Ditemukan Gunung Api di Bawah Laut Bengkulu

Juni 1, 2009

Sumber: harianrakyatbengkulu.com

Gunung api di bawah laut ini ditemukan oleh tim yang terdiri dari gabungan para pakar geologi Indonesia, AS, dan Perancis. Yakni dari Badan Pengkajian dan Penerapan Teknologi (BPPT), Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia ( LIPI), Departemen Energi dan Sumber Daya Mineral, CGGVeritas dan IPG (Institut de Physique du Globe) Paris.

‘’Gunung api ini sangat besar dan tinggi. Di daratan Indonesia, tak ada gunung setinggi ini kecuali Gunung Jayawijaya di Papua,’’ kata Direktur Pusat Teknologi Inventarisasi Sumber Daya Alam BPPT Yusuf Surachman kepada wartawan kemarin.

Penemuan gunung api di bawah laut Bengkulu ini saat dilakukan survei dengan menggunakan kapal seismik Geowave Champion canggih milik CGGVeritas. Tepatnya di Palung Sunda di barat daya Sumatera, di kedalaman 5,9 kilometer dengan puncak berada di kedalaman 1.280 meter dari permukaan laut.

Survei ini merupakan yang pertama di dunia karena menggunakan streamer terpanjang, 15 km, dari yang pernah dilakukan oleh kapal survei seismik. Tujuan dari survei ini adalah untuk mengetahui struktur geologi dalam (penetrasi sampai 50 km) yang meliputi Palung Sunda, prisma akresi, tinggian busur luar (outer arc high), dan cekungan busur muka (fore arc basin) perairan Sumatera.

Menurut Peneliti LIPI, Dr. Ir. Danny Hilman Natawidjaja dari hasil survei mereka gunung tersebut masuk kategori gunung berapi. Namun belum bisa dipastikan secara detail apakah aktif atau tidak.

“Itu hasil temuan tim. Kalau kita lihat ukurannya memang luar biasa. Jauh lebih besar dibandingkan gunung berapi di Jogjakarta yang hanya 3.600 meter atau gunung berapi di Sumetara yang rata-rata tingginya mencapai 3.000 meter atau 3 kilometer.

Untuk mengetahui aktif atau tidaknya harus kita teliti lebih lanjut. Kebiasaan gunung berapi yang berada di palung seperti itu tidak aktif. Hanya saja, berhubung palung tersebut adalah tempat pertamuan lempengan Eurosia dan Indo Australia yang saling bertubrukan kemungkinan aktif. Nah seberapa aktifnya, kami juga belum tahu,” ungkap Danny tadi malam.

Berbahayakah keberadaan gunung ini? Danny menjelaskan, jika gunung ini aktif dan mengandung magma tentunya berbahaya. Bila meletus, dapat menyebabkan tsunami yang bisa menerpa Pulau Enggano dan pantai Kota Bengkulu. Nah seberapa hebatnya daya letus gunung dan besaran tsunami masih harus diteliti lebih dulu.

Sebaliknya jika gunung tersebut tidak aktif, maka Bengkulu aman dari peluang bencana letusan gunung berapi, yang dapat menyebabkan gempa bumi dan tsunami. ‘’Untuk memastikan gunung tersebut aktif atau tidak tergantung bagaimana hasil penelitian lanjutannya. Kalau tidak aktif sih, masyarakat Bengkulu nggak perlu khawatir,” analisa Danny.

Hal senada juga ditegakan Direktur Pusat Teknologi Inventarisasi Sumber Daya Alam BPPT Yusuf Surachman. Meskipun gunung ini diketahui memiliki kaldera yang menandainya sebagai gunung api, para pakar geologi belum mengetahui tingkat keaktifan gunung api bawah laut ini. Bagaimanapun gunung api bawah laut sangat berbahaya jika meletus, katanya.

Yang jelas, sejak gempa dan tsunami akhir 2004 dan gempa-gempa besar susulan lainnya, terjadi banyak perubahan struktur di kawasan perairan Sumatera yang menarik minat banyak peneliti asing.

Tim ahli dari Indonesia, AS, dan Perancis kemudian bekerja sama memetakan struktur geologi dalam untuk memahami secara lebih baik sumber dan mekanisme gempa pemicu tsunami menggunakan citra seismik dalam (deep seismic image).

Diakui Danny, temuan ini sangat menarik bagi peneliti. “Bagi kita itu menarik, asyik malah. Diteliti atau tidak tergantung dananya. Kita lihat peluangnya nanti, akan diteliti lebih lanjut atau tidak. Yang jelas, kalau melihat posisinya gunung ini sudah ada sejak lama,” kata Danny lagi.

Sementara Kepala BMG Kepahiang, Dadang Permana mengaku belum tahu info tersebut. Hanya saja, kalau melihat posisinya Dadang menjelaskan, Palung Sunda tersebut tempat lempengan Indoaustralia menabrak lempengan Eurosia. Ada kemungkinan, gunung berapi ini aktif. Karena berada di daerah aktif gempa, akibat tubrukan kedua lempengan tersebut.

BMG bisa saja melakukan analisa, terhadap getaran gempa yang muncul dari palung tersebut mengandung magma atau tidak. Penelitian ini harus detail, satu per satu getaran harus dianalisa dengan menggunakan tomografi. Prinsip kerja alat ini, sama dengan ct scan. Bedanya kalau ct scan menggunakan sinar infra merah, sedangkan tomografi dengan gelombang gempa.

Dadang juga menyatakan, jarak Bengkulu dengan Pulau Enggano mencapai 200 kilometer. Artinya kalau 330 kilometer, masih 130 kilometer dari Pulau Enggano arah ke barat. Posisi palung berada di sebelah Selatan Mentawai, dimana lempengannya kini mulai bergerak.

“Getaran gempa dari pusat gunung yang mengandung magma beda dengan getaran gempa biasa. Kita bisa ceritakan melalui analisa lebih lanjut. Kalau di BMG mungkin 2 – 3 tahun lagi bisa melakukan penelitian seperti ini. Kalau melihat petanya, kawasan palung itu kawasan aktif gempa. Kemungkinan di sana panas. Jujur saya baru dengar info ini,” terang Dadang.(yoh)

A STATEMENT FROM NOEL

A STATEMENT FROM NOEL

28 August 2009

"It's with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis tonight. People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer.

"Apologies to all the people who bought tickets for the shows in Paris, Konstanz and Milan."

Noel Gallagher Berhenti dari Oasis!

Noel Gallagher Berhenti dari Oasis!
Sabtu, 29/8/2009

PARIS, KOMPAS.com — Grup rock Inggris, Oasis, terancam bubar, menyusul pengunduran diri Noel Gallagher dari grup yang telah membesarkan namanya itu. Noel mengutarakan bahwa pengunduran dirinya disebabkan ketiaksepahaman lagi dengan saudaranya, Liam Gallagher, yang juga vokalis grup band kelahiran Manchester tahun 1991 itu.

Lewat situs resmi band mereka, Noel menyampaikan pengunduran dirinya tersebut. "Dengan sangat sedih dan perasaan lega yang sangat luar biasa, saya beri tahu bahwa saya berhenti dari Oasis sejak malam ini."

"Orang akan menulis dan mengatakan apa pun yang mereka suka, tetapi saya hanya bisa katakan bahwa saya tak bisa lagi bekerja dengan Liam seterusnya."

Dalam kesempatan tersebut, Noel juga meminta maaf kepada para penggemarnya yang telah membeli tiket untuk pertunjukannya di Paris, Konstanz, dan Milan.

Keputusan Noel undur diri dari Oasis cukup mengejutkan. Bagaimana tidak, keputusan itu diambil Noel hanya beberapa saat menjelang Oasis manggung di acara The Rock en Seine Festival di Paris, Perancis, Jumat malam.

Pihak penyelenggara festival langsung dibuat panik. Di hadapan kerumunan massa, mereka mengabarkan berita duka itu. "Mereka tak bisa bermain malam ini dan dengan berat hati mereka juga membatalkan semua turnya di Eropa," ujar juru bicara festival tersebut.

Banyak dari penonton mengira hal tersebut hanyalah guyonan. Namun, mereka baru percaya ketika sebuah pengumuman resmi muncul pada layar lebar di kedua sisi panggung.

Kekecewaan pun menyeruak. Ben Clover (28), penggemar Oasis asal selatan London mengutarakan kekecewaannya. "Tadinya saya berharap melihat penampilan terbaik mereka, tapi sekarang saya tak yakin kami akan melihat penampilan mereka lagi," katanya.

'"Banyak penggemar mereka yang jauh-jauh datang ke sini untuk melihat aksi manggung mereka, tapi sekarang mereka benar-benar sangat kecewa," ungkap Clover.

Pekan lalu, Oasis juga membatalkan penampilan mereka pada konser V Festival di Chelmsford. Pembatalan dikarenakan Liam Gallagher terserang sakit. Akankah grup rock ini tetap bertahan? Entahlah. (EH/rollingstone.com)

Pramugari Telanjang di Air New Zealand

By Renne R.A Kawilarang VIVAnews - Senin, Juli 6

VIVAnews - Sebelum pesawat lepas landas, para penumpang biasanya disuguhi pertunjukan yang penting namun membosankan: peragaan prosedur keselamatan dari awak kabin.ADVERTISEMENT

Namun, maskapai Air New Zealand dari Selandia Baru kini menemukan cara unik untuk membuat prosedur keselamatan menjadi peragaan yang menarik untuk ditonton: semua pemerannya tidak memakai baju.

Agar tontonan lewat layar video itu tidak menjadi film porno, tubuh pemeran dicat menyerupai seragam pramugari, pramugara dan pilot Air New Zealand. Dengan demikian, tayangan itu membuat para penumpang penasaran yang otomatis membuat mereka menyimak prosedur mengenakan sabuk pengaman dan memakai masker saat tekanan udara di dalam kabin pesawat berkurang.

Tayangan yang diperangkan pemeran yang cantik, sintal dan ganteng itu ternyata mendapat sambutan besar. Pada Jumat pekan lalu, 3 Juli 2009, jumlah pengunjung video prosedur keselamatan penumpang ala Air New Zealand itu sudah diklik 1,2 juta pengunjung di laman Youtube. Padahal video itu baru empat hari ditayangkan.

Dalam tayangan video berjudul "The Bare Essentials of Safety" itu tiga awak kabin dan seorang pilot memperagakan sejumlah prosedur keselamatan di pesawat dengan hanya mengenakan sepatu. Tubuh mereka rupanya sudah dicat sedemikian rupa sehingga menyerupai seragam. Bahkan, tubuh seorang pemeran pramugari dicat seolah-olah dia mengenakan selendang di bagian leher.

Tayangan video berdurasi 3 menit 28 detik itu dibuat secara apik sehingga tidak memperlihat bagian vital para pemeran yang bisa menimbulkan kesan cabul.

"Menurut sulit untuk membuat orang tersenyum dan video ini memberi peluang untuk menarik perhatian banyak orang," kata pimpinan pemasaran Air New Zealand, Steve Bayliss.

Menariknya, para pemeran ternyata bukan aktor atau model profesional, melainkan staf Air New Zealand. (AP)

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The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Plot Overview

The Scarlet Letter opens with a long preamble about how the book came to be written. The nameless narrator was the surveyor of the customhouse in Salem, Massachusetts. In the customhouse's attic, he discovered a number of documents, among them a manuscript that was bundled with a scarlet, gold-embroidered patch of cloth in the shape of an “A.” The manuscript, the work of a past surveyor, detailed events that occurred some two hundred years before the narrator's time. When the narrator lost his customs post, he decided to write a fictional account of the events recorded in the manuscript. The Scarlet Letter is the final product.

The story begins in seventeenth-century Boston, then a Puritan settlement. A young woman, Hester Prynne, is led from the town prison with her infant daughter, Pearl, in her arms and the scarlet letter “A” on her breast. A man in the crowd tells an elderly onlooker that Hester is being punished for adultery. Hester's husband, a scholar much older than she is, sent her ahead to America, but he never arrived in Boston. The consensus is that he has been lost at sea. While waiting for her husband, Hester has apparently had an affair, as she has given birth to a child. She will not reveal her lover's identity, however, and the scarlet letter, along with her public shaming, is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy. On this day Hester is led to the town scaffold and harangued by the town fathers, but she again refuses to identify her child's father.

The elderly onlooker is Hester's missing husband, who is now practicing medicine and calling himself Roger Chillingworth. He settles in Boston, intent on revenge. He reveals his true identity to no one but Hester, whom he has sworn to secrecy. Several years pass. Hester supports herself by working as a seamstress, and Pearl grows into a willful, impish child. Shunned by the community, they live in a small cottage on the outskirts of Boston. Community officials attempt to take Pearl away from Hester, but, with the help of Arthur Dimmesdale, a young and eloquent minister, the mother and daughter manage to stay together. Dimmesdale, however, appears to be wasting away and suffers from mysterious heart trouble, seemingly caused by psychological distress. Chillingworth attaches himself to the ailing minister and eventually moves in with him so that he can provide his patient with round-the-clock care. Chillingworth also suspects that there may be a connection between the minister's torments and Hester's secret, and he begins to test Dimmesdale to see what he can learn. One afternoon, while the minister sleeps, Chillingworth discovers a mark on the man's breast (the details of which are kept from the reader), which convinces him that his suspicions are correct.

