Blended Space Approach To Metaphorical Images In Pound's Ripostes

Ezra Pound, one of the most influential poets in American literature, is famous as an Imagist. His poem anthology Ripostes is a masterpiece of imagist poetry, which emphasizes the importance of image in the poem writing. And Pound also makes use of many different kinds of image combinations, especially those metaphorical images, in composing poems, which can be viewed as a new way poem-composing. Therefore, to study the metaphorical images of Ripostes will give us an insight of imagist poems and writing techniques involved.Image is the linguistic representation of sensorial experiences. It plays an important role in poetry. The main writing technique for image presentation is metaphor, which can be found in nearly every poem. Metaphor is not only a rhetorical device, but also a basic mode of thinking, and thus it is a cognitive phenomenon in nature. It is believed that a metaphor is a "poem in miniature". The metaphorical images are formed by means of metaphors, so the study of metaphorical images is an indispensable to the study of metaphor and poetry. Most discussions on the images of Pound's poems, up to the present, are mostly restricted within literature and translation fields, whereas, this thesis tries to study the formation of images and their characteristics from the linguistic perspective.This thesis tries to analyze the formation and characteristics of (?)etaphorical images in Pound's Ripostes on the basis of Blended Space theory. Firstly, the single images in which the images of conventionalized and non-conventionalized . metaphor are explored respectively on the basis of Blended Space theory are discussed. The discussions in this chapter reveal that conventionalized metaphor is a basic cognition mode for other inventive and unexpected metaphors. And the images of non-conventionalized metaphors will attract readers' attention more easily, as this kind of image bears the attributes of defamiliarization.Then the compound images are discussed. This category covers four image combination types, namely, superposition, juxtaposition, radiation and leap, which are analyzed in light of Blended Space theory. From the discussions, it can be claimed that the conceptual integration network of different image combinations will produce different poetic effects. According to the optimality principles of Blended Space theory, every kind of image combination is investigated, which reveal the formation process of different image combinations.The study of metaphorical image of different categories in Pound's Ripostes shows that the presentation of metaphorical images in poetry is another form of metaphor realization in context. Different image combinations indicate different mappings of mental spaces and different conceptual integration networks. With the help of cultural and literature background, metaphorical images of different categories can produce various poetic effects and achieve aesthetic functions. From this research, it can also be seen that Pound is adept in using metaphors to form diverse images, and image combinations to write poems of various types.The present study also demonstrates certain theoretical and practical importance. The practical importance of this thesis lies in poem appreciation and translation. As the metaphor reflects the general mental structure of human cognition, the study of metaphorical images may broaden the research of Cognitive Linguistics.