An Exploration On Sustained Metaphor And Reverse Metaphor In Song Lyircs

Since Lakoff and Johnson’ publication of Metaphors We Live By, metaphor is aheated topic for scholars both at home and abroad. According to Lakoff and Johnson,metaphor is a cross domain mapping from the source domain (B) to the target domain(A), which can be formularized as B�'A. However, with the development of language,many new models of metaphor emerge but are seldom dealt with. Song lyrics, as aclassic of Chinese work, is abundant in such original and novel metaphoricalexpressions. This thesis, therefore, takes the novel models of metaphor in Song lyricsas the research focus and is aimed at exploring the classifications and structures ofthem. This thesis produces some findings as follows:Firstly, the author finds that metaphor in Song lyrics is more than just aone-to-one mapping from the source domain (B) to the target domain (A). To realizecertain effect, two or more vehicles may be adopted to describe the tenor. This modelof metaphor is termed as sustained metaphor. According to the relations among thevehicles and the tenor, the author classifies the various sustained metaphor in Songlyrics into three types and explores the structures of them. The three types of sustainedmetaphor are the paralleled sustained metaphor, the convergent sustained metaphorand the crescendo-type sustained metaphor.Secondly, the author points out that metaphor in Song lyrics is not confined to theformat “A is B”. Evidence from Song lyrics shows that the source domain B canappear before the target domain A, which is defined as reverse metaphor. The authorclassifies reverse metaphor in Song lyrics into two main categories, namely structuralreverse metaphor and ontological reverse metaphor. The detailed analysis of thesereverse metaphors provides new way to understand and appreciate Song lyrics.Finally, the author initiates that metaphor in Song lyrics is complex and nonlinear.The very existence of sustained metaphor and reverse metaphor shows that metaphoris complex, not as simple as the format “B�'A”. Metaphor as a system is nonlinear inthat a minute change in its components may lead to a completely new form ofmetaphor. Complexity theory has a number of implications for metaphor studies inthat it manifests itself as a complex, nonlinear and unpredictable system. Theknowledge of complexity and non-linearity enables us to see why a minute change inthe position between the source and target domain can considerably affect themeaning of a metaphor and what a different effect a metaphor can bring about whentwo or more vehicles are employed. From a complexity system perspective,metaphors in Song lyrics are appealing probably because these metaphors break theshackles of the conventional format and show the unpredictable and complex natureof metaphor.