My paper analyses emotions, positive and negative metaphorical references of colours. The analysis considers Lakoff’s and Johnson’s conceptual metaphor theory. This approach allows to move out the metaphor outside of the framework of the language system and allows linguists to consider it a phenomenon of interaction of language, thinking and culture. It aims to answer the question of Stephen’s and Joyce’s relationship to Ireland and the importance of metaphorical concepts in literature.
In modern cognitology, metaphor is one of the main mental operations to structure, explain and learn about the world around us. No piece of fiction can be complete without metaphors - stylistic devices and the result of artistic thoughts connected with the poetic vision of the surrounding world. Poetic creativity is defined through characteristic metaphors and poets understand and accept such definitions. Philosophers use metaphors to convey thoughts to readers simplifying them with the help of metaphors connecting them with reality and everyday life. Poets and writers use metaphors to create subtext. This gives their works a unique status of universality, independence from the period of time it was written in and the respective era. It allows many generations of readers to read and comprehend their texts.
Lakoff singles out the conceptual metaphors, in other words, figurative models with the help of which we create and perceive the surrounding world. In other words, any sphere of life can be represented as a series of pictures which are firmly established in our minds. The same happens in literature, when an author, creating his work, simultaneously creates his own world - a definite one, unlike any other. By dentifying the figurative models on the basis of which the work is built, it is easier to understand or theorise what the author wanted to tell. It can be confirmed by linguistic data, in particular, by lexis.
Thanks to language, we have gained access to metaphors that structure perception, thinking and actions. In literature, colours and emotions are frequently used to describe protagonist’s character traits, communicate the narrator’s and the author’s emotional state. Such features are integrated into the text to build a specific ambience. James Joyce describes emotions and attitudes with colours and emotions in relation to colours in his works. Therefore, Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man are full of colours and natural imagery.
At a glance
- Grade: 2.0 (1.0 is the best grade)
- Literary analysis applies Lakoff and Johnson’s conceptual metaphor theory
- Examines colour imagery in Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Conceptual Metaphor Theory
3. Conceptual Metaphors in James Joyce’s Novels
3.1. Symbolism
3.2. Colours as Conceptual Metaphors
3.2.1. Green
3.2.2. Black
4. Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
This paper examines how green and black function as conceptual metaphors in James Joyce’s Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Drawing on Lakoff and Johnson’s theory, it asks how colour imagery relates to Joyce’s and Stephen Dedalus’s feelings about Ireland and its people, and what conceptual metaphors contribute to literature.
- Conceptual metaphor and mappings between domains
- Colour symbolism and literary atmosphere
- Green imagery in Joyce’s early works
- Black and dark imagery in Joyce’s early works
- Emotion, Irish society and cultural context
Excerpt from the Book
3.2. Colours as Conceptual Metaphors
In his early works, James Joyce uses colours as conceptual metaphors. He addresses the readers experience with culture and environment and the metaphorization works ‘between the source and the target domains based on human experiences. Through the process of mapping, the target domain is understood by the source domain based on people’s physical experiences and cultural environments’ (Xie 2015: 61). According to Lakoff and Johnson, the way we conceptualize and understand every kind of environment ‘is fundamentally metaphorical’ (Lakoff, Johnson 1980: 3).
As already mentioned in the introduction of this paper. James Joyce saw colours as intrinsic components of art and a medium human being need to understand the world. The author attributes a metaphorical meaning to every colour in his novels (Xie 2015: 61). However, James Joyce does not simply follow the conventional lines of the already established and mapped metaphors we use in our daily life. He moves beyond that and determines the metaphorical mapping himself, basing on his own experience and perception of the environment while writing the novels. ‘Joyce often adopts color codes to construct a certain atmosphere, to portray the special feature of a character or to convey his own emotions.’ Colour metaphors here are used to communicate attitudes towards his fatherland and storming feelings in moments of assumed madness of the main character in A Portrait. Moreover, such emotions and attitudes are twofold. James Joyce uses the same metaphors to express two opposite emotions. (Xie 2015: 62) ‘I can tell you, to get back to the old country. Does a fellow good, a bit of a holiday. I feel a ton better since I landed again in dear dirty Dublin’ (Joyce 1914: 91). The lexemes with colour semantics that organize the text fragments emphasize the special role of the colour palette in Joyce’s, Stephen’s and general vision and perception of the world. Without the colour embodiment the surrounding world which authors draw for the audience loses its most important qualities.
Colour metaphors were searched for and analysed. About thirty-seven representative metaphors were found. The larger group of thirty-one negative references contains allusions to evilness, sinfulness, decay, corruption, decline and rottenness, connected with such emotions as anxiety, anger, depression, indignation, frustration, disgust, desolation, despair/hopelessness, disconsolation, shame and detestation. The group of positive references contains allusions to hope for peace, attractiveness, beauty and pursuit of freedom, connected to such states as love, passion and purity. (Xie 2015: 63-67)
Chapter Summaries
1. Introduction: The introduction sets out the relationship between metaphor, colour and emotion in Joyce’s writing. It identifies the two works and the questions guiding the analysis.
2. Conceptual Metaphor Theory: This chapter explains conceptual metaphors, source and target domains, and the role of experience in metaphorical mapping. It also discusses structural, ontological and orientational metaphors.
3. Conceptual Metaphors in James Joyce’s Novels: The main chapter introduces symbolism and examines green and black imagery through examples from the two works. It relates colour expressions to emotions and to religious, political and social contexts.
4. Conclusion: The conclusion brings together the analysis of colour metaphors and reflects on the contribution of conceptual metaphor theory to interpreting fiction.
Keywords
James Joyce, conceptual metaphor, colour symbolism, green, black, Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, George Lakoff, Mark Johnson, Ireland, metaphorical mapping, emotion
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the paper about?
It examines green and black as conceptual metaphors in two early works by James Joyce.
What are its central topics?
Its central topics include metaphor theory, colour symbolism, emotion, literary imagery and representations of Irish society.
What is the main research question?
The paper asks how colour metaphors relate to Joyce’s and Stephen Dedalus’s feelings about Ireland and its people, and considers the importance of metaphorical concepts in literature.
What method does the paper use?
It analyses literary colour expressions using Lakoff and Johnson’s conceptual metaphor theory, supported by historical and biographical context and existing scholarship.
What does the main chapter cover?
It introduces symbolism before examining examples of green and black imagery and their associated emotions and allusions.
Which keywords characterise the paper?
Key terms include conceptual metaphor, colour symbolism, James Joyce, green, black, Ireland and metaphorical mapping.
Which works by Joyce are examined?
The analysis focuses on Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.
How does the paper approach the colour green?
It considers green in relation to Irish national symbolism and analyses examples including a green rose, seaweed and green or grey-green settings.
What kinds of black or dark imagery does the paper discuss?
It discusses dark clothing, religious buildings, streets, eyes and ships as examples in its analysis of colour metaphors.
- Quote paper
- Black A. Smith (Author), 2021, Colours in James Joyce’s Novels. Green and black as Conceptual Metaphors, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1150139
