A Study Of The Major Conceptual Metaphors In Stray Birds

In Stray Birds,the use of a large number of metaphors achieves the unity of man and nature,together with a strong artistic effect.The previous studies on Stray Birds are mostly from the perspective of rhetoric,philosophy,feminism,romanticism and translation.But this paper,with the conceptual metaphor theory as the theoretical basis,plans to analyze the major conceptual metaphors in Stray Birds.The research aims to find(1)what major conceptual metaphors are there in Stray Birds?(2)How have these conceptual metaphors in Stray Birds come into being?(3)What part do these conceptual metaphors play?The five-step procedure for metaphor identification,proposed by Steen(2002),is the methodology that is adopted in this thesis.Through a thorough study of the 325 little poems in Stray Birds,the author has found out a series of conceptual metaphors(e.g.LIFE IS A JOURNEY.HUMAN DEATH IS THE DEATH OF A PLANT.EMOTION IS SUBSTANCE.DESIRE IS FIRE.HEART IS A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.THOUGHT IS AN ILLUMINANT OBJECT.FAME IS A MOUNTAIN.SILENCE IS WATER.MUSIC IS A SHARP WEAPON.TRUTH IS A LAKE).According to their target domains,these metaphors can be grouped into the following thirteen kinds: human metaphor,nature metaphor,life metaphor,death metaphor,emotion metaphor,heart metaphor,thought metaphor,fame metaphor,silence metaphor,music metaphor,truth metaphor,world metaphor and power metaphor.The conceptual metaphors whose frequency of the occurrence of the target domain is three or more three are taken as the research object.These ten major conceptual metaphors are human metaphor,nature metaphor,life metaphor,death metaphor,emotion metaphor,heart metaphor,thought metaphor,silence metaphor,music metaphor and truth metaphor.These conceptual metaphors are studied respectively with verses.Human metaphor and nature metaphor these two conceptual metaphors are based on the harmonious integration of man and nature while the other conceptual metaphors are cross-domain mappings from concrete or familiar domains to abstract or unfamiliar domains.These major conceptual metaphors are realized mainly by nouns and verbs in the verses.The pragmatic functions of these major conceptual metaphors can be classified into four kinds: cognitive function,economic function,beautifying function and highlighting function.Some conceptual metaphors enable the abstract or the invisible to be perceived in an visible or audible way,somemake expressions concise,some naturally add the beauty of nature to the target domains and some highlight the significance of their target domains to human beings.This research studies the major conceptual metaphors in Stray Birds and enriches the cognitive studies of this anthology.Meanwhile,the thesis owns a contribution to the appreciation of Stray Birds.