Dimmesdale's psychological anguish deepens, and he invents new tortures for himself. In the meantime, Hester's charitable deeds and quiet humility have earned her a reprieve from the scorn of the community. One night, when Pearl is about seven years old, she and her mother are returning home from a visit to a deathbed when they encounter Dimmesdale atop the town scaffold, trying to punish himself for his sins. Hester and Pearl join him, and the three link hands. Dimmesdale refuses Pearl's request that he acknowledge her publicly the next day, and a meteor marks a dull red “A” in the night sky. Hester can see that the minister's condition is worsening, and she resolves to intervene. She goes to Chillingworth and asks him to stop adding to Dimmesdale's self-torment. Chillingworth refuses.

Hester arranges an encounter with Dimmesdale in the forest because she is aware that Chillingworth has probably guessed that she plans to reveal his identity to Dimmesdale. The former lovers decide to flee to Europe, where they can live with Pearl as a family. They will take a ship sailing from Boston in four days. Both feel a sense of release, and Hester removes her scarlet letter and lets down her hair. Pearl, playing nearby, does not recognize her mother without the letter. The day before the ship is to sail, the townspeople gather for a holiday and Dimmesdale preaches his most eloquent sermon ever. Meanwhile, Hester has learned that Chillingworth knows of their plan and has booked passage on the same ship. Dimmesdale, leaving the church after his sermon, sees Hester and Pearl standing before the town scaffold. He impulsively mounts the scaffold with his lover and his daughter, and confesses publicly, exposing a scarlet letter seared into the flesh of his chest. He falls dead, as Pearl kisses him.

Frustrated in his revenge, Chillingworth dies a year later. Hester and Pearl leave Boston, and no one knows what has happened to them. Many years later, Hester returns alone, still wearing the scarlet letter, to live in her old cottage and resume her charitable work. She receives occasional letters from Pearl, who has married a European aristocrat and established a family of her own. When Hester dies, she is buried next to Dimmesdale. The two share a single tombstone, which bears a scarlet “A.”

Character List

Hester Prynne - Hester is the book's protagonist and the wearer of the scarlet letter that gives the book its title. The letter, a patch of fabric in the shape of an “A,” signifies that Hester is an “adulterer.” As a young woman, Hester married an elderly scholar, Chillingworth, who sent her ahead to America to live but never followed her. While waiting for him, she had an affair with a Puritan minister named Dimmesdale, after which she gave birth to Pearl. Hester is passionate but also strong—she endures years of shame and scorn. She equals both her husband and her lover in her intelligence and thoughtfulness. Her alienation puts her in the position to make acute observations about her community, particularly about its treatment of women.
Hester Prynne (In-Depth Analysis)

Pearl - Hester's illegitimate daughter Pearl is a young girl with a moody, mischievous spirit and an ability to perceive things that others do not. For example, she quickly discerns the truth about her mother and Dimmesdale. The townspeople say that she barely seems human and spread rumors that her unknown father is actually the Devil. She is wise far beyond her years, frequently engaging in ironic play having to do with her mother's scarlet letter.
Pearl (In-Depth Analysis)


Roger Chillingworth - “Roger Chillingworth” is actually Hester's husband in disguise. He is much older than she is and had sent her to America while he settled his affairs in Europe. Because he is captured by Native Americans, he arrives in Boston belatedly and finds Hester and her illegitimate child being displayed on the scaffold. He lusts for revenge, and thus decides to stay in Boston despite his wife's betrayal and disgrace. He is a scholar and uses his knowledge to disguise himself as a doctor, intent on discovering and tormenting Hester's anonymous lover. Chillingworth is self-absorbed and both physically and psychologically monstrous. His single-minded pursuit of retribution reveals him to be the most malevolent character in the novel.
Roger Chillingworth (In-Depth Analysis)


Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale - Dimmesdale is a young man who achieved fame in England as a theologian and then emigrated to America. In a moment of weakness, he and Hester became lovers. Although he will not confess it publicly, he is the father of her child. He deals with his guilt by tormenting himself physically and psychologically, developing a heart condition as a result. Dimmesdale is an intelligent and emotional man, and his sermons are thus masterpieces of eloquence and persuasiveness. His commitments to his congregation are in constant conflict with his feelings of sinfulness and need to confess.
Arthur Dimmesdale (In-Depth Analysis)


Governor Bellingham - Governor Bellingham is a wealthy, elderly gentleman who spends much of his time consulting with the other town fathers. Despite his role as governor of a fledgling American society, he very much resembles a traditional English aristocrat. Bellingham tends to strictly adhere to the rules, but he is easily swayed by Dimmesdale's eloquence. He remains blind to the misbehaviors taking place in his own house: his sister, Mistress Hibbins, is a witch.

Mistress Hibbins - Mistress Hibbins is a widow who lives with her brother, Governor Bellingham, in a luxurious mansion. She is commonly known to be a witch who ventures into the forest at night to ride with the “Black Man.” Her appearances at public occasions remind the reader of the hypocrisy and hidden evil in Puritan society.

Reverend Mr. John Wilson - Boston's elder clergyman, Reverend Wilson is scholarly yet grandfatherly. He is a stereotypical Puritan father, a literary version of the stiff, starkly painted portraits of American patriarchs. Like Governor Bellingham, Wilson follows the community's rules strictly but can be swayed by Dimmesdale's eloquence. Unlike Dimmesdale, his junior colleague, Wilson preaches hellfire and damnation and advocates harsh punishment of sinners.

Narrator - The unnamed narrator works as the surveyor of the Salem Custom House some two hundred years after the novel's events take place. He discovers an old manuscript in the building's attic that tells the story of Hester Prynne; when he loses his job, he decides to write a fictional treatment of the narrative. The narrator is a rather high-strung man, whose Puritan ancestry makes him feel guilty about his writing career. He writes because he is interested in American history and because he believes that America needs to better understand its religious and moral heritage.

Analysis of Major Characters

Hester Prynne

Although The Scarlet Letter is about Hester Prynne, the book is not so much a consideration of her innate character as it is an examination of the forces that shape her and the transformations those forces effect. We know very little about Hester prior to her affair with Dimmesdale and her resultant public shaming. We read that she married Chillingworth although she did not love him, but we never fully understand why. The early chapters of the book suggest that, prior to her marriage, Hester was a strong-willed and impetuous young woman—she remembers her parents as loving guides who frequently had to restrain her incautious behavior. The fact that she has an affair also suggests that she once had a passionate nature.

But it is what happens after Hester's affair that makes her into the woman with whom the reader is familiar. Shamed and alienated from the rest of the community, Hester becomes contemplative. She speculates on human nature, social organization, and larger moral questions. Hester's tribulations also lead her to be stoic and a freethinker. Although the narrator pretends to disapprove of Hester's independent philosophizing, his tone indicates that he secretly admires her independence and her ideas.

Hester also becomes a kind of compassionate maternal figure as a result of her experiences. Hester moderates her tendency to be rash, for she knows that such behavior could cause her to lose her daughter, Pearl. Hester is also maternal with respect to society: she cares for the poor and brings them food and clothing. By the novel's end, Hester has become a protofeminist mother figure to the women of the community. The shame attached to her scarlet letter is long gone. Women recognize that her punishment stemmed in part from the town fathers' sexism, and they come to Hester seeking shelter from the sexist forces under which they themselves suffer. Throughout The Scarlet Letter Hester is portrayed as an intelligent, capable, but not necessarily extraordinary woman. It is the extraordinary circumstances shaping her that make her such an important figure.


Roger Chillingworth

As his name suggests, Roger Chillingworth is a man deficient in human warmth. His twisted, stooped, deformed shoulders mirror his distorted soul. From what the reader is told of his early years with Hester, he was a difficult husband. He ignored his wife for much of the time, yet expected her to nourish his soul with affection when he did condescend to spend time with her. Chillingworth's decision to assume the identity of a “leech,” or doctor, is fitting. Unable to engage in equitable relationships with those around him, he feeds on the vitality of others as a way of energizing his own projects. Chillingworth's death is a result of the nature of his character. After Dimmesdale dies, Chillingworth no longer has a victim. Similarly, Dimmesdale's revelation that he is Pearl's father removes Hester from the old man's clutches. Having lost the objects of his revenge, the leech has no choice but to die.

Ultimately, Chillingworth represents true evil. He is associated with secular and sometimes illicit forms of knowledge, as his chemical experiments and medical practices occasionally verge on witchcraft and murder. He is interested in revenge, not justice, and he seeks the deliberate destruction of others rather than a redress of wrongs. His desire to hurt others stands in contrast to Hester and Dimmesdale's sin, which had love, not hate, as its intent. Any harm that may have come from the young lovers' deed was unanticipated and inadvertent, whereas Chillingworth reaps deliberate harm.


Arthur Dimmesdale

Arthur Dimmesdale, like Hester Prynne, is an individual whose identity owes more to external circumstances than to his innate nature. The reader is told that Dimmesdale was a scholar of some renown at Oxford University. His past suggests that he is probably somewhat aloof, the kind of man who would not have much natural sympathy for ordinary men and women. However, Dimmesdale has an unusually active conscience. The fact that Hester takes all of the blame for their shared sin goads his conscience, and his resultant mental anguish and physical weakness open up his mind and allow him to empathize with others. Consequently, he becomes an eloquent and emotionally powerful speaker and a compassionate leader, and his congregation is able to receive meaningful spiritual guidance from him.

Ironically, the townspeople do not believe Dimmesdale's protestations of sinfulness. Given his background and his penchant for rhetorical speech, Dimmesdale's congregation generally interprets his sermons allegorically rather than as expressions of any personal guilt. This drives Dimmesdale to further internalize his guilt and self-punishment and leads to still more deterioration in his physical and spiritual condition. The town's idolization of him reaches new heights after his Election Day sermon, which is his last. In his death, Dimmesdale becomes even more of an icon than he was in life. Many believe his confession was a symbolic act, while others believe Dimmesdale's fate was an example of divine judgment.


Pearl

Hester's daughter, Pearl, functions primarily as a symbol. She is quite young during most of the events of this novel—when Dimmesdale dies she is only seven years old—and her real importance lies in her ability to provoke the adult characters in the book. She asks them pointed questions and draws their attention, and the reader's, to the denied or overlooked truths of the adult world. In general, children in The Scarlet Letter are portrayed as more perceptive and more honest than adults, and Pearl is the most perceptive of them all.

Pearl makes us constantly aware of her mother's scarlet letter and of the society that produced it. From an early age, she fixates on the emblem. Pearl's innocent, or perhaps intuitive, comments about the letter raise crucial questions about its meaning. Similarly, she inquires about the relationships between those around her—most important, the relationship between Hester and Dimmesdale—and offers perceptive critiques of them. Pearl provides the text's harshest, and most penetrating, judgment of Dimmesdale's failure to admit to his adultery. Once her father's identity is revealed, Pearl is no longer needed in this symbolic capacity; at Dimmesdale's death she becomes fully “human,” leaving behind her otherworldliness and her preternatural vision.

Themes, Motifs & Symbols

Themes

Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.
Sin, Knowledge, and the Human Condition

Sin and knowledge are linked in the Judeo-Christian tradition. The Bible begins with the story of Adam and Eve, who were expelled from the Garden of Eden for eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. As a result of their knowledge, Adam and Eve are made aware of their humanness, that which separates them from the divine and from other creatures. Once expelled from the Garden of Eden, they are forced to toil and to procreate—two “labors” that seem to define the human condition. The experience of Hester and Dimmesdale recalls the story of Adam and Eve because, in both cases, sin results in expulsion and suffering. But it also results in knowledge—specifically, in knowledge of what it means to be human. For Hester, the scarlet letter functions as “her passport into regions where other women dared not tread,” leading her to “speculate” about her society and herself more “boldly” than anyone else in New England. As for Dimmesdale, the “burden” of his sin gives him “sympathies so intimate with the sinful brotherhood of mankind, so that his heart vibrate[s] in unison with theirs.” His eloquent and powerful sermons derive from this sense of empathy. Hester and Dimmesdale contemplate their own sinfulness on a daily basis and try to reconcile it with their lived experiences. The Puritan elders, on the other hand, insist on seeing earthly experience as merely an obstacle on the path to heaven. Thus, they view sin as a threat to the community that should be punished and suppressed. Their answer to Hester's sin is to ostracize her. Yet, Puritan society is stagnant, while Hester and Dimmesdale's experience shows that a state of sinfulness can lead to personal growth, sympathy, and understanding of others. Paradoxically, these qualities are shown to be incompatible with a state of purity.

