Memetic Approach To The Interpretation Of Metaphors

Metaphors, contained in the culture, are regarded as the rhetorical means as well as ways to perceive the world. Unlike the previous metaphor studies, this thesis concerns the essence of the development of metaphors by applying memetic theory to explore the evolutionary process of metaphors. The present research aims to reveal the memetic mechanism of the transmission of metaphors, and to seek the answers to the two questions, that is, whether metaphors are memes and how they are acted out through memes.Memetics is a new theory based on Darwin's evolutionary theory and aims at the synchronical and diachronical explanation of the general relations of things and the laws of cultural transmission. The key term, memes, as the unit of cultural element play a very important role in the transmission of languages and cultures. The basic means for its transmission is replication. Being possessed of the factors of fidelity, fecundity and longevity, a successful replication is assimilated, memorized, expressed and transmitted in the form of simple meme or memeplex. Metaphors which are in possession of the features of memes can be called memetic metaphors, and they are imitated and transmitted after being created in language interaction. This study of metaphor is on the basis of the theoretical framework of memetics, which provides a new and profound method for the study of metaphors.The data collected in the study are taken from the famous allegorical novel Lord of the flies written by the Nobel Prize winner, William Golding. The choice of this novel is mainly because of its abundant metaphors as well as the author's personal interest. By means of qualitative study and case study of the memetic metaphors in the novel, the transmission of metaphors is interpreted in terms of the factors, life circle and types of memes, which offers a unique perspective for the explanation of the essence of metaphors and the cultural inheritance of the theme of the literary works. Besides, from the specific analysis of memetic metaphors in the novel, it is found that metaphors can be considered as memes and the evolution of metaphors is a dynamic process, which facilitates our understanding of the nature and features of metaphors.