AESTHETICHAL VALUE ANALYSIS OF POETRY

By:
Amirul Faisal Rizza
Zainul Arifin
Gupuh Rahayu
Khoirul Maftuhin
Dwi Liyandari
Sholihatul Widya

Lecturer:
Dr. Hj. Mutmainnah Mustofa, M.Pd

MASTER OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING PROGRAM

GRADUATE PROGRAM
UNIVERSITY OF ISLAM MALANG
NOVEMBER 2017

A. INTRODUCTION
Literature, in its broadest sense, is any single body of written works. More
restrictively, literature is writing that is considered to be an art form, or any
single writing deemed to have artistic or intellectual value, often due to
deploying language in ways that differ from ordinary usage. Moreover, we read
literature and we should read literature are age-old questions that have, in recent
years, gained unprecedented scope and intensity, against the backdrop of what
has been perceived as a world-wide crisis in the humanities. While scholars
frequently discuss different types of value separately, in this volume values of
literature are approached in the plural: we argue that the ethical,
aesthetic, physical, and religion values of literature should be explored in
connection with each other. In accordance, literature not only reflects and draws
on the values of the historical world from which it stems; it also actively

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 addresses, challenges, and transforms those values and explores new ways to
understand value. Throughout this explanation, one of branches of philosophy
dealing with nature of art, beauty, and taste, with the creation and appreciation of
beauty is aesthetical value, which talking about the wonderful side of the literary
work.
Certainly, the writer cited of:
1. She Walks in Beauty by Lord Byron,
2. A Dream within a Dream by Edgar Allan Poe,
3. Love of Song XXIV by Kahlil Gibran,
4. Tea Invitation by Ibtisam Barakat,
5. Because I could not stop for Death by Emily Dickinson
as the data of the analysis, here, the writer provides ten data from the poems to be
analyzed. Furthermore, in our analysis, the writers only took the aesthetical
aspect of the data trough form and content as well.
The writers knew there are many unconsciousness mistakes are typed that should
be revised by readers, expert. With pleasure, all comments and suggestions are
needed to be given. Thank you.

B. Summary of the poetry

1. Summary of She Walks in Beauty by Lord Byron
The poem is about an unnamed woman. She's really quite striking, and the
speaker compares her to lots of beautiful, but dark, things, like "night" and
"starry skies." The second stanza continues to use the contrast between light
and dark, day and night, to describe her beauty. We also learn that her face is
really "pure" and "sweet." The third stanza wraps it all up – she's not just
beautiful, she's "good" and "innocent," to boot.

2. Summary of A Dream within a Dream by Edgar Allan Poe

A Dream within a Dream was penned by Edgar Allan Poe. It examines the
subtleties of time, our perception of it and its effects. In his poem, he implies
that time is slipping away from grasp of human beings a la sand on the beach,
indicating that our existence is at the end inconsequent/ a mere abstraction.

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 The poet is experiencing depths of dispiritedness and despair. As the poem is
dissected for evaluating the mood, motivation and inherent upheavals his life
underwent. Traumatized by those events, the poet embarks on this dreary
poetic masterpiece.

3. The summary of the poetry Love of Song XXIV by Kahlil Gibran

This Kahlil Gibran’s poetry is all about love. Love with all of its meaning in
the whole of life. In this poem, Gibran told and wrote the meaning of loves
with many symbolisms and comparisons. In each stanza, he wrote the
definitions of love described in several things like rose, lovers, spirit, elation,
fortune and even in sorrow case. After reading this poem, readers are asked to
determine love in every case. According to the writer, love can give spirit and
also can give inspirations for musician. By loving, a lover can do many things
both good and bad thing. Love is so strong. One can do really deep and usual
thing because of love.
Kahlil Gibran gave some message by writing this poetry. Love is holy, love
cannot be blamed. If there is a mistake to show love, it is just because of the
lovers’ deed. It gives strength to the lover. One can do a strange thing, even
do a very mad thing because of he/she loves another. One can be so patient
in undergoing and keeping his/ her love. He/ she accept his/ her sorrow and
allegiance to keep the feeling.
Let’s conclude about love according to Kahlil Gibran’s Song of Love; love is
subjective (depends on the lover itself), love gives spirit and make someone
become adult, love is peace and tranquility, love make us strong and not
feeling our pains anymore, even love made the downfall of Adam, love is a
wisdom. Parting is not the end of the love, jealousy is not true love, the one’s
truth is the result of what they seek and our truth in seeking, receiving and
protecting love determine our behavior and destiny.