The Nature of Evil
The characters in the novel frequently debate the identity of the “Black Man,” the embodiment of evil. Over the course of the novel, the “Black Man” is associated with Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, and Mistress Hibbins, and little Pearl is thought by some to be the Devil's child. The characters also try to root out the causes of evil: did Chillingworth's selfishness in marrying Hester force her to the “evil” she committed in Dimmesdale's arms? Is Hester and Dimmesdale's deed responsible for Chillingworth's transformation into a malevolent being? This confusion over the nature and causes of evil reveals the problems with the Puritan conception of sin. The book argues that true evil arises from the close relationship between hate and love. As the narrator points out in the novel's concluding chapter, both emotions depend upon “a high degree of intimacy and heart-knowledge; each renders one individual dependent . . . upon another.” Evil is not found in Hester and Dimmesdale's lovemaking, nor even in the cruel ignorance of the Puritan fathers. Evil, in its most poisonous form, is found in the carefully plotted and precisely aimed revenge of Chillingworth, whose love has been perverted. Perhaps Pearl is not entirely wrong when she thinks Dimmesdale is the “Black Man,” because her father, too, has perverted his love. Dimmesdale, who should love Pearl, will not even publicly acknowledge her. His cruel denial of love to his own child may be seen as further perpetrating evil.

Identity and Society

After Hester is publicly shamed and forced by the people of Boston to wear a badge of humiliation, her unwillingness to leave the town may seem puzzling. She is not physically imprisoned, and leaving the Massachusetts Bay Colony would allow her to remove the scarlet letter and resume a normal life. Surprisingly, Hester reacts with dismay when Chillingworth tells her that the town fathers are considering letting her remove the letter. Hester's behavior is premised on her desire to determine her own identity rather than to allow others to determine it for her. To her, running away or removing the letter would be an acknowledgment of society's power over her: she would be admitting that the letter is a mark of shame and something from which she desires to escape. Instead, Hester stays, refiguring the scarlet letter as a symbol of her own experiences and character. Her past sin is a part of who she is; to pretend that it never happened would mean denying a part of herself. Thus, Hester very determinedly integrates her sin into her life.

Dimmesdale also struggles against a socially determined identity. As the community's minister, he is more symbol than human being. Except for Chillingworth, those around the minister willfully ignore his obvious anguish, misinterpreting it as holiness. Unfortunately, Dimmesdale never fully recognizes the truth of what Hester has learned: that individuality and strength are gained by quiet self-assertion and by a reconfiguration, not a rejection, of one's assigned identity.

Motifs

Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text's major themes.
Civilization versus the Wilderness

In The Scarlet Letter, the town and the surrounding forest represent opposing behavioral systems. The town represents civilization, a rule-bound space where everything one does is on display and where transgressions are quickly punished. The forest, on the other hand, is a space of natural rather than human authority. In the forest, society's rules do not apply, and alternate identities can be assumed. While this allows for misbehavior— Mistress Hibbins's midnight rides, for example—it also permits greater honesty and an escape from the repression of Boston. When Hester and Dimmesdale meet in the woods, for a few moments, they become happy young lovers once again. Hester's cottage, which, significantly, is located on the outskirts of town and at the edge of the forest, embodies both orders. It is her place of exile, which ties it to the authoritarian town, but because it lies apart from the settlement, it is a place where she can create for herself a life of relative peace.

Night versus Day

By emphasizing the alternation between sunlight and darkness, the novel organizes the plot's events into two categories: those which are socially acceptable, and those which must take place covertly. Daylight exposes an individual's activities and makes him or her vulnerable to punishment. Night, on the other hand, conceals and enables activities that would not be possible or tolerated during the day—for instance, Dimmesdale's encounter with Hester and Pearl on the scaffold. These notions of visibility versus concealment are linked to two of the book's larger themes—the themes of inner versus socially assigned identity and of outer appearances versus internal states. Night is the time when inner natures can manifest themselves. During the day, interiority is once again hidden from public view, and secrets remain secrets.

Evocative Names
The names in this novel often seem to beg to be interpreted allegorically. Chillingworth is cold and inhuman and thus brings a “chill” to Hester's and Dimmesdale's lives. “Prynne” rhymes with “sin,” while “Dimmesdale” suggests “dimness”—weakness, indeterminacy, lack of insight, and lack of will, all of which characterize the young minister. The name “Pearl” evokes a biblical allegorical device—the “pearl of great price” that is salvation. This system of naming lends a profundity to the story, linking it to other allegorical works of literature such as Pilgrim's Progress and to portions of the Bible. It also aligns the novel with popular forms of narrative such as fairy tales.

Symbols

Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
The Scarlet Letter

The scarlet letter is meant to be a symbol of shame, but instead it becomes a powerful symbol of identity to Hester. The letter's meaning shifts as time passes. Originally intended to mark Hester as an adulterer, the “A” eventually comes to stand for “Able.” Finally, it becomes indeterminate: the Native Americans who come to watch the Election Day pageant think it marks her as a person of importance and status. Like Pearl, the letter functions as a physical reminder of Hester's affair with Dimmesdale. But, compared with a human child, the letter seems insignificant, and thus helps to point out the ultimate meaninglessness of the community's system of judgment and punishment. The child has been sent from God, or at least from nature, but the letter is merely a human contrivance. Additionally, the instability of the letter's apparent meaning calls into question society's ability to use symbols for ideological reinforcement. More often than not, a symbol becomes a focal point for critical analysis and debate.

The Meteor

As Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold with Hester and Pearl in Chapter XII, a meteor traces out an “A” in the night sky. To Dimmesdale, the meteor implies that he should wear a mark of shame just as Hester does. The meteor is interpreted differently by the rest of the community, which thinks that it stands for “Angel” and marks Governor Winthrop's entry into heaven. But “Angel” is an awkward reading of the symbol. The Puritans commonly looked to symbols to confirm divine sentiments. In this narrative, however, symbols are taken to mean what the beholder wants them to mean. The incident with the meteor obviously highlights and exemplifies two different uses of symbols: Puritan and literary.

Pearl

Although Pearl is a complex character, her primary function within the novel is as a symbol. Pearl is a sort of living version of her mother's scarlet letter. She is the physical consequence of sexual sin and the indicator of a transgression. Yet, even as a reminder of Hester's “sin,” Pearl is more than a mere punishment to her mother: she is also a blessing. She represents not only “sin” but also the vital spirit and passion that engendered that sin. Thus, Pearl's existence gives her mother reason to live, bolstering her spirits when she is tempted to give up. It is only after Dimmesdale is revealed to be Pearl's father that Pearl can become fully “human.” Until then, she functions in a symbolic capacity as the reminder of an unsolved mystery.

The Rosebush Next to the Prison Door

The narrator chooses to begin his story with the image of the rosebush beside the prison door. The rosebush symbolizes the ability of nature to endure and outlast man's activities. Yet, paradoxically, it also symbolizes the futility of symbolic interpretation: the narrator mentions various significances that the rosebush might have, never affirming or denying them, never privileging one over the others.

Important Quotations Explained

1. “A writer of story-books! What kind of a business in life,—what mode of glorifying God, or being serviceable to mankind in his day and generation,—may that be? Why, the degenerate fellow might as well have been a fiddler!” Such are the compliments bandied between my great-grandsires and myself, across the gulf of time! And yet, let them scorn me as they will, strong traits of their nature have intertwined themselves with mine.
Explanation for Quotation #1


2. “Mother,” said little Pearl, “the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom. . . . It will not flee from me, for I wear nothing on my bosom yet!”
“Nor ever will, my child, I hope,” said Hester.
“And why not, mother?” asked Pearl, stopping short. . . . “Will it not come of its own accord, when I am a woman grown?”
Explanation for Quotation #2


3. But Hester Prynne, with a mind of native courage and activity, and for so long a period not merely estranged, but outlawed, from society, had habituated herself to such latitude of speculation as was altogether foreign to the clergyman. She had wandered, without rule or guidance, in a moral wilderness. . . . The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachers,—stern and wild ones,—and they had made her strong, but taught her much amiss.
Explanation for Quotation #3


4. “Mother,” said [Pearl], “was that the same minister that kissed me by the brook?”
“Hold thy peace, dear little Pearl!” whispered her mother. “We must not always talk in the market-place of what happens to us in the forest.”
Explanation for Quotation #4


5. But there was a more real life for Hester Prynne here, in New England, than in that unknown region where Pearl had found a home. Here had been her sin; here, her sorrow; and here was yet to be her penitence. She had returned, therefore, and resumed,—of her own free will, for not the sternest magistrate of that iron period would have imposed it,—resumed the symbol of which we have related so dark a tale. Never afterwards did it quit her bosom. But . . . the scarlet letter ceased to be a stigma which attracted the world's scorn and bitterness, and became a type of something to be sorrowed over, and looked upon with awe, and yet with reverence, too.
Explanation for Quotation #5

This passage, which appears in the novel's final chapter, concludes the book's examination of the theme of individual identity in the face of social judgments. After many years' absence, Hester has just returned to her former home. She resumes wearing the scarlet letter because her past is an important part of her identity; it is not something that should be erased or denied because someone else has decided it is shameful. What Hester undergoes is more akin to reconciliation than penitence. She creates a life in which the scarlet letter is a symbol of adversity overcome and of knowledge gained rather than a sign of failure or condemnation. She assumes control of her own identity, and in so doing she becomes an example for others. She is not, however, the example of sin that she was once intended to be. Rather, she is an example of redemption and self-empowerment.
Key Facts

full title • The Scarlet Letter

author • Nathaniel Hawthorne

type of work • Novel

genre • Symbolic; semi-allegorical; historical fiction; romance (in the sense that it rejects realism in favor of symbols and ideas)

language • English

time and place written • Salem and Concord, Massachusetts; late 1840s

date of first publication • 1850

publisher • Ticknor, Reed, and Fields

narrator • The narrator is an unnamed customhouse surveyor who writes some two hundred years after the events he describes took place. He has much in common with Hawthorne but should not be taken as a direct mouthpiece for the author's opinions.

point of view • The narrator is omniscient, because he analyzes the characters and tells the story in a way that shows that he knows more about the characters than they know about themselves. Yet, he is also a subjective narrator, because he voices his own interpretations and opinions of things. He is clearly sympathetic to Hester and Dimmesdale.

tone • Varies—contemplative and somewhat bitter in the introduction; thoughtful, fairly straightforward, yet occasionally tinged with irony in the body of the narrative

tense • The narrator employs the past tense to recount events that happened some two hundred years before his time, but he occasionally uses the present tense when he addresses his audience.

setting (time) • Middle of the seventeenth century

setting (place) • Boston, Massachusetts

protagonist • Hester Prynne

major conflict • Her husband having inexplicably failed to join her in Boston following their emigration from Europe, Hester Prynne engages in an extramarital affair with Arthur Dimmesdale. When she gives birth to a child, Hester invokes the condemnation of her community—a condemnation they manifest by forcing her to wear a letter “A” for “adulteror”—as well as the vengeful wrath of her husband, who has appeared just in time to witness her public shaming.

rising action • Dimmesdale stands by in silence as Hester suffers for the “sin” he helped to commit, though his conscience plagues him and affects his health. Hester's husband, Chillingworth, hides his true identity and, posing as a doctor to the ailing minister, tests his suspicions that Dimmesdale is the father of his wife's child, effectively exacerbating Dimmesdale's feelings of shame and thus reaping revenge.

climax • There are at least two points in The Scarlet Letter that could be identified as the book's “climax.” The first is in Chapter XII, at the exact center of the book. As Dimmesdale watches a meteor trace a letter “A” in the sky, he confronts his role in Hester's sin and realizes that he can no longer deny his deed and its consequences. The key characters confront one another when Hester and Pearl join Dimmesdale in an “electric chain” as he holds his vigil on the marketplace scaffold, the location of Hester's original public shaming. Chillingworth appears in this scene as well. The other climactic scene occurs in Chapter XXIII, at the end of the book. Here, the characters' secrets are publicly exposed and their fates sealed. Dimmesdale, Hester, and Chillingworth not only acknowledge their secrets to themselves and to each other; they push these revelations to such extremes that they all must leave the community in one way or another.

falling action • Depending on one's interpretation of which scene constitutes the book's “climax,” the falling action is either the course of events that follow Chapter XII or the final reports on Hester's and Pearl's lives after the deaths of Dimmesdale and Chillingworth.

themes • Sin, experience, and the human condition; the nature of evil; identity and society

motifs • Civilization versus the wilderness; night versus day; evocative names

symbols • The scarlet letter; the town scaffold; the meteor; Pearl; the rosebush next to the prison door

foreshadowing • Foreshadowing is minimal, because the symbols tend to coincide temporally with events, enriching their meaning rather than anticipating their occurrence.

