Interpretation Of Metaphorical Language In The Man Of Propertyfrom The Perspective Of Conceptual Metaphor

From the point of cognitive language's view,metaphor is not only a kind of rhetorical devices in language,but also a kind of cognitive methods,which is based on human being's experience.Metaphor plays a crucial role in mapping concepts,especially abstract concepts.Conceptual metaphor is mapping from the source domain to the target domain,which indicates that human beings use the familiar and concrete source domain to comprehend the unfamiliar and abstract target domain.The thesis studies the source domains and target domains of three kinds of conceptual metaphor in details.It selects Classic Nobel Prize for Literature in 1932 · John Galsworthy's The Man of Property as the corpus and identifies the three aspects in The Man of Property according to conceptual metaphor theory proposed by Lakoff and Johnson based on the cognitive linguistic theory.It analyzes the 867 examples of conceptual metaphor found in the novel.Through applying the induction,quantitative and qualitative research methods,the author draws the following conclusions from the comparison of the source domains and the target domains of the examples of conceptual metaphor in the text: Firstly,according to the distribution of three categories of conceptual metaphor in the text,it is known that the majority is 712 examples of ontological metaphor in the novel taking up 82.12%,which can not only help the understanding of abstract concepts and have the effect of making the complexity simpler,but also enrich the language of the literary works.Secondly,by analyzing the source domains and target domains of the examples of structural metaphor in the novel,it is found that structural metaphor plays a dominant role in revealing the main ideas of the novel,which could be precisely demonstrated by the example of structural metaphor: The life of the Forsyte family is like sailing.Last but not least,the novel about the two protagonists ?Irene? and ?Forsyte? metaphors are relatively abundant.Such as ?Forsyte? is a plant,a soldier,an exchange and an owner of decent things,etc.And ?Irene? is a thing,a flower,light and property,and so on.Through these specific and concrete source domains,the characteristics of ?the Forsyte?(tall,straight,courage,mercenary and rich)and ?Irene?(small,beautiful,kind and dependent)is not hard to be outlined in the mind.After analyzing all kinds of the source domains and the target domains of the main characters and their life,the features of the characters are apparent and as natural as though it were living.Therefore,to appreciate literary works from the perspective of conceptual metaphor is also an available way,which can be conducive to interpreting them.Conceptual metaphor is ubiquitous in everyday life,and in literature it is also indispensable.The research further proves that conceptual metaphor in literary creation plays a crucial role.In the thesis,conceptual metaphor theory is applied to analyze the metaphorical language in The Man of Property,which not only provide further evidence for Lakoff and Johnson's Conceptual Metaphor Theory,but also help language learners and literature researchers understand and study the classic more objectively and profoundly.