotation

            Denotations tends to be described as the definitional, ‘literal’, ‘obvious’ or ‘commonsense’ meaning of a sign. In the case of linguistic signs, the denotative meaning is what the dictionary attempts to provide. Denotation is the central meaning of a linguistic form. The term connotation is used to refer to the socio-cultural and personal association of the sign. Connotation is a non-central word meaning acquired through frequent associations.

 

Denotations and Connotations were used in the poem. The word ‘precious’ denotes something that is valuable and may connote a loved one or a friend. The word ‘story’ denotes a narrative and may connote life. The word “world” denotes a planet and may connote people. The word friend means companion but in the poem it carries the connotation “lover”. The words “fun” “joy” and “laughter” all carry the same denotation. The words “pride”, “greed”, and “jealousy” connotes negative feelings. The word “oblivious” was used to connote “innocence” while the word “immaturity” denotes “childishness”. The word “trust” connotes “confidence”. The “word” heart connotes “feelings”. The word “close” denotes “near”. The word “happy” connotes “content”. The word “road” was used to connote “life”. The word “trust” was used to connote “love”. The word “dear” was used to connote “friend”.

           

 

3. Narrative Analysis

            The poem narrates the pain of a friend or a lover who lost his or her beloved. The poem recounts all the happy experiences of the poet with his/her friend and how they grew up together and used to be with each other all the time. The poet also hinted on the developing between him/her and his/her friend. The poem recounts the experienced of the poet with his/her friend as they grow up. The overall emotion of the poem is one of sadness, and on the later part of the poem, hope. The poet was broken hearted because of the rift between him/her and his/her friend. The poet is experiencing sorrow because he/she lost the love or friendship of someone that is very precious to him/her. He/she was hoping that his/her relationship with that precious person will last and that they will never change.

I’ve lost something very precious today,
I’ve lost something that never ever was;
I have lost the core of my soul today
And I mourn in despair for my sad loss.

I have lost what I once believed was true,
I’ve lost what I once thought would surely be;
I have lost what I have believed in for years
And I cry out in my sorrow-why me!

A lugubrious expression on my face,
I do try in vain to our story retrace…

            The poem started with a sad tone where the poet was referring to something special that he/she lost. He/she thinks that that precious thing that she lost will never come back again.

            In the succeeding stanzas, the poet described how he/she lost that something. He/she recounted the happy times he/she spent with his/her friend and how he/she thought that it will never end. He/she hoped that their friendship will bloom into something more special but he/she was devastated to learn that his/her friend does not feel the same.

The memories are hazy, but very strong
And I woefully wonder, “What…what went wrong?”

Teary-eyed I remember those parties-
Oh, the fun…the joy…the laughter-so hearty!

Our school festival-how we danced! How we sang!
And throughout the day and night, our voices rang!

Then, we were all the Children

of Innocence,
Then, pride, greed, jealousy were of no essence.

We all believed in living for the moment,
And our time together was very well spent.

We were oblivious to the world outside
And our immaturity, we did not hide.

We walked hand-in-hand without a single care,
Our hopes, our dreams, our ambitions we did share.

Some said that we were more than just childhood friends,
Others said we would stick by each other to the end.

But we did care little to what people said
And with our own lives, we simply went ahead.

‘Friends Forever!’ That’s what we declared to all;
We would stand united, we would never fall.

 

Then, he/she recounted how their relationship crumbled and how his/her friend became distant and avoided him/her.

           

           

 

 

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