Romeo and Juliet By William Shakespeare

Plot Overview

In the streets of Verona another brawl breaks out between the servants of the feuding noble families of Capulet and Montague. Benvolio, a Montague, tries to stop the fighting, but is himself embroiled when the rash Capulet, Tybalt, arrives on the scene. After citizens outraged by the constant violence beat back the warring factions, Prince Escalus, the ruler of Verona, attempts to prevent any further conflicts between the families by decreeing death for any individual who disturbs the peace in the future.

Romeo, the son of Montague, runs into his cousin Benvolio, who had earlier seen Romeo moping in a grove of sycamores. After some prodding by Benvolio, Romeo confides that he is in love with Rosaline, a woman who does not return his affections. Benvolio counsels him to forget this woman and find another, more beautiful one, but Romeo remains despondent.

Meanwhile, Paris, a kinsman of the Prince, seeks Juliet’s hand in marriage. Her father Capulet, though happy at the match, asks Paris to wait two years, since Juliet is not yet even fourteen. Capulet dispatches a servant with a list of people to invite to a masquerade and feast he traditionally holds. He invites Paris to the feast, hoping that Paris will begin to win Juliet’s heart.

Romeo and Benvolio, still discussing Rosaline, encounter the Capulet servant bearing the list of invitations. Benvolio suggests that they attend, since that will allow Romeo to compare his beloved to other beautiful women of Verona. Romeo agrees to go with Benvolio to the feast, but only because Rosaline, whose name he reads on the list, will be there.

In Capulet’s household, young Juliet talks with her mother, Lady Capulet, and her nurse about the possibility of marrying Paris. Juliet has not yet considered marriage, but agrees to look at Paris during the feast to see if she thinks she could fall in love with him.

The feast begins. A melancholy Romeo follows Benvolio and their witty friend Mercutio to Capulet’s house. Once inside, Romeo sees Juliet from a distance and instantly falls in love with her; he forgets about Rosaline completely. As Romeo watches Juliet, entranced, a young Capulet, Tybalt, recognizes him, and is enraged that a Montague would sneak into a Capulet feast. He prepares to attack, but Capulet holds him back. Soon, Romeo speaks to Juliet, and the two experience a profound attraction. They kiss, not even knowing each other’s names. When he finds out from Juliet’s nurse that she is the daughter of Capulet—his family’s enemy—he becomes distraught. When Juliet learns that the young man she has just kissed is the son of Montague, she grows equally upset.

As Mercutio and Benvolio leave the Capulet estate, Romeo leaps over the orchard wall into the garden, unable to leave Juliet behind. From his hiding place, he sees Juliet in a window above the orchard and hears her speak his name. He calls out to her, and they exchange vows of love.

Romeo hurries to see his friend and confessor Friar Lawrence, who, though shocked at the sudden turn of Romeo’s heart, agrees to marry the young lovers in secret since he sees in their love the possibility of ending the age-old feud between Capulet and Montague. The following day, Romeo and Juliet meet at Friar Lawrence’s cell and are married. The Nurse, who is privy to the secret, procures a ladder, which Romeo will use to climb into Juliet’s window for their wedding night.

The next day, Benvolio and Mercutio encounter Tybalt—Juliet’s cousin—who, still enraged that Romeo attended Capulet’s feast, has challenged Romeo to a duel. Romeo appears. Now Tybalt’s kinsman by marriage, Romeo begs the Capulet to hold off the duel until he understands why Romeo does not want to fight. Disgusted with this plea for peace, Mercutio says that he will fight Tybalt himself. The two begin to duel. Romeo tries to stop them by leaping between the combatants. Tybalt stabs Mercutio under Romeo’s arm, and Mercutio dies. Romeo, in a rage, kills Tybalt. Romeo flees from the scene. Soon after, the Prince declares him forever banished from Verona for his crime. Friar Lawrence arranges for Romeo to spend his wedding night with Juliet before he has to leave for Mantua the following morning.

In her room, Juliet awaits the arrival of her new husband. The Nurse enters, and, after some confusion, tells Juliet that Romeo has killed Tybalt. Distraught, Juliet suddenly finds herself married to a man who has killed her kinsman. But she resettles herself, and realizes that her duty belongs with her love: to Romeo.

Romeo sneaks into Juliet’s room that night, and at last they consummate their marriage and their love. Morning comes, and the lovers bid farewell, unsure when they will see each other again. Juliet learns that her father, affected by the recent events, now intends for her to marry Paris in just three days. Unsure of how to proceed—unable to reveal to her parents that she is married to Romeo, but unwilling to marry Paris now that she is Romeo’s wife—Juliet asks her Nurse for advice. She counsels Juliet to proceed as if Romeo were dead and to marry Paris, who is a better match anyway. Disgusted with the Nurse’s disloyalty, Juliet disregards her advice and hurries to Friar Lawrence. He concocts a plan to reunite Juliet with Romeo in Mantua. The night before her wedding to Paris, Juliet must drink a potion that will make her appear to be dead. After she is laid to rest in the family’s crypt, the Friar and Romeo will secretly retrieve her, and she will be free to live with Romeo, away from their parents’ feuding.

Juliet returns home to discover the wedding has been moved ahead one day, and she is to be married tomorrow. That night, Juliet drinks the potion, and the Nurse discovers her, apparently dead, the next morning. The Capulets grieve, and Juliet is entombed according to plan. But Friar Lawrence’s message explaining the plan to Romeo never reaches Mantua. Its bearer, Friar John, gets confined to a quarantined house. Romeo hears only that Juliet is dead.

Romeo learns only of Juliet’s death and decides to kill himself rather than live without her. He buys a vial of poison from a reluctant Apothecary, then speeds back to Verona to take his own life at Juliet’s tomb. Outside the Capulet crypt, Romeo comes upon Paris, who is scattering flowers on Juliet’s grave. They fight, and Romeo kills Paris. He enters the tomb, sees Juliet’s inanimate body, drinks the poison, and dies by her side. Just then, Friar Lawrence enters and realizes that Romeo has killed Paris and himself. At the same time, Juliet awakes. Friar Lawrence hears the coming of the watch. When Juliet refuses to leave with him, he flees alone. Juliet sees her beloved Romeo and realizes he has killed himself with poison. She kisses his poisoned lips, and when that does not kill her, buries his dagger in her chest, falling dead upon his body.

The watch arrives, followed closely by the Prince, the Capulets, and Montague. Montague declares that Lady Montague has died of grief over Romeo’s exile. Seeing their children’s bodies, Capulet and Montague agree to end their long-standing feud and to raise gold statues of their children side-by-side in a newly peaceful Verona.


Character List

Romeo - The son and heir of Montague and Lady Montague. A young man of about sixteen, Romeo is handsome, intelligent, and sensitive. Though impulsive and immature, his idealism and passion make him an extremely likable character. He lives in the middle of a violent feud between his family and the Capulets, but he is not at all interested in violence. His only interest is love. At the beginning of the play he is madly in love with a woman named Rosaline, but the instant he lays eyes on Juliet, he falls in love with her and forgets Rosaline. Thus, Shakespeare gives us every reason to question how real Romeo’s new love is, but Romeo goes to extremes to prove the seriousness of his feelings. He secretly marries Juliet, the daughter of his father’s worst enemy; he happily takes abuse from Tybalt; and he would rather die than live without his beloved. Romeo is also an affectionate and devoted friend to his relative Benvolio, Mercutio, and Friar Lawrence.
Romeo (In-Depth Analysis)

Juliet - The daughter of Capulet and Lady Capulet. A beautiful thirteen-year-old girl, Juliet begins the play as a naïve child who has thought little about love and marriage, but she grows up quickly upon falling in love with Romeo, the son of her family’s great enemy. Because she is a girl in an aristocratic family, she has none of the freedom Romeo has to roam around the city, climb over walls in the middle of the night, or get into swordfights. Nevertheless, she shows amazing courage in trusting her entire life and future to Romeo, even refusing to believe the worst reports about him after he gets involved in a fight with her cousin. Juliet’s closest friend and confidant is her Nurse, though she’s willing to shut the Nurse out of her life the moment the Nurse turns against Romeo.
Juliet (In-Depth Analysis)


Friar Lawrence - A Franciscan friar, friend to both Romeo and Juliet. Kind, civic-minded, a proponent of moderation, and always ready with a plan, Friar Lawrence secretly marries the impassioned lovers in hopes that the union might eventually bring peace to Verona. As well as being a Catholic holy man, Friar Lawrence is also an expert in the use of seemingly mystical potions and herbs.
Friar Lawrence (In-Depth Analysis)


Mercutio - A kinsman to the Prince, and Romeo’s close friend. One of the most extraordinary characters in all of Shakespeare’s plays, Mercutio overflows with imagination, wit, and, at times, a strange, biting satire and brooding fervor. Mercutio loves wordplay, especially sexual double entendres. He can be quite hotheaded, and hates people who are affected, pretentious, or obsessed with the latest fashions. He finds Romeo’s romanticized ideas about love tiresome, and tries to convince Romeo to view love as a simple matter of sexual appetite.
Mercutio (In-Depth Analysis)


The Nurse - Juliet’s nurse, the woman who breast-fed Juliet when she was a baby and has cared for Juliet her entire life. A vulgar, long-winded, and sentimental character, the Nurse provides comic relief with her frequently inappropriate remarks and speeches. But, until a disagreement near the play’s end, the Nurse is Juliet’s faithful confidante and loyal intermediary in Juliet’s affair with Romeo. She provides a contrast with Juliet, given that her view of love is earthy and sexual, whereas Juliet is idealistic and intense. The Nurse believes in love and wants Juliet to have a nice-looking husband, but the idea that Juliet would want to sacrifice herself for love is incomprehensible to her.

Tybalt - A Capulet, Juliet’s cousin on her mother’s side. Vain, fashionable, supremely aware of courtesy and the lack of it, he becomes aggressive, violent, and quick to draw his sword when he feels his pride has been injured. Once drawn, his sword is something to be feared. He loathes Montagues.

Capulet - The patriarch of the Capulet family, father of Juliet, husband of Lady Capulet, and enemy, for unexplained reasons, of Montague. He truly loves his daughter, though he is not well acquainted with Juliet’s thoughts or feelings, and seems to think that what is best for her is a “good” match with Paris. Often prudent, he commands respect and propriety, but he is liable to fly into a rage when either is lacking.

Lady Capulet - Juliet’s mother, Capulet’s wife. A woman who herself married young (by her own estimation she gave birth to Juliet at close to the age of fourteen), she is eager to see her daughter marry Paris. She is an ineffectual mother, relying on the Nurse for moral and pragmatic support.

Montague - Romeo’s father, the patriarch of the Montague clan and bitter enemy of Capulet. At the beginning of the play, he is chiefly concerned about Romeo’s melancholy.

Lady Montague - Romeo’s mother, Montague’s wife. She dies of grief after Romeo is exiled from Verona.

Paris - A kinsman of the Prince, and the suitor of Juliet most preferred by Capulet. Once Capulet has promised him he can marry Juliet, he behaves very presumptuous toward, acting as if they are already married.

Benvolio - Montague’s nephew, Romeo’s cousin and thoughtful friend, he makes a genuine effort to defuse violent scenes in public places, though Mercutio accuses him of having a nasty temper in private. He spends most of the play trying to help Romeo get his mind off Rosaline, even after Romeo has fallen in love with Juliet.

Prince Escalus - The Prince of Verona. A kinsman of Mercutio and Paris. As the seat of political power in Verona, he is concerned about maintaining the public peace at all costs.

Friar John - A Franciscan friar charged by Friar Lawrence with taking the news of Juliet’s false death to Romeo in Mantua. Friar John is held up in a quarantined house, and the message never reaches Romeo.

Balthasar - Romeo’s dedicated servant, who brings Romeo the news of Juliet’s death, unaware that her death is a ruse.

Sampson & Gregory - Two servants of the house of Capulet, who, like their master, hate the Montagues. At the outset of the play, they successfully provoke some Montague men into a fight.

Abram - Montague’s servant, who fights with Sampson and Gregory in the first scene of the play.

The Apothecary - An apothecary in Mantua. Had he been wealthier, he might have been able to afford to value his morals more than money, and refused to sell poison to Romeo.

Peter - A Capulet servant who invites guests to Capulet’s feast and escorts the Nurse to meet with Romeo. He is illiterate, and a bad singer (IV.iv.128–166).

Rosaline - The woman with whom Romeo is infatuated at the beginning of the play. Rosaline never appears onstage, but it is said by other characters that she is very beautiful and has sworn to live a life of chastity.

The Chorus - The Chorus is a single character who, as developed in Greek drama, functions as a narrator offering commentary on the play’s plot and themes.


Romeo

The name Romeo, in popular culture, has become nearly synonymous with “lover.” Romeo, in Romeo and Juliet, does indeed experience a love of such purity and passion that he kills himself when he believes that the object of his love, Juliet, has died. The power of Romeo’s love, however, often obscures a clear vision of Romeo’s character, which is far more complex.

