Leaves of Grass: Song of Myself: A Phono-Stylistic Analysis
Abstract
This study aims to analyse how sound patterning contributes to meaning construction in Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass through a phono-stylistic approach. The study addresses the limited attention given to phonological features as a meaning-making mechanism, since previous research has focused mainly on thematic and lexical aspects. Employing a qualitative method supported by quantitative sound-frequency analysis, the study examines selected lines from Song of Myself. Data were collected through close reading and phonetic transcription using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). The analysis focuses on consonants, vowels, alliteration, assonance, consonance, repetition, and phonological foregrounding (Simpson, 2004; Leech & Short, 2007). The findings show that soft consonants support themes of harmony and unity, while plosive consonants reinforce identity construction. Long vowels enhance musicality and reflection, whereas repetition and parallelism emphasize key ideas. The study concludes that sound patterning functions not only aesthetically but also semantically in constructing poetic meaning.
Downloads
References
Alowonle, F. K. (2013). Phonostylistics: Teaching sounds as meaning in poetry. African Journal of Arts and Cultural Studies, 6(1), 78–83.
Bradford, R. (2013). Stylistics. Routledge.
Carter, R. (2010). Language and literature: An introductory reader in stylistics. Routledge.
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Karyaningsih. (2018). Ilmu komunikasi. Samudra Biru.
Leech, G. N. (1969). A linguistic guide to English poetry. Longman.
Mukařovský, J. (1964). Standard language and poetic language. In P. L. Garvin (Ed.), A Prague School reader on esthetics, literary structure, and style (pp. 17–30). Georgetown University Press.
Pradopo, R. D. (2014). Pengkajian puisi (Cetakan ke-14). Gadjah Mada University Press.
Santrock, J. W. (2010). Psikologi pendidikan (Edisi ke-2). Kencana Prenada Media Group.
Sayuti, S. A. (2002). Berkenalan dengan puisi. Gama Media.
Short, M. (1996). Exploring the language of poems, plays and prose. Longman.
Simpson, P. (2004). Stylistics: A resource book for students. Routledge.
Sumardjo, J., & Saini, K. M. (1997). Apresiasi kesusastraan. Gramedia Pustaka Utama.
Verdonk, P. (2002). Stylistics. Oxford University Press.
Wales, K. (2014). A dictionary of stylistics (3rd ed.). Routledge.
Wellek, R., & Warren, A. (2014). Teori kesusastraan. Gramedia Pustaka Utama.
Whitman, W. (2008). Leaves of Grass. Project Gutenberg. (Original work published 1855)
Copyright (c) 2026 Roma Ito Br Pane, Novita Aulia, Rahmadsyah Rangkuti
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
By submitting the article/manuscript of the article, the author(s) agree with this policy. No specific document sign-off is required.
License
The use of the article will be governed by the Creative Commons Attribution license as currently displayed on Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Author(s)' Warranties
The author warrants that the article is original, written by the stated author(s), has not been published before, contains no unlawful statements, does not infringe the rights of others, is subject to copyright that is vested exclusively in the author and free of any third party rights, and that any necessary written permissions to quote from other sources have been obtained by the author(s).
User/Public Rights
Under the Creative Commons license, users are allowed to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work. Users will also need to attribute authors on distributing works in the journal and other media of publications. Unless otherwise stated, the authors are public entities as soon as their articles got published.
Rights of Authors
Authors retain all their rights to the published works, such as (but not limited to) the following rights;
- Copyright and other proprietary rights relating to the article, such as patent rights,
- The right to use the substance of the article in own future works, including lectures and books,
- The right to reproduce the article for own purposes,
- The right to self-archive the article,
- The right to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the article's published version (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
Co-Authorship
If the article was jointly prepared by more than one author, any authors submitting the manuscript warrants that he/she has been authorized by all co-authors to be agreed on this copyright and license notice (agreement) on their behalf, and agrees to inform his/her co-authors of the terms of this policy. The journal will not be held liable for anything that may arise due to the author(s) internal dispute. The journal will only communicate with the corresponding author.
Royalties
Being an open accessed journal and disseminating articles for free under the Creative Commons license term mentioned, author(s) aware that the journal entitles the author(s) to no royalties or other fees.
Miscellaneous
The article will be published in the journal if the article’s editorial process is successfully completed. The editors may modify the article to a style of punctuation, spelling, capitalization, referencing, and usage that deems appropriate. The author acknowledges that the article may be published so that it will be publicly accessible and such access will be free of charge for the readers.
