Metaphor: A Key Ingredient in Common and Literary Discourse

Abstract

In The present paper, I have reviewed the argument that metaphor is a key ingredient linguistic device in common as well as literary discourse, adding a recent view which holds that the human mind is fundamentally a literary mind and no human thinking can take place without story, projection and parable. Next I have also examined critically the analytical models suggested by I.A Richards, G.N Leech and Chomsky. I have demonstrated the operation of metaphorical enrichment by analyzing and interpreting a number of metaphorical expressions both colloquial and literary. I have also proposed a procedure for analyzing complex metaphor. For this purpose, I choose the well-known metaphor, “or to take arms against a sea of troubles” In Shakespeare‘s Hamlet Act III. Sc I.

Keywords: Metaphor, Sense metaphor, Emotive metaphor Literary Metaphor