Even Romeo’s relation to love is not so simple. At the beginning of the play, Romeo pines for Rosaline, proclaiming her the paragon of women and despairing at her indifference toward him. Taken together, Romeo’s Rosaline-induced histrionics seem rather juvenile. Romeo is a great reader of love poetry, and the portrayal of his love for Rosaline suggests he is trying to re-create the feelings that he has read about. After first kissing Juliet, she tells him “you kiss by th’ book,” meaning that he kisses according to the rules, and implying that while proficient, his kissing lacks originality (I.v.107). In reference to Rosaline, it seems, Romeo loves by the book. Rosaline, of course, slips from Romeo’s mind at first sight of Juliet. But Juliet is no mere replacement. The love she shares with Romeo is far deeper, more authentic and unique than the clichéd puppy love Romeo felt for Rosaline. Romeo’s love matures over the course of the play from the shallow desire to be in love to a profound and intense passion. One must ascribe Romeo’s development at least in part to Juliet. Her level-headed observations, such as the one about Romeo’s kissing, seem just the thing to snap Romeo from his superficial idea of love and to inspire him to begin to speak some of the most beautiful and intense love poetry ever written.

Yet Romeo’s deep capacity for love is merely a part of his larger capacity for intense feeling of all kinds. Put another way, it is possible to describe Romeo as lacking the capacity for moderation. Love compels him to sneak into the garden of his enemy’s daughter, risking death simply to catch a glimpse of her. Anger compels him to kill his wife’s cousin in a reckless duel to avenge the death of his friend. Despair compels him to suicide upon hearing of Juliet’s death. Such extreme behavior dominates Romeo’s character throughout the play and contributes to the ultimate tragedy that befalls the lovers. Had Romeo restrained himself from killing Tybalt, or waited even one day before killing himself after hearing the news of Juliet’s death, matters might have ended happily. Of course, though, had Romeo not had such depths of feeling, the love he shared with Juliet would never have existed in the first place.

Among his friends, especially while bantering with Mercutio, Romeo shows glimpses of his social persona. He is intelligent, quick-witted, fond of verbal jousting (particularly about sex), loyal, and unafraid of danger.


Juliet

Having not quite reached her fourteenth birthday, Juliet is of an age that stands on the border between immaturity and maturity. At the play’s beginning however she seems merely an obedient, sheltered, naïve child. Though many girls her age—including her mother—get married, Juliet has not given the subject any thought. When Lady Capulet mentions Paris’s interest in marrying Juliet, Juliet dutifully responds that she will try to see if she can love him, a response that seems childish in its obedience and in its immature conception of love. Juliet seems to have no friends her own age, and she is not comfortable talking about sex (as seen in her discomfort when the Nurse goes on and on about a sexual joke at Juliet’s expense in Act I, scene iii).

Juliet gives glimpses of her determination, strength, and sober-mindedness, in her earliest scenes, and offers a preview of the woman she will become during the five-day span of Romeo and Juliet. While Lady Capulet proves unable to quiet the Nurse, Juliet succeeds with one word (also in Act I, scene iii). In addition, even in Juliet’s dutiful acquiescence to try to love Paris, there is some seed of steely determination. Juliet promises to consider Paris as a possible husband to the precise degree her mother desires. While an outward show of obedience, such a statement can also be read as a refusal through passivity. Juliet will accede to her mother’s wishes, but she will not go out of her way to fall in love with Paris.

Juliet’s first meeting with Romeo propels her full-force toward adulthood. Though profoundly in love with him, Juliet is able to see and criticize Romeo’s rash decisions and his tendency to romanticize things. After Romeo kills Tybalt and is banished, Juliet does not follow him blindly. She makes a logical and heartfelt decision that her loyalty and love for Romeo must be her guiding priorities. Essentially, Juliet cuts herself loose from her prior social moorings—her Nurse, her parents, and her social position in Verona—in order to try to reunite with Romeo. When she wakes in the tomb to find Romeo dead, she does not kill herself out of feminine weakness, but rather out of an intensity of love, just as Romeo did. Juliet’s suicide actually requires more nerve than Romeo’s: while he swallows poison, she stabs herself through the heart with a dagger.

Juliet’s development from a wide-eyed girl into a self-assured, loyal, and capable woman is one of Shakespeare’s early triumphs of characterization. It also marks one of his most confident and rounded treatments of a female character.


Friar Lawrence

Friar Lawrence occupies a strange position territory in Romeo and Juliet. He is a kindhearted cleric who helps Romeo and Juliet throughout the play. He performs their marriage and gives generally good advice, especially in regard to the need for moderation. He is the sole figure of religion in the play. But Friar Lawrence is also the most scheming and political of characters in the play: he marries Romeo and Juliet as part of a plan to end the civil strife in Verona; he spirits Romeo into Juliet’s room and then out of Verona; he devises the plan to reunite Romeo and Juliet through the deceptive ruse of a sleeping potion that seems to arise from almost mystic knowledge. This mystical knowledge seems out of place for a Catholic friar; why does he have such knowledge, and what could such knowledge mean? The answers are not clear. In addition, though Friar Lawrence’s plans all seem well conceived and well intentioned, they serve as the main mechanisms through which the fated tragedy of the play occurs. Readers should recognize that the Friar is not only subject to the fate that dominates the play—in many ways he brings that fate about.


Mercutio

With a lightning-quick wit and a clever mind, Mercutio is a scene stealer and one of the most memorable characters in all of Shakespeare’s works. Though he constantly puns, jokes, and teases—sometimes in fun, sometimes with bitterness—Mercutio is not a mere jester or prankster. With his wild words, Mercutio punctures the romantic sentiments and blind self-love that exist within the play. He mocks Romeos self-indulgence just as he ridicules Tybalt’s hauteur and adherence to fashion. The critic Stephen Greenblatt describes Mercutio as a force within the play that functions to deflate the possibility of romantic love and the power of tragic fate. Unlike the other characters who blame their deaths on fate, Mercutio dies cursing all Montagues and Capulets. Mercutio believes that specific people are responsible for his death rather than some external impersonal force.

Themes, Motifs & Symbols
Themes

Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.
The Forcefulness of Love

Romeo and Juliet is the most famous love story in the English literary tradition. Love is naturally the play’s dominant and most important theme. The play focuses on romantic love, specifically the intense passion that springs up at first sight between Romeo and Juliet. In Romeo and Juliet, love is a violent, ecstatic, overpowering force that supersedes all other values, loyalties, and emotions. In the course of the play, the young lovers are driven to defy their entire social world: families (“Deny thy father and refuse thy name,” Juliet asks, “Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, / And I’ll no longer be a Capulet”); friends (Romeo abandons Mercutio and Benvolio after the feast in order to go to Juliet’s garden); and ruler (Romeo returns to Verona for Juliet’s sake after being exiled by the Prince on pain of death in II.i.76–78). Love is the overriding theme of the play, but a reader should always remember that Shakespeare is uninterested in portraying a prettied-up, dainty version of the emotion, the kind that bad poets write about, and whose bad poetry Romeo reads while pining for Rosaline. Love in Romeo and Juliet is a brutal, powerful emotion that captures individuals and catapults them against their world, and, at times, against themselves.

The powerful nature of love can be seen in the way it is described, or, more accurately, the way descriptions of it so consistently fail to capture its entirety. At times love is described in the terms of religion, as in the fourteen lines when Romeo and Juliet first meet. At others it is described as a sort of magic: “Alike bewitchèd by the charm of looks” (II.Prologue.6). Juliet, perhaps, most perfectly describes her love for Romeo by refusing to describe it: “But my true love is grown to such excess / I cannot sum up some of half my wealth” (III.i.33–34). Love, in other words, resists any single metaphor because it is too powerful to be so easily contained or understood.

Romeo and Juliet does not make a specific moral statement about the relationships between love and society, religion, and family; rather, it portrays the chaos and passion of being in love, combining images of love, violence, death, religion, and family in an impressionistic rush leading to the play’s tragic conclusion.

Love as a Cause of Violence

The themes of death and violence permeate Romeo and Juliet, and they are always connected to passion, whether that passion is love or hate. The connection between hate, violence, and death seems obvious. But the connection between love and violence requires further investigation.

Love, in Romeo and Juliet, is a grand passion, and as such it is blinding; it can overwhelm a person as powerfully and completely as hate can. The passionate love between Romeo and Juliet is linked from the moment of its inception with death: Tybalt notices that Romeo has crashed the feast and determines to kill him just as Romeo catches sight of Juliet and falls instantly in love with her. From that point on, love seems to push the lovers closer to love and violence, not farther from it. Romeo and Juliet are plagued with thoughts of suicide, and a willingness to experience it: in Act III, scene iii, Romeo brandishes a knife in Friar Lawrence’s cell and threatens to kill himself after he has been banished from Verona and his love. Juliet also pulls a knife in order to take her own life in Friar Lawrence’s presence just three scenes later. After Capulet decides that Juliet will marry Paris, Juliet says, “If all else fail, myself have power to die” (III.v.242). Finally, each imagines that the other looks dead the morning after their first, and only, sexual experience (“Methinks I see thee,” Juliet says, “. . . as one dead in the bottom of a tomb” (III.v.242; III.v.55–56). This theme continues until its inevitable conclusion: double suicide. This tragic choice is the highest, most potent expression of love that Romeo and Juliet can make. It is only through death that they can preserve their love, and their love is so profound that they are willing to end their lives in its defense. In the play, love emerges as an amoral thing, leading as much to destruction as to happiness. But in its extreme passion, the love that Romeo and Juliet experience also appears so exquisitely beautiful that few would want, or be able, to resist its power.

The Individual Versus Society

Much of Romeo and Juliet involves the lovers’ struggles against public and social institutions that either explicitly or implicitly oppose the existence of their love. Such structures range from the concrete to the abstract: families and the placement of familial power in the father; law and the desire for public order; religion; and the social importance placed on masculine honor. These institutions often come into conflict with each other. The importance of honor, for example, time and again results in brawls that disturb the public peace.

Though they do not always work in concert, each of these societal institutions in some way present obstacles for Romeo and Juliet. The enmity between their families, coupled with the emphasis placed on loyalty and honor to kin, combine to create a profound conflict for Romeo and Juliet, who must rebel against their heritages. Further, the patriarchal power structure inherent in Renaissance families, wherein the father controls the action of all other family members, particularly women, places Juliet in an extremely vulnerable position. Her heart, in her family’s mind, is not hers to give. The law and the emphasis on social civility demands terms of conduct with which the blind passion of love cannot comply. Religion similarly demands priorities that Romeo and Juliet cannot abide by because of the intensity of their love. Though in most situations the lovers uphold the traditions of Christianity (they wait to marry before consummating their love), their love is so powerful that they begin to think of each other in blasphemous terms. For example, Juliet calls Romeo “the god of my idolatry,” elevating Romeo to level of God (II.i.156). The couple’s final act of suicide is likewise un-Christian. The maintenance of masculine honor forces Romeo to commit actions he would prefer to avoid. But the social emphasis placed on masculine honor is so profound that Romeo cannot simply ignore them.

It is possible to see Romeo and Juliet as a battle between the responsibilities and actions demanded by social institutions and those demanded by the private desires of the individual. Romeo and Juliet’s appreciation of night, with its darkness and privacy, and their renunciation of their names, with its attendant loss of obligation, make sense in the context of individuals who wish to escape the public world. But the lovers cannot stop the night from becoming day. And Romeo cannot cease being a Montague simply because he wants to; the rest of the world will not let him. The lovers’ suicides can be understood as the ultimate night, the ultimate privacy.

The Inevitability of Fate

In its first address to the audience, the Chorus states that Romeo and Juliet are “star-crossed”—that is to say that fate (a power often vested in the movements of the stars) controls them (Prologue.6). This sense of fate permeates the play, and not just for the audience. The characters also are quite aware of it: Romeo and Juliet constantly see omens. When Romeo believes that Juliet is dead, he cries out, “Then I defy you, stars,” completing the idea that the love between Romeo and Juliet is in opposition to the decrees of destiny (V.i.24). Of course, Romeo’s defiance itself plays into the hands of fate, and his determination to spend eternity with Juliet results in their deaths. The mechanism of fate works in all of the events surrounding the lovers: the feud between their families (it is worth noting that this hatred is never explained; rather, the reader must accept it as an undeniable aspect of the world of the play); the horrible series of accidents that ruin Friar Lawrence’s seemingly well-intentioned plans at the end of the play; and the tragic timing of Romeo’s suicide and Juliet’s awakening. These events are not mere coincidences, but rather manifestations of fate that help bring about the unavoidable outcome of the young lovers’ deaths.

The concept of fate described above is the most commonly accepted interpretation. There are other possible readings of fate in the play: as a force determined by the powerful social institutions that influence Romeo and Juliet’s choices, as well as fate as a force that emerges from Romeo and Juliet’s very personalities.

