A Study Of Symbol,Metaphor And Intertextuality In The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner From Semiotic Perspective

This thesis focuses on the studies of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner from the perspective of Semiotics.To be specific,this study revolves around the answers to the following three questions through the qualitative method.Firstly,how are the symbols,metaphors and intertextuality embodied in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner? Secondly,what are the respective functions of symbols,metaphors and intertextuality in the meaningful expression of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner? Lastly,how does semiotic theory,which combines symbols,metaphors and intertextuality,work in poetry appreciation?The whole study process goes as follows.Firstly,in terms of symbols,three typical images,i.e.the Albatross,ice and water-snake,of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner are analyzed to show their corresponding symbolic meanings,which are usually expressed by the combination of two or more other images and help a lot with the understanding of poem's meaning;as for metaphors,the author analyzes them from the perspective of phonetic level and semantic level respectively and discusses their functions on the expression of connotation.Then,through the analyses of intertextuality concerning themes,images and prototypes,The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is studied methodically.Finally,under the guidance of Semiotics,the author proves that the symbol,metaphor and intertextuality all together facilitate both the expression and the understanding of the poem's meaning.What's more,these three aspects of semiotic theory are used to analyze The Rime of the Ancient Mariner from the perspectives of background,connotation and expression.Some major findings are as follows.Firstly,the symbolic meanings are embodied by images,and the symbolic meanings of images are the consequences of the combination of different images;while metaphors are embodied by phonetic metaphors and semantic metaphors;intertextuality is embodied by themes,images and prototypes in different works.Secondly,symbols here refer to the Albatross,ice and water-snake,and their symbolic meanings are reflected in this whole poem,including its theme and Christian connotation as well as the rhythm.In addition,the construction of symbolic meanings is the consequence of other images' function,including kirk,hill,lighthouse,and some visual images.As for metaphors,they play an important role in the deep appreciation of the poem through phonetic metaphors as well as semantic metaphors.Speaking of intertextuality,it makes this poem enjoy similar theme and figure even in different times,places and nationalities,and under the cultural background,it makes this poem produce similar cultural influence.Lastly,semiotic theory provides a basic and comprehensive method for the appreciation of poetry.Symbols represent unique aesthetics of poetry,and by implication and defamiliarization,symbolic images construct corresponding symbolic meanings of poetry.Phonetic metaphors improve the accuracy and vividness of the poetic language,while semantic metaphors make the poem much more poetic.Intertextuality can result in a strange sense of familiarity.The symbols,metaphors and intertextuality in poetry work jointly on the poetry's meaning.Under a global context,this study of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner from semiotic perspective enjoys much more systematization,scientificity and openness.