EXPLORING LOVE AND LONELINESS IN SZA’S KILL BILL, NOBODY GETS ME, SNOOZE, SATURN, OPEN ARMS, GOOD DAYS

Authors

  • Haikal Darmawan Universitas 17 Agustus 1945 Surabaya
  • Danu Wahyono Universitas 17 Agustus 1945 Surabaya

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30996/uncollcs.v4i1.6178

Keywords:

song lyrics, figurative language, semiotics, love, loneliness

Abstract

This study explores how love and loneliness are represented in six selected song lyrics by SZA are Kill Bill, Nobody Gets Me, Snooze, Saturn, Open Arms, and Good Days. The research applies a thematic literary approach to examine how these emotional themes are expressed through poetic language and symbolic signs. This study uses a qualitative method. Figurative language is used to analyze the representation of love, focusing on metaphor, simile, hyperbole, personification, and symbolism. Meanwhile, semiotic theory by Roland Barthes, particularly his concepts of denotation, connotation, and myth is applied to interpret how loneliness is communicated through symbolic signs within the lyrics. The findings reveal that love is expressed with emotional intensity, vulnerability, and deep attachment, while loneliness appears through strong symbolic elements that reflect isolation, emotional pain, and longing. The combination of figurative and semiotic analysis helps to uncover the complex emotional experiences embedded in the lyrics. This study concludes that SZA’s song lyrics provide rich and layered representations of love and loneliness, conveyed through both figurative expressions and symbolic signs.

 

References

Aulika, A., & Gunawan, H. (2024). A Semantics Analysis of Personification in Percy Bysshe Shelley’s Poetry. JALL (Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literacy), 8(2), 173- 183. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.25157/jall.v8i2.13469

Abdul, S., Kadhim, H., Alshamarti, A. D., & Al-Shamarti, M. (2025). Symbolism in literature: A socio-stylistic study of Faulkner’s Light in August. Migration Letters, 20(S3), 798–807.

Ary, D., Jacobs, L. C., Sorensen, C., & Razavieh, A. (2019). Introduction to research in education (10th ed.). Cengage Learning.

Abrams, M. H., & Harpham, G. G. (2015). A glossary of literary terms (11th ed.).

Cengage Learning.

Aron, A., Lewandowski, G., Branand, B., Mashek, D., & Aron, E. (2022). Self- expansion motivation and inclusion of others in self: An updated review. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 39(12), 3821-3852. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075221110630 (Original work published 2022)

Afriasti , N. E., & Litaay, A. G. M. (2022). ARCHETYPAL READING IN KATY PERRY’S SELECTED TEENAGE DREAM ALBUM SONGS. Proceeding of

Undergraduate Conference on Literature, Linguistic, and Cultural Studies, 1. https://doi.org/10.30996/uncollcs.v1i.1232

Bradley, A. (2017). The Poetry of Pop. Yale University Press.

Barthes, R. (1977). Image, music, text (S. Heath, Trans.). Fontana Press.

Bima, M. Z., & Prasaja, Y. A. (2022, July). DON QUIXOTE DE LA MANCHA: A

STUDY OF SOCIAL CONFLICTS. In International Conference on Language and Language Teaching (pp. 233-239).

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.

Desai, S., Bailey, K., & Filik, R. (2024). The role of hyperbole in conveying emotionality: the case of victim speech. Cognition and Emotion, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2024.2412611

Dilnoza Urazbaeva Ruzimbaevna. (2022). Definition of Hyperbole. Journal of Pedagogical Inventions and Practices, 6, 53–54. Retrieved from https://zienjournals.com/index.php/jpip/article/view/1023

Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2018). The SAGE handbook of qualitative research

(5th ed.). SAGE Publications.

Eldesouky, Lameese & Goldenberg, Amit & Ellis, Kate. (2024). Loneliness and emotion regulation in daily life. Personality and Individual Differences. 221. 112566. 10.1016/j.paid.2024.112566.

Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors We Live By. University of Chicago Press.

Mijuskovic, B. L. (2012). Loneliness in Philosophy, Psychology, and Literature. iUniverse.

McArthur, T. (1992). The Oxford Companion to the English Language. Oxford University Press.

Manoliu, M. N. (2015). THEME AND THEMATIC ANALYSIS. International Journal of Communication Research, 5(1), 51-54.

McKee, A. (2003). Textual analysis: A beginner’s guide (2nd ed.). Sage Publications.

Ouyang,X. (2025). Research on the Role of Attachment Style on the Dynamics of Romantic Relationship. Communications in Humanities Research,65,6-9.

Perrine, L. (2017). Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense (12th ed.). Boston: Cengage Learning.

Perlman, D., & Peplau, L. A. (1981). Toward a social psychology of loneliness. In S. Duck & R. Gilmour (Eds.), Personal relationships in disorder (pp. 31–56). Academic Press.

Sternberg, R. J. (1986). A triangular theory of love. Psychological Review, 93(2), 119– 135.

Tobore, T. O. (2020). Towards a comprehensive theory of love: The quadruple theory.

Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 862. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00862

Van de Velde, C. (2025). Sociology of loneliness: An introduction. Acta Sociologica,

(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/00016993251330960

Waham, S. (2023). A critical analysis of symbolism in modernist literature [Review article]. SAR Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Learning, 5(4), 131–

Retrieved from https://sarpublication.com/media/articles/SARJALL_54_138-142.pdf

Wahyono, D., & Dewi, R. K. (2021). THE PORTRAYAL OF FEAR AND TRAUMA AS ROADBLOCKS TO LOVE IN COLLEN HOOVER’S UGLY LOVE: love abandonment, fear and trauma, cause, effect, healing. Horizon, 2(1), 1–10. Retrieved from https://journal.univgresik.ac.id/index.php/horizon/article/view/135

Downloads

Published

2025-10-06

How to Cite

Darmawan, H., & Wahyono, D. . (2025). EXPLORING LOVE AND LONELINESS IN SZA’S KILL BILL, NOBODY GETS ME, SNOOZE, SATURN, OPEN ARMS, GOOD DAYS. Proceeding of Undergraduate Conference on Literature, Linguistic, and Cultural Studies, 4(1), 500 - 509. https://doi.org/10.30996/uncollcs.v4i1.6178

Most read articles by the same author(s)

<< < 1 2