庄子_寓言的认知隐喻研究_.pdfVIP

Chapter One Introduction 1.1 A brief review of metaphor studies Metaphor is traditionally considered as a figure of speech in which one thing is compared to another by saying that one is the other, as in John is a lion. Or, as the Encyclopedia Britannica puts it: “metaphor is a figure of speech that implies comparison between two unlike entities, as distinguished from simile, an explicit comparison signaled by the words ‘like’ or ‘as’”. For example, the word lion is a metaphor in the sentence “John was a lion.” The word is used metaphorically in order to achieve some artistic and rhetorical effect, since we speak and write metaphorically to communicate eloquently, to impress others with “beautiful”, esthetically pleasing words, or to express some deep emotions. Besides, what makes the metaphorical identification of John with a lion possible is that John and lions have something in common, namely, their bravery and strength. This is a widely shared view of metaphor within the rhetorical tradition. This traditional concept can be briefly characterized by pointing out five of its most commonly accepted features (Kovecses, 2002: vii). First, metaphor is a property of words; it is a linguistic phenomenon. The metaphorical use of lion is a characteristic of a linguistic expression, i.e., that of the word lion. Second, metaphor is used for some artistic and rhetorical purpose, such as when Shakespeare writes “all the world’s a stage.” Third, metaphor is based on a resemblance between the two entities that are compared and identified. John must share some features with lions in order for us to be able to use the wor