A Study On The Conceptual Metaphors In Shakespeare's Sonnets

The study of metaphor has a long history and can be dated back to the Aristotle.In recent years,with the development of cognitive linguistics,the study of conceptual metaphor has drawn great attention and has been extensively studied in the field of cognitive science.Lakoff&Johnson classified Conceptual Metaphor into three categories,namely,ontological metaphor,structural metaphor and orientational metaphor.According to the Conceptual Metaphor Theory,language is metaphorical in nature,and the human thinking activities and their way of knowing the world are metaphorical as well.Being a cognitive activity in essence,a metaphor is deemed as a process in which one thing is experienced and understood by another.William Shakespeare is a leading canon of English literature as well as the world literature.Both his plays and sonnets possess very high literary and aesthetic values,thus enjoying a high reputation in the field of world literature and they have been the study focus of scholars at home and abroad.Shakespeare used a multitude of metaphors in his plays and sonnets,which make his works expressive,emotional,and literary.Starting from the Conceptual Metaphor,this study mainly studies metaphors based on their classifications and dissects the content and implication of the metaphors in Shakespeare's representative sonnets.The metaphors are classified into several types according to their different target domains.There are metaphors of"LOVE",metaphors of "LIFE",metaphors of "HUMAN BEING",metaphors of "TIME" and metaphors of "BEAUTY".As the conceptual metaphors in Shakespeare's sonnets are mainly embodied in structural metaphor and ontological metaphor,this study mainly analyzes and interprets metaphor from these two aspects.Through the analysis of metaphors in Shakespeare's sonnets,the present thesis has done the following researches:Firstly,it elucidates the viewpoint Lakoff&Johnson that "Metaphor is ubiquitous in everyday life".Secondly,it formulates that metaphor is an indispensable part of poetry.Finally,it expounds on the important practical significance of the metaphorical congnitive approach to the use of language and the development of linguistics.