Broken Relationship Metaphors Portrayed in Taylor Swift’s Exile (2020): A Cognitive Linguistic Perspective

Meutia Rini Zahra (English Department, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Diponegoro, Jl. Prof. Sudarto, SH, Tembalang, Semarang, Indonesia 50275)
Deli Nirmala (English Department, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Diponegoro, Jl. Prof. Sudarto, SH, Tembalang, Semarang, Indonesia 50275)

Parole: Journal of Linguistics and Education
Vol 11, No 2 (2021): Volume 11 Number 2 October 2021

Exile is a song written by Taylor Swift that describes a relationship that is no longer working on two people. This song describes a broken relationship through metaphors. This study aims to examine broken relationship metaphors in Taylor Swift’s Exile through a cognitive linguistic perspective. The method used for this research is the non-participant observation and identity referential method. The result shows that there are several metaphors that indicate a broken relationship in that song, namely [RELATIONSHIP IS A FILM], [PARTNER IS A HOMELAND], [MOVING ON IS EXILE], [OPINION IS A BREAKING BRANCH], [MOVING ON IS A SIDE DOOR], and [UNCERTAINTY IS A THIN LINE]. In conclusion, this song describes a situation of a broken relationship that is expressed in a metaphorical way to set a scene of breaking up, misunderstanding, and showing different opinions from one to another.