Analysis On Time Metaphors In Shakespear's Works With Conceptual Metaphor Theory

Metaphor, as a fundamental phenomenon in language, is not only an important rhetoric device but a way of thinking and means of cognitive pattern. Accordingly it has become one of the complicated topics in the intertwined domain of language and thought, the study of which has brought rich reward to the researchers in return.In his conceptual metaphor theory, Lakoff (1980) proposes the pervasiveness of metaphor in ordinary language. He claims that metaphor is produced through mappings among different cognitive domains, especially the mapping from the concrete domain to the abstract domain. The elusive nature of time has made it a prime candidate for metaphor. Thus time metaphor has also become a main topic of research on metaphors. This thesis aims to analyze time metaphors in Shakespeare's literary works in light of Lakoff's conceptual metaphor theory as most of discussions on metaphor outside of the literary area have concentrated on everyday use of language. The thesis aims at an integration between the Shakespearean works and Lakoff's conceptual metaphor theory, which may be productive with the intention that theoretical approach can illuminate Shakespearean usage and the Shakespearean examples can in their turn illuminate the theories.In the main body of the thesis, abundant examples on time metaphors in Shakespeare's'works have been presented and been explored in details from the perspective of conceptual metaphor theory. The thesis analyses and elaborates some major types of conceptual metaphors in Shakespeare's work, including the spatialization of TIME as an area or a landscape; personification of TIME as human with diverse characteristics like a destroyer, a disentangler of truth, breeder of good or evil things and friend or enemy; TIME as entities with the sharp edge which can cut away things or as flowing water or waves of flowing water and TIME as things that ripe.