Publications
Publication details [#4117]
Publication type
Article in journal
Publication language
English
Keywords
Abstract
This article explores from a semiotic perspective the structural features of the 'poetic logic' that lies behind metonymy and metaphor. More specifically, it treats metonymy and metaphor not as 'abnormal' uses of language but as the results of the same indexical and iconic ways of thinking that we see elsewhere in our lives. The paper also brings to bear on the topic of metaphor some important insights from the late Chinese scholar Qian Zhong-shu, whose 'two handles and several sides' theory of metaphor seems to complement contemporary Western 'metaphorology' very well.
(Ersu Ding)