An Analysis Of Symbolic Signs In Emily Dickinson’s Death Poems (A Semiotics Approach)

This Research Explores The Symbolic Signs In Emily Dickinson’s Death Poems. This Is A Descriptive Qualitative Library Research. The Main Data Are Six Death Poems Taken From The Poems Of Emily Dickinson.Meanwhile, The Supporting Data Are Involved The Historical Background Of The Writer, Books, Articles, Journals, Critics And Other Academic Writings. The Objectives Of This Research Are To Identify The Kinds Of Symbols Appear In Emily Dickinson’s Death Poems And To Describe How Emily Dickinson Constructs Symbols In Her Death Poems. This Research Uses Semiotic Approach And Applies Riffaterre’s Semiotics Of Poetry. This Theory Focuses On Poetry Analysis And Gives The Most Representative Tool To Uncover Symbolic Signs In Poem. This Theory Also Relates To Social And Cultural Background Analysis. The First Result Shows That There Are Two Kinds Of Symbols, Personal Symbols And Conventional Symbols. The Second Result Shows That There Are Three Major Ways Of Dickinson In Constructing Symbols In Her Death Poems. First, She Employs Indirection In Her Poetry. It Is In Line With Riffaterre’s Theory Which States That Poetry Expresses Indirection (Displacing, Distorting, And Creating Meaning). It Is Considered As The Basic Way To Catch The Readers’ Attention In The Process Of Understanding The Poem. Second, She Uses Cliche, Customs And The Role Of Influence Or Any Characteristics Of The Conventional Poems. Third, She Creates Personal Symbols Into Two Ways; Modifies Conventional Symbols Into Personal Symbols And Uses The Symbols Of Nature And Modifies The Meaning. Based On The Conclusion, It Is Recommended For Other Researchers To Analyze Symbolic Signs On Poetry Written By Other Poets With Other Themes. Further, It Is Expected That This Research Will Attract Other Researchers To Do Research On Poetry. Moreover, The Use Of Other Theories And Approaches Is Essential To Enrich The Type Of Research In English Department, Especially The Research On Poetry.