4. Summary of Tea Invitation by Ibtisam Barakat

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 The poem is about a peaceful world. It tells us about the writer’s hope of this
world. She compares her heart with country. She imagine that the world is as
peace as her heart. She ask a person to talk calmy by making a cup of tea.
Also through a cup of tea, she wants to share her story heart to heart.

5. Because I could not stop for Death by Emily Dickinson

The poem is about I could not stop for Death, in the form of a gentleman
suitor, stops to pick up the speaker and take her on a ride in his horse-drawn
carriage. They move along at a pretty relaxed pace and the speaker seems
completely at ease with the gentleman. As they pass through the town, she
sees children at play, fields of grain, and the setting sun. Pretty peaceful,
right?

As dusk sets in our speaker gets a little chilly, as she is completely under-
dressed – only wearing a thin silk shawl for a coat. She was unprepared for
her impromptu date with Death when she got dressed that morning. They stop
at what will be her burial ground, marked with a small headstone.

In the final stanza, we find out the speaker's ride with Death took place
centuries ago (so she's been dead for a long time). But it seems like just
yesterday when she first got the feeling that horse heads (like those of the
horses that drew the "death carriage") pointed toward "Eternity"; or, in other
words, signaled the passage from life to death to an afterlife.

C. Analysis of poetry
C.1 Form (Aesthetical value)
1. She walks in beauty like the night
of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright;
Meet in her aspect and her eyes.
(She walks in beauty by Lord Biron)

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 Right from the start, Byron sets the tone of the poem with a
that seems almost divine – beauty like the vast, starry night.
Her beauty does not seem purely physical, either; instead, it is
almost an aura, a shield of beauty, unaware and almost
innocent in its unawareness.

It is interesting to note that the poet compares his beloved’s

beauty to night, rather than daylight – in fact, day is
considered gaudy, on behalf of the poet –because the tradition
for Romantic poetry was to compare one to nature, but to
bright nature. The darkness of the word ‘night’ means that
beauty is so strong that it could be almost catastrophic.

2. Take this kiss upon the brow!

And, in parting from you now
Thus much let me avow
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream

(A Dream within a Dream by Edgar allan Poe)

The poetic form of A Dream within a Dream is slightly erratic.

Each verse in this poem consists of three feet. Iamb is the
dominant foot as a result. For instance, ‘How few! Yet how
they creep’ is one such verse. On similar footing, other verses
are constructed in this mannerism. Edgar Allan Poe was in a
rather anapestic mood, as numerous instances are found in this
poem.

3. I am the lover's eyes, and the spirit's

Wine, and the heart's nourishment.
I am a rose. My heart opens at dawn and
The virgin kisses me and places me

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 Upon her breast.
(Song of Love by Kahlil Gibran)

In this poetry, Song of Love, almost in every stanza the poet always use
the word “I am …” to compare with the other things. It is named as
anaphora as one of the figurative language used, “is a literary and
rhetorical device in which a word or group of words is repeated at the
beginning of two or more successive clauses or sentences”
(www.literarydevices.com). It also means that he used figurative
language metaphor to show the comparison of “I am …”. It shows us
that “I” can be everything to symbolize “love” depend on the poet and
compared with other things like “I” means the lover’s eyes, rose, house
of fortune, the gentle smile, and also the poet’s elation.

4. I write
for my heart
has become
a country
and I want
all people
to live in it.
(Invitation Tea by Ibtisam Barakat)

In this poem, Ibtisam using structural in ilustration. From the

data above we can see that she ilustrated her heart with
country. In another stanza we also find that she ilustrated for a
peaceful story by making tea.

