“CONCEPTUAL METAPHOR IN ENGLISH LITERARY TEXTS: A COGNITIVE LINGUISTIC PERSPECTIVE”
Keywords:
Conceptual metaphor, cognitive linguistics, source domain, target domain, embodiment, metaphorical mapping, literary discourse, figurative language, narrative cognition, semantic structure.Abstract
This article explores the role of conceptual metaphor in English literary texts from a cognitive linguistic perspective. Based on the theoretical framework developed by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, conceptual metaphor theory explains how abstract thinking is structured through metaphorical mappings grounded in human bodily and cultural experience. The paper analyzes how English literary authors employ conceptual metaphors not merely as stylistic devices but as cognitive mechanisms that shape narrative structure, character development, emotional expression, and thematic construction. Examples from major English literary works, including texts by William Shakespeare and Emily Dickinson, demonstrate how metaphor functions at both linguistic and conceptual levels. The study argues that literary texts intensify and creatively transform conventional conceptual metaphors, offering readers new cognitive perspectives.