Motifs

Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes.
Light/Dark Imagery

One of the play’s most consistent visual motifs is the contrast between light and dark, often in terms of night/day imagery. This contrast is not given a particular metaphoric meaning—light is not always good, and dark is not always evil. On the contrary, light and dark are generally used to provide a sensory contrast and to hint at opposed alternatives. One of the more important instances of this motif is Romeo’s lengthy meditation on the sun and the moon during the balcony scene, in which Juliet, metaphorically described as the sun, is seen as banishing the “envious moon” and transforming the night into day (II.i.46). A similar blurring of night and day occurs in the early morning hours after the lovers’ only night together. Romeo, forced to leave for exile in the morning, and Juliet, not wanting him to leave her room, both try to pretend that it is still night, and that the light is actually darkness: “More light and light, more dark and dark our woes” (III.v.36).

Opposite Points of View

Shakespeare includes numerous speeches and scenes in Romeo and Juliet that hint at alternative ways to evaluate the play. Shakespeare uses two main devices in this regard: Mercutio and servants. Mercutio consistently skewers the viewpoints of all the other characters in play: he sees Romeo’s devotion to love as a sort of blindness that robs Romeo from himself; similarly, he sees Tybalt’s devotion to honor as blind and stupid. His punning and the Queen Mab speech can be interpreted as undercutting virtually every passion evident in the play. Mercutio serves as a critic of the delusions of righteousness and grandeur held by the characters around him.

Where Mercutio is a nobleman who openly criticizes other nobles, the views offered by servants in the play are less explicit. There is the Nurse who lost her baby and husband, the servant Peter who cannot read, the musicians who care about their lost wages and their lunches, and the Apothecary who cannot afford to make the moral choice, the lower classes present a second tragic world to counter that of the nobility. The nobles’ world is full of grand tragic gestures. The servants’ world, in contrast, is characterized by simple needs, and early deaths brought about by disease and poverty rather than dueling and grand passions. Where the nobility almost seem to revel in their capacity for drama, the servants’ lives are such that they cannot afford tragedy of the epic kind.

Symbols

Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
Poison

In his first appearance, in Act II, scene ii, Friar Lawrence remarks that every plant, herb, and stone has its own special properties, and that nothing exists in nature that cannot be put to both good and bad uses. Thus, poison is not intrinsically evil, but is instead a natural substance made lethal by human hands. Friar Lawrence’s words prove true over the course of the play. The sleeping potion he gives Juliet is concocted to cause the appearance of death, not death itself, but through circumstances beyond the Friar’s control, the potion does bring about a fatal result: Romeo’s suicide. As this example shows, human beings tend to cause death even without intending to. Similarly, Romeo suggests that society is to blame for the apothecary’s criminal selling of poison, because while there are laws prohiting the apothecary from selling poison, there are no laws that would help the apothecary make money. Poison symbolizes human society’s tendency to poison good things and make them fatal, just as the pointless Capulet-Montague feud turns Romeo and Juliet’s love to poison. After all, unlike many of the other tragedies, this play does not have an evil villain, but rather people whose good qualities are turned to poison by the world in which they live.

Thumb-biting

In Act I, scene I, the buffoonish Samson begins a brawl between the Montagues and Capulets by flicking his thumbnail from behind his upper teeth, an insulting gesture known as biting the thumb. He engages in this juvenile and vulgar display because he wants to get into a fight with the Montagues but doesn’t want to be accused of starting the fight by making an explicit insult. Because of his timidity, he settles for being annoying rather than challenging. The thumb-biting, as an essentially meaningless gesture, represents the foolishness of the entire Capulet/Montague feud and the stupidity of violence in general.


Queen Mab

In Act I, scene iv, Mercutio delivers a dazzling speech about the fairy Queen Mab, who rides through the night on her tiny wagon bringing dreams to sleepers. One of the most noteworthy aspects of Queen Mab’s ride is that the dreams she brings generally do not bring out the best sides of the dreamers, but instead serve to confirm them in whatever vices they are addicted to—for example, greed, violence, or lust. Another important aspect of Mercutio’s description of Queen Mab is that it is complete nonsense, albeit vivid and highly colorful. Nobody believes in a fairy pulled about by “a small grey-coated gnat” whipped with a cricket’s bone (I.iv.65). Finally, it is worth noting that the description of Mab and her carriage goes to extravagant lengths to emphasize how tiny and insubstantial she and her accoutrements are. Queen Mab and her carriage do not merely symbolize the dreams of sleepers, they also symbolize the power of waking fantasies, daydreams, and desires. Through the Queen Mab imagery, Mercutio suggests that all desires and fantasies are as nonsensical and fragile as Mab, and that they are basically corrupting. This point of view contrasts starkly with that of Romeo and Juliet, who see their love as real and ennobling.

Important Quotations Explained

1. But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,
Who is already sick and pale with grief
That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she. . . .
The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars
As daylight doth a lamp; her eye in heaven
Would through the airy region stream so bright
That birds would sing and think it were not night.
Explanation for Quotation #1


2. O Romeo, Romeo,
wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name,
Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.
Explanation for Quotation #2


3. O, then I see Queen Mab hath been with you. . . .
She is the fairies’ midwife, and she comes
In shape no bigger than an agate stone
On the forefinger of an alderman,
Drawn with a team of little atomi
Athwart men’s noses as they lie asleep.
Explanation for Quotation #3


4. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life,
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife. . . .
O, I am fortune’s fool! . . .
Then I defy you, stars.
Explanation for Quotation #4

This trio of quotes advances the theme of fate as it plays out through the story: the first is spoken by the Chorus (Prologue.5–8), the second by Romeo after he kills Tybalt (III.i.131), and the third by Romeo upon learning of Juliet’s death (V.i.24). The Chorus’ remark that Romeo and Juliet are “star-crossed” and fated to “take their li[ves]” informs the audience that the lovers are destined to die tragically. Romeo’s remark “O, I am fortune’s fool!” illustrates the fact that Romeo sees himself as subject to the whims of fate. When he cries out “Then I defy you, stars,” after learning of Juliet’s death, he declares himself openly opposed to the destiny that so grieves him. Sadly, in “defying” fate he actually brings it about. Romeo’s suicide prompts Juliet to kill herself, thereby ironically fulfilling the lovers’ tragic destiny.

Key Facts

full title • The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

author • William Shakespeare

type of work • Play

genre • Tragic drama

language • English

time and place written • London, mid-1590s

date of first publication • 1597 (in the First Quarto, which was likely an unauthorized incomplete edition); 1599 (in the Second Quarto, which was authorized)

publisher • Thomas Creede (in the Second Quarto, using the title The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedie, of Romeo and Iuliet)

climax • The deaths of Romeo and Juliet in the Capulet tomb (V.iii)

protagonists • Romeo; Juliet

antagonists • The feuding Montagues and Capulets; Tybalt; the prince and citizens of Verona; fate

settings (time) • Renaissance (fourteenth or fifteenth century)

settings (place) • Verona and Mantua (cities in northern Italy)

point of view • Insofar as a play has a point of view, that of Romeo and Juliet; occasionally the play uses the point of view of the Montague and Capulet servants to illuminate the actions of their masters.

falling action • The end of Act V, scene iii, when the prince and the parents discover the bodies of Romeo and Juliet, and agree to put aside their feud in the interest of peace.

tense • Present

foreshadowing • The Chorus’s first speech declaring that Romeo and Juliet are doomed to die and “star-crossed.” The lovers’ frequent thoughts of death: “My grave is like to be my wedding bed” (Juliet, I.v.132). The lovers’ thoughts of suicide, as when Romeo threatens to kill himself after killing Tybalt. Friar Lawrence’s warnings to behave moderately if Romeo and Juliet wish to avoid tragedy: “These violent delights have violent ends . . . Therefore love moderately” (II.v.9–14). The lovers’ mutual impression that the other looks pale and deathlike after their wedding night (III.v). Juliet’s faked death by Friar Lawrence’s potion. Romeo’s dream-vision of Juliet kissing his lips while he is dead (V.i). Romeo’s outbursts against fate: “O, I am fortune’s fool!” (III.i.131) and “Then I defy you, stars” (V.i.24).

tones • Passionate, romantic, intense, rhapsodic, violent, prone to extremes of emotion (ecstasy, rage, misery, etc.)

themes • The forcefulness of love; love as a cause of violence; the individual versus society; the inevitability of fate

motifs • Light/dark imagery; opposite points of view

symbols • Poison; thumb-biting; Queen Mab

SETTING ANALYSIS OF THE MISANTHROPE

INTRODUCTION

In her Paris salon, the flirtatious Célimène is wooed by a number of gentlemen and noblemen. Among them is Alceste, the misanthrope, who finds his sophisticated friends unbearable. His contrary nature sets him at odds with the law, with Oronte (a well connected man in the community) and, at times, with his love, Célimène. This friction is at the heart of the play, creating a high tension tug-of-war. Alceste wants Célimène to drop her active social circle for him alone and chastises her about her crowd of suitors. Célimène, however, continues to play the game, refusing to choose just one man. In quiet opposition to Célimène and her coquettish ways is her cousin Eliante. Eliante, along with Alceste’s good friend Philante, find reason and compromise in the manners of society and their own attitudes.Through vicious gossip, thinly veiled insults and flirtations, character faults are slowly revealed and truths are exposed. And it may be more than any of them bargained for, even for a misanthrope like Alceste.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
There are many definition of setting as follows :
• Setting includes the time, location, circumstances, and everything in which a story takes place. Setting can be referred to as milieu to include a context (especially society) beyond the immediate surroundings of the story. Along with plot, character, theme, and style, setting is considered one of the fundamental components of drama
• Setting is where and when the history takes place. Most of the setting involves the time and the place of the action
• Setting of time is a component of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify the motions of objects. It can a century, year, season
• Setting of place is a component of drama to determine where the background of the story takes place ( Wikipedia the free encyclopedia ). It can be state, city, town, or house
TYPES OF SETTING
• Authors use three basic types of setting. as follow :
1. Public And Private Places, together with various possessions are important in fiction, as in life. To reveal or highlight qualities of character, and also to make literature lifelike, authors include many details about objects and places of human manufacture, construction and maintenance. Houses , both interior and exteriors, are common , as are street, alleys, public park, garden, terraces bridges, grocery stores, and the like. In addition, writers include references to objects such as walking sticks, baseballs, wallpapers, money, guns, books and many more.
2. Outdoor Places are scenes of many fictional actions. The natural world is an obvious location for action of many narratives and plays. It is therefore important to note natural surroundings ( hill, shorelines, valleys, mountains, fields, trees, streams ,etc), living creature (birds, dogs, horses, ) and also the time season an condition in which things happen (morning, or night, summer or winter, sunlight or cloudness, wind or calmness, rain or shine) any or of which may influence and interact with character, motivation and conduct.
3. Cultural And Historical Circumstances often figure largely in fiction just as physical setting influences characters, so do historical and cultural condition and assumptions.
SETTING ANALYSIS OF THE MISANTHROPE
To get inside the righteous anger of Alceste, the flirtatious manipulations of Célimène or the fragile honor of Oronte, we must first examine the society which inspired Moliere to tell the story of The Misanthrope. While the playwright and his theater troupe traveled through the French countryside, all eyes in Paris were on Louis XIV, who ascended the throne in 1654 at the young age of 15. The French believed that royalty had a divine birthright and the reign of King Louis XIV epitomizes the glory of such a station. Louis XIV placed himself in the center of all France, and, like the sun that gives life to the planets that surround it, controlled every element of the world around him.
His tightly held power denied the influence of any other nobility. It was the King who would influence and transform the royal court, those who were granted permission to live on his estate. The King’s courtiers, those fortunate enough wait upon him and to attend his needs, showed the desperation of desert wanderers -- only it was the king’s attention for which they would thirst. Noble society monitored his every glance, searching for approval and guidance concerning everything -- from what to support, which fashion to wear and who to admire or criticize. The Sun King, as he was known to France, used his eager followers to raise French culture to a new standard. He placed high import on things of beauty and intelligence, and invited nobility to participate by attending or simply witnessing his daily activities. From breakfast to bedtime, the court stood in attendance observing the king in the hopes of pleasing him and perhaps, even receiving a word of flattery. His focus on art, literature, dance, music, fashion and food created a country wide renaissance and subsequently, an inimitable cultural boom.
The King’s glorious example created a standard for society known as “l’honnete homme,” or “the upright man,” whose attributes must include eloquent speech, skill at dance, refinement of manners, appreciation of arts, intellectual curiosity and wit. Life in the court became a public showing of individual perfections. One’s power and social standing relied entirely on how they were received by the rest of high society. Appearance was everything. If a person gave any kind of personal insult to another it was expected that they would, in turn, publicly defend themselves and redeem their honor. All disputes were common knowledge to the king and his courtiers, who kept up with the intrigue, as a sort-of social sporting match. In the context of such a society, it is easy to understand why Alceste is so angry with his comrades, why Célimène relishes all the attention lavished upon her and why Oronte is so offended by critical words. Since the reign of the Sun King and his court, the world has seen much change. However, upon further reflection, Moliere’s tale doesn’t seem that far removed from society today.


