This section will examine the results of the data extraction and collection process from three angles. First, the data will be described as individual concepts (SD concepts and TD concepts) in terms of their distribution and frequency in the conceptual metaphoric mappings. Second, ST data will be quantified and qualified as primary metaphoric patterns that fall under the three models of conceptual metaphor: ontological metaphors, structural metaphors and image schemas. Third, the extracted data will be represented in terms of the distribution of traditional metaphor types in the metaphoric content of the ST comprising the categories of simile, personification, metonymy and symbols. Examining the results of the data collection process from these three perspectives is important for selecting the ST data that will be dealt with in the contrastive analysis.
For a start, I am going to illustrate the trends that distinguished the output of the first part of the empirical study (the data extraction and collection process) to see whether these results position Shakespeare’s metaphor within the main findings of Conceptual Metaphor Theory. The process of data extraction from the two STs resulted in a total of 1057 metaphoric patterns from Othello and 1238 metaphoric patterns from Macbeth. The extracted metaphoric patterns were listed under the general conceptual structure ‘TARGET DOMAIN IS SOURCE DOMAIN’. Before I narrow down the description of this conceptual structure to the three models that were introduced as a result of the modern research on conceptual metaphor, I will provide a quick reading of the concepts which appeared under SD and those which appeared under TD. By default, the results show that abstract concepts appeared predominantly in TD
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fields, as opposed to SD fields which revealed a prevalence of physical concepts and processes. In order to exemplify this major observation about the conceptual representation of ST data, it is useful to examine the two tables below that provide a sample of the statistical results of data collection by SD/TD concepts:
A Statistical Representation of Metaphoric Concepts in Othello by SD and TD
CONCEPT SD TD OBJECT 53 6 PERSON 46 8 ANIMAL 41 2 CONTAINER 17 0 HUNTING 3 0 JOURNEY 2 0 DELIVERY 2 0 DEITY 4 23 RACE 0 63 JEALOUSY 0 18 LOVE 4 130 ANGER 1 6 SORROW 1 12 DEATH 1 5 LIFE 1 11 TIME 1 5
A Statistical Representation of Metaphoric Concepts in Macbeth by SD and TD
CONCEPT SD TD
OBJECT 134 17
PLANT 12 0
084 PERSON PHYSICAL 9 22 11 0 WAR 2 1 JOURNEY 2 1 THINKING 1 0 HEAT 8 1 TIME 0 20 LIFE 7 28 DEATH 6 17 MIND 1 14 LOVE FEAR 3 4 14 19 AUTHORITY/POWER 6 32
If we examine the two tables above, we notice that while concrete concepts such as OBJECT, PERSON, ANIMAL, CONTAINER and PLANT have a dominant presence in SD fields, abstract concepts such as DEITY, JEALOUSY, LOVE, ANGER, SORROW, LIFE, TIME, FEAR and POWER appear predominantly in TD fields. This initial observation positions Shakespeare’s metaphoric language within the framework of Conceptual Metaphor Theory as a process of abstraction which helps us understand abstract concepts such as EMOTION, LIFE, DEATH and POWER in terms of concrete concepts and processes such as OBJECTS, ANIMALS, PLANTS, HUNTING, DELIVERING and PEOPLE. The second observation is that simple concrete concepts such as OBJECT, ANIMAL and PERSON have a leading presence compared with complex physical concepts such as the CONTAINER concept, which comes in second position, and concepts that indicate processes and activities such as JOURNEY, THINKING and HUNTING. The results suggest that the latter have a marginal presence in the extracted data.
