Mystical love metaphors: a cognitive analysis of Sohrab Sepehri’s poetry
Metaphor in poetic texts has been discussed from different perspectives. Philosophers and rhetoricians conceive of metaphor as an instrument utilized in the composition of literary texts, though metaphor proper was construed as ornamentation within a text. In cognitive linguistics, metaphor is no...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2016
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/10141/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/10141/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/10141/1/9414-33385-1-PB.pdf |
| Summary: | Metaphor in poetic texts has been discussed from different perspectives. Philosophers and
rhetoricians conceive of metaphor as an instrument utilized in the composition of literary
texts, though metaphor proper was construed as ornamentation within a text. In cognitive
linguistics, metaphor is not only confined to literary studies but it has become a commonality
among all the sciences that address issues related to language and mind and it demonstrates
the various ways we perceive our experiences. The present study is an investigation of
mystical love metaphors in Sohrab Sepehri’s poetry by drawing upon conceptual metaphor
theory (CMT). Studying mystical metaphors via conceptual metaphor theory will provide a
clearer perception of the ambiguous mystical concepts and can provide an exact explanation
of the mapping of an abstract concept based on a concert one. The present paper will be
focused on Sohrab Sepehri, a contemporary Persian poet and painter, renowned for his
composition of several acclaimed Persian modern poems and mystical tendencies. Applying
the cognitive approach upon metaphysical concepts proves the Lakoffian claim, which denies
the possibility of producing ‘pure’ language even in metaphysical texts. According to this
theory, the relations that exist between body, brain and interaction with the environment are
the builders of unconscious mind and this kind of mundane mind cannot produce pure
metaphysical experiences. In the meantime, cognitive viewpoint of language changes the
notion of ‘novelty’ in poetic texts and argues that poetic innovations are just ‘extending
forms’ of conventional metaphors. This paper concludes that Sepehri’s mystical poems
benefit from conventional cognitive metaphors about love and the complex relations between
mystical metaphors are indeed the innovations that Sepehri had applied. |
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