A Study On The Three Subject Images In Hai Zi's Poetry

Metaphor, as a figure of speech, is traditionally viewed only as an ornament of language. Thus, metaphor research used to be confined to literature and rhetoric for a long time. However, with the rising and prosperity of cognitive linguistics, the nature of metaphor has aquired a renewed recognition. Cognitive linguists take metaphor as a way of thinking and means of cognition, not merely as a common phenomenon in human languages. According to Lakoff and Johnson's conceptual metaphor theory, metaphor, as an important cognitive tool, is a process by which complex and abstract concepts are constructed by clear and concrete experiences.Hai Zi, as an excellent representative of the new generation poets in China, he attempts to meditate upon the significance of human existence and show his solicitude for their living conditions by means of poetry. Therefore, his poetry is not merely romantic lyrics but directly touches upon the theme of human existence. Hai Zi's main poetic achievement is that he creates a series of unique and original images through which his poetic spirit and the artistic features of his poems are reflected. Wheat, the sun, and the dark night, as the three important subject images in Hai Zi's poetry, embody very rich metaphorical connotations and are the key clues to explore the essence of his poetry.The previous studies on Hai Zi's poetry are generally restricted to its artistic features, poetic spirit and aesthetic significance. Therefore, this thesis is a tentative study of metaphors embodied in the three subject images in Hai Zi's poetry from cognitive perspective. Based on Lakoff and Johnson's conceptual metaphor theory, this thesis conducts a qualitative analysis of 242 short poems excerpted from A Collection of Hai Zi's Poems compiled by Xi Chuan in order to identify metaphors embodied in the three subject images. Through a thorough study of the poems related to the three subject images, the author finds rich metaphors in the three subject images which are listed as follows: AGRICULTURAL CIVILIZATION IS WHEAT; THE LOVELORN POET IS WHEAT; POETRY IS THE SUN; POET IS THE SUN; HUMAN'S SPIRITUAL SUFFERING IS THE DARK NIGHT. Then the author analyzes the working mechanism of these metaphors based on the similarity between the source domain and the target domain. On one hand, the findings reveal that conceptual metaphor is grounded in our experiences with physical world. On the other hand, they demonstrate that conceptual metaphor is not only a phenomenon in our languages, but also a manifestation of our thought.This thesis is a tentative study to explore images in contemporary Chinese poetry by the application of conceptual metaphor theory. It is of great significance to the appreciation, translation as well as transmission of contemporary Chinese poetry. Moreover, it provides another cross-culture evidence for confirming conceptual metaphor theory from the corpus of Chinese language and culture.