5. Because I could not stop for Death,

He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves

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 And Immortality.
We slowly drove, he knew no haste,

(Because I could not stop for Death)

The author used some figurative language. She describes the

death as a person who can do something. She called the death
as “he”. The death is strong that couldn’t be stopped. However
the death has a good manner when he take your life, but no
mercy when it’s the time for people to meet t heir God.

C.2 Content (Aesthetical value)

6. And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,

(She walks in beauty)

In this stanza the author describes how beautiful the woman is.
All of her face is perfect, from the cheek over the eyebrow, it
seems to recall to images of a goddess. Even her smile that
glows. There is also an emphasis – which would further
strengthen the images of religion, she is the perfect woman that
God created and the poet cannot find a word that fully
encompasses her beauty.

7. Take this kiss upon the brow!

And, in parting from you now
Thus much let me avow
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day

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 In a vision, or in none
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream
(A Dream within a Dream by Edgar Allan Poe)

The kiss on the brow means a parting kiss. He ended it with melancholic
ways. It seems that they would part permanently with respective ways. He
thought that the days they spent together was just a dream. The narrator
is in through awe as to how time flew which they spent together. It was
stunning, a dreamy affair which ended abruptly for the narrator. As a
result, he wonders if this time was reality or just a figment of his
imagination. It seems that the narrator has come to terms with the hard
reality of life and beginning to learn how to forget her.

8. I am the lover's eyes, and the spirit's

Wine, and the heart's nourishment.
(Song of Love by Kahlil Gibran)

Kahlil Gibran described love is inspiring happiness and hope, love is

also holistic and spiritual. There are so many powerful word used by the
poet to express his deep feeling of love. Kahlil Gibran used the diction
to express the beauty of his poetry and expressed in the different way.
He stated that love is so strong, give the one became stronger, gave a
spirit and nourishment. We can find in the first stanza. Love here
doesn’t mean not only love between a man and a woman, but also love
between everything in this world which can give spirit and happiness.

9. I make peace
by making
a cup of tea
for my story
and yours.

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 (Invitation Tea by Ibtisam Barakat)

From this stanza we can feel how the writer describing the
situation to share the story from each other.the situation is so
peaceful with a cup of tea. She created a harmful situation to
talk. Almost the content of the poem is telling about peaceful.

10. I appeared to Adam through Eve

And exile was his lot;
Yet I revealed myself to Solomon, and
He drew wisdom from my presence.
(B e c a u s e I could not stop for Death)

In the sixth stanza we can find that Kahlil Gibran mentioned Prophet
Adam and his wife, Eve/ Siti Hawa to express his feeling about the true
love and loyalty. Although Eve had made a mistake by eating the fruit,
but Adam had his deep feeling and loyalty to his wife to accept the
God’s decision to ask Adam and Eve to come down to the earth. They
finally are met by God after several times. We can find this in our Holy
Qur’an

D. Lesson Learned
From the above poems there are some lessons that we can take
advantage and we think more.
- She walks in beauty Love is the most beautiful God’s
creation. You can fall in love to
a n yo n e o r a n yt h i n g .
- A dream within a dream  Although love is a beautiful
thing, but God who creates love, and

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 we can do nothing if God doesn’t
allow us to be one in love.

- Song of Love  Love is not always about love between a man

and a woman, but also loves between our
surroundings. Love to our parent, our children,
our family, our husband and wife that we can
learn after reading the poetry. Love to nature and
God’s creation, love to all things we have in the
world and the most of all, and the most essential
is love to The Almighty, our God. Love to our
God is the most important and is not eliminated
by the other things.

- Tea Invitaion  a calmness of heart spread

peaceful to the world.

- B e c a u s e I could not stop for Death

 It tells that the death can’t be
stopped by human.
 I t t e a c h e s t h a t e v e r yo n e w i l l p a s s
the death, wherever and whenever .
 It also informs that actually the
death is kind of everlasting life.

