A Study On Image Schema Of Time In Shakespeare’s Sonnets

Shakespeare wrote the immortal poem Shakespeare’s Sonnets,which is brimming with the brilliance of humanism,with his exquisite language and rich imageries.From the perspective of cognitive linguistics,this thesis applies the theory of image schema in cognitive linguistics to analyze the time imageries in Shakespeare’s Sonnets.Through the construction of image schema theory,this thesis analyzes the relationship between various time imageries,and deeply analyzes the implicit meaning of each time imagery.By constructing and analyzing the schema of time imageries in human brain,we can help people better deal with the relationship between cognitive subject and object.The linguistics and literary research are combined by interdisciplinary means in this thesis.The thesis is composed of three parts: introduction,main body and conclusion.The introduction part briefly introduces Shakespeare’s life and Shakespeare’s Sonnets,summarizes the research status of Shakespeare’s Sonnets at home and abroad,briefly summarizes the structure of the thesis,and expounds the research purpose and innovation of this thesis.The main body is divided into four chapters: The first chapter is the theoretical foundation,which generally introduces cognitive linguistics and the origin and development of theory of image schema as well as Mark Johnson and Talmy’s image schema theory and Shakespeare’s Sonnets research.In the second chapter,the alternation of “day” and “night”makes the sun and stars continuously move.In the “sun” imagery of the “day”,the source-path-destination schema and scale schema are employed to interpret the the journey of the “sun” and the change of solar brightness of the “sun”.In the “star” imagery of the “night”,the source-path-destination schema and center-periphery schema of image schema theory are employed.The trajectory movements of the “star” imply changes in everything in the entire cosmos.The alternation of “day” and “night” transforms the positions of cognitive subjects and temporal figure simultaneously,forming a figure-background schema.This thesis deems that Shakespeare’s construction of these time imageries are deeply influenced by the Ptolemaic cosmology,and that the movements of the star lead to changes in the elapsing of time,which also symbolizes the perishability of youth,and demonstrates the mighty power of time.The third chapter analyzes the changes of four seasons.It analyzes the spring and summer imageries by using the theory of the link schema and scale schema and analyzes autumn and winter imageries by using the theory of circle schema and link schema.The continuous alternation of spring,summer,autumn and winter forms a circle schema,while the colors,aroma and of flowers and plants change quietly with the change of seasons,which triggers the poet’s association and constitutes the link schema.The withering and decling of the subtle changes in plants can be observed through scale schema.In the fourth chapter,this thesis expounds other image schemas of time.The container schema and link schema of the theory of image schema are used to analyze the “mirror imageryry” of time.The imageries of“glass” and “mirror” both reflect the theme of aging and time passing.By constructing a container schema to analyze the imagery of “the window of old age”,it proves the influence of time on people,and the poet exhorts his friends to cherish time.The imagery of “mirror” is analyzed by using the link schema.The poet reflects the aging of people’s appearance through the reflection of “mirror”.The poet could not witness his aging through the mirror,so he thought that through the wrinkles on his friends’ cheeks,he believed that his death would come.This chapter also uses source-path-destination schema to analyze the “hourglass”imagery.The falling of the “hourglass” indicates the track of time.A friend’s face does not grow old with the passage of time,but becomes younger and more beautiful.By analyzing the imagery of “dial” in the form of source-path-destination schema,this disseration describes the trajectory movements of “dial” and proves the transience of youth.The conclusion points out the significance of applying image schema theory to analyze Shakespeare’s Sonnets,and expounds the achievements and shortcomings of this study,and puts forward prospects for future research.The structure in Shakespeare’s Sonnets constitutes a complex image schema of sonnets.The time imageries in the poem are closely connected,not independent structures.The poet pours his personal feelings into these time imageries,which also reflects that Shakespeare was deeply influenced by the time concept of Western philosophy.This thesis is based on the theory of image schema in cognitive linguistics,aiming to explore the implicit meaning of the time imageries in Shakespeare’s Sonnets deeply,and more deeply reveal and analyze the time metaphors and imagery conversion of time in Shakespeare’s Sonnets,which reveals the relationship between consciousness of human and the objective physical world.