CONCLUSION
• Play or stories , must necessarily include the description of time, location, circumstances, and everything in which a story takes place, that is namely setting. Author use setting to create meaning, just as painters include backgrounds and object to render ideas.
• Setting is considered one of the fundamental components of drama and usually important and vital in the story. In the Misanthrope play, author uses several kinds of setting. There are setting of place, setting of time, social setting, culture setting.

KESANTUNAN BERBAHASA

A. LATAR BELAKANG

Kita tahu bahwa masyarakat kita (indonesia) sangat menjunjung kesantunan dalam berbahasa. Makna yang akan disampaikan tidak hanya terkait dengan pemilihan kata, tetapi juga cara penyampaiannya. Sebagai contoh, pemilihan kata yang tepat apabila disampaikan dengan cara kasar akan tetap dianggap kurang santun. Kesantunan memang amat penting di mana pun individu berada. Setiap anggota masyarakat percaya bahwa kesantunan yang diterapkan mencerminkan budaya suatu masyarakat, termasuk kesantunan berbahasa. Apalagi setiap masyarakat selalu ada hierarkhi sosial yang dikenakan pada kelompok-kelompok anggota mereka. Hal ini terjadi karena mereka telah menentukan penilaian tertentu, misalnya, antara tua – muda, majikan – buruh, guru – murid, kaya – miskin, dan status lainnya. Selain itu, faktor konteks juga menyebabkan kesantunan perlu diterapkan. Suasana formal atau resmi sangat menekankan kesantunan ini. Penilaian yang diberikan kepada hierarkhi sosial merupakan penilaian emotif yang diberikan kepada seseorang individu atau kelompok. Penilaian sepeti ini merupakan tanda hormat atau apresiasi kepada yang bersangkutan. Kalau diteliti lebih jauh, fenomena ini sudah diterapkan oleh masyarakat kita sejak dulu.

B. LANDASAN TEORI

1. Pengertian Kesantunan
Kesantunan (politiness), kesopansantunan, atau etiket adalah tatacara, adat, atau kebiasaan yang berlaku dalam masyarakat. Kesantunan merupakan aturan perilaku yang ditetapkan dan disepakati bersama oleh suatu masyarakat tertentu sehingga kesantunan sekaligus menjadi prasyarat yang disepakati oleh perilaku sosial. Oleh karena itu, kesantunan ini biasa disebut “tatakrama”.
Berdasarkan pengertian tersebut, kesantunan dapat dilihat dari berbagai segi dalam pergaulan sehari-hari. Pertama, kesantunan memperlihatkan sikap yang mengandung nilai sopan santun atau etiket dalam pergaulan sehari-hari. Ketika orang dikatakan santun, maka dalam diri seseorang itu tergambar nilai sopan santun atau nilai etiket yang berlaku secara baik di masyarakat tempat seseorang itu megambil bagian sebagai anggotanya. Ketika dia dikatakan santun, masyarakat memberikan nilai kepadanya, baik penilaian itu dilakukan secara seketika (mendadak) maupun secara konvensional (panjang, memakan waktu lama). Sudah barang tentu, penilaian dalam proses yang panjang ini lebih mengekalkan nilai yang diberikan kepadanya.
Kedua, kesantunan sangat kontekstual, yakni berlaku dalam masyarakat, tempat, atau situasi tertentu, tetapi belum tentu berlaku bagi masyarakat, tempat, atau situasi lain. Ketika seseorang bertemu dengan teman karib, boleh saja dia menggunakan kata yang agak kasar dengan suara keras, tetapi hal itu tidak santun apabila ditujukan kepada tamu atau seseorang yang baru dikenal. Mengecap atau mengunyah makanan dengan mulut berbunyi kurang sopan kalau sedang makan dengan orang banyak di sebuah perjamuan, tetapi hal itu tidak begitu dikatakan kurang sopan apabila dilakukan di rumah.
Ketiga, kesantunan selalu bipolar, yaitu memiliki hubungan dua kutub, seperti antara anak dan orangtua, antara orang yang masih muda dan orang yang lebih tua, antara tuan rumah dan tamu, antara pria dan wanita, antara murid dan guru, dan sebagainya.
Keempat, kesantunan tercermin dalam cara berpakaian (berbusana), cara berbuat (bertindak), dan cara bertutur (berbahasa).

2. Jenis Kesantunan
Norma kesantunan dapat dibagi menjadi tiga jenis, yaitu kesantunan berpakaian, kesantunan berbuat, dan kesantunan berbahasa. Selain kesantunan dalam berpakaian, dua kesantunan lainnya tidak mudah dirinci karena tidak ada norma baku yang dapat digunakan untuk kedua jenis kesantunn tersebut.
Dalam kesantunan berpakaian (berbusana, berdandan), ada dua hal yang perlu diperhatikan. Pertama, berpakaianlah yang sopan di tempat umum, yaitu hindarilah pakaian yang dapat merangsang orang lain terutama lawan jenis, seperti pakaian tembus pandang (transparan), menampakkan bagian badan yang pada umumnya ditutup, dan rok yang terlalu mini atau terbelah terlalu tinggi. Kedua, berpakaianlah yang rapi dan sesuai dengan keadaan, yaitu berpakaian resmi pada acara resmi, berpakaian santai pada situasi santai, berpakaian renang pada waktu renang. Betapapun mahalnya pakaian renang, tidak akan sesuai apabila dipakai dalam suatu acara resmi.
Kesantunan perbuatan adalah tatacara bertindak atau gerak-gerik ketika menghadapi sesuatu atau dalam situasi tertentu, misalnya ketika menerima tamu, bertamu ke rumah orang, duduk di ruang kelas, menghadapi orang yang kita hormati, berjalan di tempat umum, menunggu giliran (antre), makan bersama di tempat umum, dan sebagainya. Masing-masing situasi dan keadaan tersebut memerlukan tatacara yang berbeda-beda. Pada waktu makan bersama, misalnya, memerlukan kesantuan dalam cara duduk, cara mengambil makanan, cara makan atau mengunyah, cara memakai sendok, cara membersihkan mulut setelah makan, dan cara memakai tusuk gigi. Contoh lain terkait dengan kesantunan tindakan yaitu, misalnya tidaklah santun apabila kita berwajah murung ketika menerima tamu, duduk dengan “jigrang” ketika mengikuti kuliah dosen, bertolak pinggang ketika berbicara dengan orang tua, mendahului orang lain dengan bersenggolan badan atau ketika berjalan di tempat umum tanpa sebab, nyelonong ke loket ketika yang lain sedang antre menanti giliran, menguap selebar-lebarnya sambil mengeluarkan suara di depan orang lain, dan mencungkil gigi tanpa menutup mulut ketika sedang makan bersama di tempat umum.
Kesantunan berbahasa tecermin dalam tatacara berkomunikasi lewat tanda verbal atau tatacara berbahasa. Ketika berkomunikasi, kita tunduk pada norma-norma budaya, tidak hanya sekedar menyampaikan ide-ide yang ada dalam pikiran kita. Tatacara berbahasa harus sesuai dengan unsur-unsur budaya yang ada dalam masyarakat di mana kita tinggal untuk berkomunikasi dengan masyarakat sekitar. Apabila tatacara berbahasa seseorang tidak sesuai dengan norma-norma budaya, maka ia akan mendapatkan nilai negatif, misalnya dituduh sebagai orang yang sombong, angkuh, tak acuh, egois, tidak beradat, bahkan tidak berbudaya. Tatacara berbahasa sangat penting diperhatikan oleh para peserta komunikasi (komunikator dan komunikan) demi kelancaran komunikasi. Oleh karena itu, masalah tatacara berbahasa ini harus mendapatkan perhatian, terutama dalam proses belajar mengajar bahasa. Dengan mengetahui tatacara berbahasa, orang diharapkan lebih bisa memahami pesan yang disampaikan dalam berkomunikasi, karena sebenarnya tatacara berbahasa bertujuan untuk mengatur serangkaian hal berikut:
1. Apa yang sebaiknya dikatakan pada waktu dan keadaan tertentu.
2. Ragam bahasa apa yang sewajarnya dipakai dalam situasi tertentu.
3. Kapan dan bagaimana orang harus menunggu giliran untuk berbicara atau pembicaraan sela diterapkan.
4. Bagaimana mengatur kenyaringan suara ketika berbicara.
5. Bagaimana sikap dan gerak-gerik ketika berbicara.
6. Kapan orang harus diam dan mengakhiri pembicaraan.
Tatacara berbahasa seseorang biasanya dipengaruhi oleh norma-norma budaya, suku bangsa atau kelompok masyarakat tertentu. Misalnya, tatacara berbahasa orang Inggris berbeda dengan tatacara berbahasa orang Amerika meskipun mereka sama-sama berbahasa Inggris. Begitu pula tatacara berbahasa orang Jawa bebeda dengan tatacara berbahasa orang Batak meskipun mereka sama-sama berbahasa Indonesia. Hal ini menunjukkan bahwa kebudayaan yang sudah mendarah daging pada diri seseorang berpengaruh pada pola berbahasanya. Itulah sebabnya kita perlu mempelajari atau memahami norma-norma budaya sebelum atau di samping mempelajari bahasa, karena tatacara berbahasa yang mengikuti norma-norma budaya akan menghasilkan kesantunan berbahasa.

3. Aspek-aspek Non--Linguistik yang Mempengaruhi Kesantunan Berbahasa
Karena tatacara berbahasa selalu dikaitkan dengan penggunaan bahasa sebagai sistem komunikasi, maka selain unsur-unsur verbal, unsur-unsur nonverbal yang selalu terlibat dalam berkomunikasi pun perlu diperhatikan. Unsur-unsur nonverbal yang dimaksud adalah unsur-unsur paralinguistik, kinetik, dan proksemika. Pemerhatian unsur-unsur ini juga dalam rangka pencapaian kesantunan berbahasa. Paralinguistik berkenaan dengan ciri-ciri bunyi seperti suara berbisik, suara meninggi, suara rendah, suara sedang, suara keras, atau pengubahan intonasi yang menyertai unsur verbal dalam berbahasa.
Penutur mesti memahami kapan unsur-unsur ini diterapkan ketika berbicara dengan orang lain kalau ingin dikatakan santun. Misalnya, ketika ada seorang penceramah berbicara dalam suatu seminar, kalau peserta seminar ingin berbicara dengan temannya, adalah santun dengan cara berbisik agar tidak mengganggu acara yang sedang berlangsung; tetapi kurang santun berbisik dengan temannya dalam pembicaraan yang melibatkan semua peserta karena dapat menimbulkan salah paham pada peserta lain. Suara keras yang menyertai unsur verbal penutur ketika berkomunikasi dengan atasannya bisa dianggap kurang sopan, tetapi hal itu dapat dimaklumi apabila penutur berbicara dengan orang yang kurang pendengarannya. Gerak tangan, anggukan kepala, gelengan kepala, kedipan mata, dan ekspresi wajah seperti murung dan senyum merupakan unsur kinesik (atau ada yang menyebut gesture, gerak isyarat) yang juga perlu diperhatikan ketika berkomunikasi. Apabila penggunaannya bersamaan dengan unsur verbal dalam berkomunikasi, fungsinya sebagai pemerjelas unsur verbal. Misalnya, seorang anak diajak ibunya ke dokter, ia menjawab “Tidak, tidak mau” (verbal) sambil menggeleng-gelengkan kepala (kinesik). Akan tetapi, apabila penggunaannya terpisah dari unsur verbal, fungsinya sama dengan unsur verbal itu, yaitu menyampaikan pesan kepada penerima tanda. Misalnya, ketika bermaksud memanggil temannya, yang bersangkutan cukup menggunakan gerak tangan berulang-ulang sebagai pengganti ucapan “Hai, ayo cepat ke sini!”.
Sebenarnya banyak gerak isyarat (gesture) digunakan secara terpisah dengan unsur verbal karena pertimbangan tertentu. Misalnya, karena ada makna yang dirahasiakan, cukup dengan mengerdipkan mata kepada lawan komunikasi agar orang di sekelilingnya tidak tahu maksud komunikasi tersebut. Seorang ayah membentangkan jari telunjuk secara vertikal di depan mulut agar anaknya (penerima tanda) segera diam karena sejak tadi bercanda dengan temannya saat khutbah Jumat berlangsung. Masih banyak contoh lain yang bisa diketengahkan berkaitan dengan kinetik ini. Namun, yang perlu diperhatikan dalam konteks ini adalah kinetik atau gerak isyarat (gesture) dapat dimanfaatkan untuk menciptakan kesantunan berbahasa, dan dapat pula disalahgunakan untuk menciptakan ketidaksantunan berbahasa.
Ekspresi wajah yang senyum ketika menyambut tamu akan menciptakan kesantunan, tetapi sebaliknya ekspresi wajah yang murung ketika berbicara dengan tamunya dianggap kurang santun. Unsur nonlinguistik lain yang perlu diperhatikan ketika berkomunikasi verbal adalah proksemika, yaitu sikap penjagaan jarak antara penutur dan penerima tutur (atau antara komunikator dan komunikan) sebelum atau ketika berkomunikasi berlangsung. Penerapan unsur ini akan berdampak pada kesantunan atau ketidaksantunan berkomunikasi. Ketika seseorang bertemu dengan teman lama, setelah beberapa lama berpisah, ia langsung berjabat erat dan berangkulan; dilanjutkan dengan saling bercerita sambil menepuk-nepuk bahu. Tetapi, ketika ia bertemu dengan mantan dosennya, walaupun sudah lama berpisah, ia langsung menundukkan kepala sambil berjabat tangan dengan kedua tangannya. Si mantan dosen, sambil mengulurkan tangan kanannya, tangan kirinya menepuk bahu mahasiswa yang bersangkuan.
Pada contoh kedua peristiwa itu, terlihat ada perbedaan jarak antara pemberi tanda dan penerima tanda. Apabila penjagaan jarak kedua peristiwa itu dipisahkan, maka akan terlihat janggal, bahkan dinilai tidak sopan. Masih banyak contoh lain yang berkaitan dengan proksemika ini, misalnya sikap dan posisi duduk tuan rumah ketika menerima tamu, posisi duduk ketika berbicara dengan pimpinan di ruang direksi, sikap duduk seorang pimpinan ketika berbicara di hadapan anak buahnya, dan sebagainya. Yang jelas, penjagaan jarak yang sesuai antara peserta komunikasi akan memperlihatkan keserasian, keharmonisan, dan tatacara berbahasa.
Berdasarkan beberapa uraian di atas dapat disimpulkan bahwa unsur paralinguistik, kinetik, dan proksemika yang sesuai dengan situasi komunikasi diperlukan dalam penciptaan kesantunan berbahasa. Pengaturan ketiga unsur ini tidak kaku dan absolut karena berbeda setiap konteks situasi. Yang penting, bagaimana ketiga unsur bisa menciptakan situasi komunikasi yang tidak menimbulkan salah paham dan ketersinggungan kepada yang diajak berkomunikasi.
Selain ketiga unsur di atas, hal lain yang perlu diusahakan adalah penjagaan suasana atau situasi komunikasi oleh peserta yang terlibat. Misalnya, sewaktu ada acara yang memerlukan pembahasan bersama secara serius, tidaklah sopan menggunakan telepon genggam (handphone) atau menerima telepon dari luar, apalagi dengan suara keras. Kalau terpaka menggunakan atau menerima telepon, sebaiknya menjauh dari acara tersebut atau suara diperkecil. Kecenderungan mendominasi pembicaraan, berbincang-bincang dengan teman sebelah ketika ada pertemuan dalam forum resmi, melihat ke arah lain dengan gaya melecehkan pembicara, tertawa kecil atau sinis merupakan sebagian cara yang tidak menjaga suasana komunikasi yang kondusif, tenteram, dan mengenakkan, yang bisa berakibat mengganggu tujuan komunikasi.

