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

Meutia Rini Zahra (English Department, Faculty of Humanities, Diponegoro University, Semarang, 50274, Indonesia)
Deli Nirmala (English Department, Faculty of Humanities, Diponegoro University, Semarang, 50274, Indonesia)

Culturalistics: Journal of Cultural, Literary, and Linguistic Studies
Vol 6, No 1 (2022): Culturalistics: Journal of Cultural, Literary, and Lingustics Studies (Januari 2

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.Keywords: metaphor; exile; Taylor Swift