Refferences

Mustofa, Mutmainnah. (2014).Literary works-life and love:

student’s book English literature and its teaching .

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 Graduate program, English language teaching study
program, Islamic University of Malang.

Mustofa, Mutmainnah. (2014). The Umbrella of Life and Love

V a l u e s i n L i t e r a r y W o r k s . M i s yk a t I n d o n e s i a , M a l a n g .
Indonesia.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/5 -muslim-american-poets-
w h o l l - s h o w - yo u - t h e r e s -
more_us_590c9feae4b056aa2363d44b

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/podcasts/75528/five -muslim-
american-poets-part-i

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/ibtisam -barakat

A h a m e d , S ye d V i c k a r . 2 0 0 7 . E n g l i s h T r a n s l a t i o n o f t h e M e s s a g e
of the Quran. USA: Books of Signs Foundation

C o n n e l , F . M . A T e x t B o o k f o r t h e S t u d y o f P o e t r y . B o s t o n : A l l yn
and Bacon.

w w w . l i t e r a r yd e v i c e s . c o m

She Walks in Beauty

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 by Lord Byron

She walks in beauty, like the night

Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes;
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,

Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o’er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express,
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,

So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!

A Dream within a Dream

by Edgar Allan Poe

Take this kiss upon the brow!

And, in parting from you now
Thus much let me avow
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day
In a vision, or in none

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 Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream
I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand —
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep — while I weep!
O God! Can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

Love of Song XXIV

by Kahlil Gibran’s

I am the lover's eyes, and the spirit's

Wine, and the heart's nourishment.
I am a rose. My heart opens at dawn and
The virgin kisses me and places me
Upon her breast.

I am the house of true fortune, and the

Origin of pleasure, and the beginning
Of peace and tranquility. I am the gentle
Smile upon his lips of beauty. When youth
Overtakes me he forgets his toil, and his
Whole life becomes reality of sweet dreams.

I am the poet's elation,

And the artist's revelation,
And the musician's inspiration.

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 I am a sacred shrine in the heart of a
Child, adored by a merciful mother.

I appear to a heart's cry; I shun a demand;

My fullness pursues the heart's desire;
It shuns the empty claim of the voice.
I appeared to Adam through Eve
And exile was his lot;
Yet I revealed myself to Solomon, and
He drew wisdom from my presence.

I smiled at Helena and she destroyed Tarwada;

Yet I crowned Cleopatra and peace dominated
The Valley of the Nile.

I am like the ages -- building today

And destroying tomorrow;
I am like a god, who creates and ruins;
I am sweeter than a violet's sigh;
I am more violent than a raging tempest.

Gifts alone do not entice me;

Parting does not discourage me;
Poverty does not chase me;
Jealousy does not prove my awareness;
Madness does not evidence my presence.

Oh seekers, I am Truth, beseeching Truth;

And your Truth in seeking and receiving
And protecting me shall determine my
Behavior.

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 Tea Invitation
By Ibtisam Barakat

I write
for my heart
has become
a country
and I want
all people
to live in it.
I make space
by emptying
all corners
of fear.

I make peace
by making
a cup of tea
for my story
and yours.

A cup of tea
for our estranged
histories
that come from
one family
but to one another
do not speak.

Hot tea and mint.

I have meant
to invite you over
to my heart.

Do you like your tea

with sugar?

Because I could not stop for Death

by Emily Dickinson

Because I could not stop for Death,

He kindly stopped for me;

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 The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.
We slowly drove, he knew no haste,
And I had put away
My labor, and my leisure too,
For his civility.
We passed the school where children played,
Their lessons scarcely done;
We passed the fields of gazing grain,
We passed the setting sun.
Or rather he passed us
The Dews drew quivering and chill
For only Gossamer, my Gown
My Tippet only Tulle
We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling of the ground;
The roof was scarcely visible,
The cornice but a mound.
Since then 'tis centuries; but each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses' heads
Were toward eternity.

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