AN ANALYSIS STUDY OF FIGURES OF SPEECH: EUPHEMISM, IRONY AND SARCASM IN POEM TITLED CANTERBURY TALES BY GEOFFREY CHAUCER

Abstract

Figure of speech is an alternative way to express something and it reflects human thought. There are many kinds of figures of speech and three of them are euphemism, irony and sarcasm. They are good to apply as written languages in teaching English. Figures of speech can be easily found in literary works, such as poem. In this research, the researcher analyzes a poem entitled Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer by using descriptive method and documentation as the technique. The researcher conducted some steps. The first, she paraphrased the poem and then described the theme. After that she took note of the figures of speech and also the meaning. She classified the data into three figures of speech; euphemism, irony, and sarcasm. Then, she analyzed the data. Finally, she drew conclusion based on data finding. The result shows that there are twelve euphemisms, fourteen ironies, and nineteen sarcasms. The domination of sarcasm shows that the poem is intended for criticizing the social life of that period.