C. PEMBAHASAN MASALAH

Kesantunan berbahasa pada hakikatnya harus memperhatikan empat prinsip. Pertama, penerapan prinsip kesopanan (politeness principle) dalam berbahasa. Prinsip ini ditandai dengan memaksimalkan kesenangan/kearifan, keuntungan, rasa salut atau rasa hormat, pujian, kecocokan, dan kesimpatikan kepada orang lain dan meminimalkan hal-hal tersebut pada diri sendiri. Dalam berkomunikasi, di samping menerapkan prinsip kerja sama (cooperative principle) dengan keempat maksim (aturan) percakupannya, yaitu maksim kuantitas, maksim kualitas, maksim relevansi, dan maksim cara; berkumunikasi juga menerapkan prinsip kesopanan dengan keenam maksimnya, yaitu:


1. maksim kebijakan yang mengutamakan kearifan bahasa,
2. maksim penerimaan yang menguatamakan keuntungan untuk orang lain dan kerugian untuk diri sendiri,
3. maksim kemurahan yang mengutamakan kesalutan/rasa hormat pada orang lain dan rasa kurang hormat pada diri sendiri,
4. maksim kerendahan hati yang mengutamakan pujian pada orang lain dan rasa rendah hati pada diri sendiri,
5. maksim kecocokan yang mengutamakan kecocokan pada orang lain, dan
6. maksim kesimpatisan yang mengutakan rasa simpati pada orang lain.
Dengan menerapkan prinsip kesopanan ini, orang tidak lagi menggunakan ungkapan-ungkapan yag merendahkan orang lain sehingga komunikasi akan berjalan dalam situasi yang kondusif. Berikut ini contoh yang memperlihatkan bahwa si A mengikuti prinsip kesopanan dengan memaksimalkan pujian kepada temannya yang baru saja lulus magister dengan predikat cumlaud dan tepat waktu, tetapi si B tidak mengikuti prinsip kesopanan karena memaksimalkan rasa hormat atau rasa hebat pada diri sendiri.
A : Selamat, Anda lulus dengan predikat maksimal!
B : Oh, saya memang pantas mendapatkan predikat cumlaud.
Kedua, penghindaran pemakaian kata tabu (taboo). Pada kebanyakan masyarakat, kata-kata yang berbau seks, kata-kata yang merujuk pada organ-organ tubuh yang lazim ditutupi oleh pakaian, kata-kata yang merujuk pada sesuatu benda yang menjijikkan, dan kata-kata “kotor” serta “kasar” termasuk kata-kata tabu dan tidak lazim digunakan dalam berkomunikasi sehari-hari, kecuali untuk tujuan-tujuan tertentu. Contoh berikut ini merupakan kalimat yang menggunakan kata tabu karena diucapkan oleh mahasiswa kepada dosen ketika perkuliahan sedang berlangsung.
- Pak, mohon izin sebentar, saya mau buang air besar.
Ketiga, sehubungan dengan penghindaran kata tabu, penggunaan eufemisme, yaitu ungkapan penghalus. Penggunaan eufemisme ini perlu diterapkan untuk menghindari kesan negatif. Contoh kalimat mahasiswa yang tergolong tabu di atas akan menjadi ungkapan santun apabila diubah dengan penggunaan eufemisme, misalnya sebagai berikut.
- Pak, mohon izin sebentar, saya mau ke kamar kecil.
(Atau, menggunakan kata-kata yang paling halus)
- Pak, mohon izin sebentar, saya mau ke belakang.
Dalam kehidupan sehari-hari, yang perlu diingat adalah eufemisme harus digunakan secara wajar, dan tidak berlebihan. Jika eufemisme telah menggeser pengertian suatu kata, bukan untuk memperhalus kata-kata yang tabu, maka eufemisme justru berakibat ketidaksantunan, bahkan pelecehan. Misalnya, penggunaan eufemisme dengan menutupi kenyataan yang ada. Hal ini biasanya sering digunakan oleh para pejabat tinggi, yaitu kata “miskin” diganti dengan “prasejahtera”, “kelaparan” diganti dengan “busung lapar”, “penyelewengan” diganti “kesalahan prosedur, “ditahan” diganti “dirumahkan”, dan sebagainya. Di sini terjadi kebohongan publik. Kebohongan itu termasuk bagian dari ktidaksantunan berbahasa.
Keempat, penggunaan pilihan kata honorifik, yaitu ungkapan hormat untuk berbicara dan menyapa orang lain. Penggunaan kata-kata honorifik ini tidak hanya berlaku bagi bahasa yang mengenal tingkatan (undha-usuk, Jawa) tetapi berlaku juga pada bahasa-bahasa yang tidak mengenal tingkatan. Hanya saja, bagi bahasa yang mengenal tingkatan, penentuan kata-kata honorifik sudah ditetapkan secara baku dan sistematis untuk pemakaian setiap tingkatan. Misalnya, bahasa krama inggil (laras tinggi) dalam bahasa Jawa perlu digunakan kepada orang yang tingkat sosial dan usianya lebih tinggi dari pembicara; atau kepada orang yang dihormati oleh pembicara. Walaupun bahasa Indonesia tidak mengenal tingkatan, sebutan kata diri Engkau, Anda, Saudara, Bapak/bu mempunyai efek kesantunan yang berbeda ketika kita pakai untuk menyapa orang. Keempat kalimat berikut menunjukkan tingkat kesantunan ketika seseorang pemuda menanyakan seorang pria yang lebih tua.
(1) Engkau mau ke mana?
(2) Saudara mau ke mana?
(3) Anda mau ke mana?
(4) Bapak mau ke mana?
Percakapan yang tidak menggunakan kata sapaan pun dapat mengakibatkan kekurang santunan bagi penutur. Percakapan via telepon antara mahasiswi dan itri dosen berikut merupakan contoh tindakan yang kurang sopan.
Mahasiswi : Halo, ini rumah Supomo, ya?
Istri : Betul.
Mahasiswi : Ini adiknya, ya?
Istri : Bukan, istrinya. Ini siapa?
Mahasiswi : Mahasiswinya. Dia kan dosen pembimbing saya.
Sudah janjian dengan saya di kampus.
Kok saya tunggu-tunggu tidak ada.
Istri : Oh, begitu, toh.
Mahasiswi :Ya, sudah, kalau begitu. (Telepon langsung ditutup.)
Istri dosen tersebut menganggap bahwa mahasiswa yang baru saja bertelepon itu tidak sopan, hanya karena si mahasiswa tidak mengikuti norma kesantunan berbahasa, yaitu tidak menggunakan kata sapaan ketika menyebut nama dosennya. Bahasa mahasiswa seperti itu bisa saja tepat di masyarakat penutur bahasa lain, tetapi di masyarakat penutur bahasa Indonesia dinilai kurang (bahkan tidak) santun. Oleh karena itu, pantas saja kalau istri dosen tersebut muncul rasa jengkel setelah menerima telepon mahasiswi itu. Ditambah lagi tatacara bertelepon mahasiswi yang juga tidak mengikuti tata krama, yaitu tidak menunjukkan identitas atau nama sebelumnya dan diakhiri tanpa ucapan penutup terima kasih atau salam.
Tujuan utama kesantunan berbahasa adalah memperlancar komunikasi. Oleh karena itu, pemakaian bahasa yang sengaja dibelit-belitkan, yang tidak tepat sasaran, atau yang tidak menyatakan yang sebenarnya karena enggan kepada orang yang lebih tua juga merupakan ketidaksantunan berbahasa. Kenyataan ini sering dijumpai di masyarakat Indonesia karena terbawa oleh budaya “tidak terus terang” dan menonjolkan perasaan. Dalam batas-batas tertentu masih bisa ditoleransi jika penutur tidak bermaksud mengaburkan komunikasi sehingga orang yang diajak berbicara tidak tahu apa yang dimaksudkannya.

D. KESIMPULAN

Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia mendefinikan “lemah lembut” sebagai ‘baik hati, tidak pemarah, peramah’. Sedangkan “lembut” diartikan sebagai ‘halus dan enak didengar, tidak kasar; tidak keras atau tidak nyaring (tentang suara, bunyi); baik hati (halus budi bahasanya), tidak bengis, tidak pemarah, lembut hati’. Dalam praktiknya, deskripsi ini tercermin pada bagaimana seseorang mengekspresikan tuturan dalam pengaturan intonasi. Karena intonasi mengandung unsur nada (tone), tekanan (stress), dan tempo (duration), maka pengaturan intonasi ni bisa diarahkan pada bagaimana mengatur keras-lemah, tinggi-rendah, dan penjang-pendek suara dalam tuturan. Unsur-unsur ini mengandung makna tersirat yang mengiringi tuturan yang berlangsung yang berlangsung yang dinamakan “makna emosi” penutur.

E. S A R A N
Kami sadar bahwa dalam penyusunan makalah ini masih jauh dari kesempurnaan, baik dari segi penyajian maupun dari segi tekhnik penulisannya, itu semua dikarenakan keterbatasan kami dalam memperoleh referensi-referensi yang relevan dengan makalah ini dan keterbatasan ilmu pengetahuan kami ini. Oleh karena itu kritik dan saran sangat kami butuhkan untuk penyempurnaan dalam penyusunan makalah yang akan datang.


Bibliografi

Holmes, Janet. 2001. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. Malaysia : LSP.
Nababan, PWJ. 1986. Sosiolinguistik: Suatu Pengantar. Jakarta: PT Gramedia.

Salam, H Burhanuddin 1987. Etika Sosial: Asas Moral dalam Kehidupan Manusia. Jakarta: PT Rineka Cipta.

Silzen, Peter. 1990. Bahasa sebagai Ungkapan Perasaan. Makalah. Depok: Fakultas Sastra UI.

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