Image-creating metaphors in literary text

Аннотация

The article is about Stylistic device of metaphor and its role in creating imagery, to be specific creating visual imagery in literary texts. The extracts taken from the novel “A Dance with Dragons” by George R. R. Martin are analyzed from stylistic point of view. Key words: metaphor, visual imagery, spatial metaphors, stylistic metaphors. Metaphor is a stylistic device based on the principle of identification of two objects. The term “metaphor” means transference of some quality from one object to another. Metaphor is investigated as one of the means of changing means of words in traditional Linguistics. In stylistics branch of Linguistics, it is recognized as a form of word decoration and an expression of thought. The scientific views that came to the field within the framework of linguacultural studies showed the relevance of studying metaphor as one of the important means of expressing the national, unique, specific worldview of a certain nation. Metaphor is an artistic speech focused on the imagination, the trope of similarity, the use of a word in a figurative sense based on associations of similarity. "Metaphor is a hidden comparison made by applying the name of one object to another and thereby revealing the important features of the other [1, 64]". Another similar definition is given by Uzbek linguist M.T.Iriskulov: “Metaphor is naming one word with another word on the basis of similarities of these two words. It increases the influences of the meaning of a word. «He also defines that metonym is the transference of the meaning between two words on the basis of permanent relationships of objects and events in particular time and events. As can be seen, the definitions given for these lexical-stylistic devices are similar and now it is better to move on their usage in English and Uzbek fictional works [2, 48]. Modern cognitive linguistics completely abandons the above traditional definition of metaphor. That is, they deny the definition of metaphor as a method of comparison, a method of decorating speech. They also disagree with the definition of metaphor in generative linguistics as the interaction of two deep basic structures (N.Chomsky, L.N.Murzin, etc.). Representatives of modern cognitive linguistics (J.Lakoff, M.Johnson, N.D.Arutyunova, A.N.Baranov, Yu.N.Karaulov, V.Z.Demyankov, E.S.Kubryakova, etc.) 278 understand the metaphorical world, as a basic mental operation as a device of constructing and explaining its structure [3,296]. A.N. Baranov defines metaphor as follows: "a complex cognitive phenomenon resulting from the interaction of two meaningful complexes - content /focus/, source and shell/frame/goal [4, 18]. This definition is based on Black's terminology, according to which "focus" is a word used in the sentence in a figurative sense, that is, in a metaphorical sense, "frame" (frame) is a word used around its own sense "focus" [4, 153-172]. Four components are involved in the creation of a metaphor: two categories of objects (the main and additional subjects of the metaphor, for which the following pairs of terms are used, namely, frame and metaphorical focus, theme and container, referent and correlate) and properties related to each object or class of objects [1, 296]. Metaphors are an important part of literature, and while they are most popular for being a literary device, metaphors extend past the written word and can instead be visual. What is a visual metaphor? The visual metaphor definition is an image that represents or symbolizes something else. Where written metaphors, like '' her expression was set in steel,'' use figurative language in order to compare two things, a visual metaphor instead uses imagery in order to have the audience associate that image with something else. Types of Visual Metaphors. There are two types of visual metaphors: spatial metaphors and stylistic metaphors. Spatial metaphors are metaphors that are typically related to space or location. In writing, a writer might use a spatial metaphor to say that '' Books open a door to the imagination.'' In this example, the door is a metaphor for the link between books and imagination. This concept of a spatial metaphor can frequently be seen in visual works as well, such as how a closed door in a movie might represent a character's unwillingness to change. Another common example of this type of metaphor is a wall blocking someone from connecting to other people or roads that symbolize a new path in life. Stylistic metaphors revolve around how the style of a particular image conveys another meaning. Stylistic metaphors might use color, font, text size, capitalization, and a variety of other visual properties to provide an alternative meaning or connection. For example, an advertisement might use big, bold-colored font contrasted against a plain- colored background in order to convey a more serious image to the viewer. Similarly, advertisements might use softer colors to have viewers associate a relaxing feeling