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This takes me to the second approach to reading the results where I will survey the output of the data collection process on the level of the conceptual metaphoric patterns. The results reveal that the extracted metaphoric mappings fall under the three conceptual models of ontological metaphors, structural metaphors and image schemas (containment image schemas, path image schemas, orientational metaphors, etc.), as will be further clarified. As concrete concepts like OBJECTS have the highest rate of representation compared with complex concrete concepts like the concept of CONTAINER, which involves an image schema, and the concept of DELIVERY, which involves a structural metaphor, the frequency of the three models of conceptual metaphor in ST data is as follows, in descending order:
Ontological metaphors Image schemas
Structural metaphors
The classification of the collected metaphoric patterns by the three categories of conceptual metaphor is by no means a useless process. However, if it is conducted only to prove what has been already proven about the nature of conceptual metaphor as being embodied in our bodies and experiences, then, it will undermine the validity of the empirical study for two reasons. First, it will interrupt the analysis of the research results creating a gap between the findings of the first part of the empirical study and their implications for the second part of the analysis. Second, it will defeat the purpose behind the statistical account of the results which is meant to guide the contrastive analysis rather than limit its scope. For that reason, I will introduce some decontextualized examples of the three models of conceptual metaphor in a sample table listing some metaphoric patterns that were extracted from each ST. However, more examples will be provided and contextualized in the descriptive and contrastive part of the empirical study:
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Examples of Conceptual Metaphors in Othello
Ontological Metaphors Image Schemas Structural Metaphors
DEITY HAS HUMAN TRAITS
CREATIVE IDEAS ARE
NEWBORN BABIES LIFE IS A HEAVY OBJECT JEALOUSY IS A MONSTER
SORROW IS A HEAVY
OBJECT
DUTY IS A UNIFORM
(OBJECT)
VICTIMS ARE FOOD FOR VICTIMIZER
THOUGHT IS A CONTAINER THE BODY IS A CONTAINER THE SOUL IS A CONTAINER SORROW IS A FLOOD (A NATURAL FORCE)
ERRING IS FALLING (A
DOWN ORIENTATION)
MUSIC IS A PHYSICAL FORCE
THAT MOVES EMOTIONS
OUTSIDE THE BODY
ESCAPE HAS A DISTANCE ORIENTATION CREATIVE THINKING IS DELIVERY DECEIVING IS HUNTING LIFE IS A JOUERNY LOVE IS WAR SERVING SELF-INTEREST IS LINING ONE’S COAT
GETTING MARRIED IS
BOARDING A WARSHIP HEARING IS DEVOURING
Examples of Conceptual Metaphors in Macbeth
Ontological Metaphors Image Schemas Structural Metaphors
TIME IS A PLANT TIME IS A RIVER
TIME IS A VALUABLE
OBJECT
TIME IS A MOVING OBJECT LIFE IS A STAGE LIFE IS A BUILDING DEATH IS A PERSON SLEEP IS FOOD LOVE IS A SHARP INSTRUMENT (OBJECT) DEITY IS UP (ORIENTATION) TIME IS A CONTAINER LOVE IS A DIAMETRICAL CHANGE
THE MIND IS A CONTAINER TIME IS A RIVER (MOVING OBJECT)
SMILE IS A CONTAINER THE EAR IS A CONTAINER THE BOSOM IS A CONTAINER THE MIND IS A CONTAINER HORROR IS A PHYSICAL FORCE DEATH IS SLEEP DEATH IS DEPARTURE LIFE IS A JOURNEY LOVE IS A DIAMETRICAL CHANGE ASSUMING POWER IS WEARING CLOTHES
THINKING IS BENDING THE BRAIN
RULING PEOPLE IS GROWING PLANTS
REACHING AUTHORITY IS ASCENDING A LADDER
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The third reading of the results of the data collection process will be done in the light of the classical metaphor types of simile, personification, metonymy and symbols. The reason I am listing the category of idiomatic expressions under metaphor types is that they seem to play a functional role in generating metaphor in Shakespeare, especially in Othello, as the descriptive analysis will reveal. The upcoming analysis will show that reading the results by metaphor types has a double value for the cognitive and contrastive part of the analysis. First, it will highlight the earlier findings about the conceptual nature of Shakespeare’s metaphor. Second, it will serve to compare the cognitive approach to ‘the translation of metaphor’ with earlier text linguistic approaches (Section 3.3 on ‘the translatability of metaphor’). The initial results support the previous claim that ontological metaphors have a domineering presence in Shakespeare’s conceptual metaphor, as proven by the forceful presence of personification compared with other types of metaphor. Apart from other kinds of ontological metaphor such as JEALOUSY IS A MONSTER, LIFE IS A PLANT, TIME IS A SOLID OBJECT, personifications have the highest statistical value among other metaphor types representing about 12.5% of the metaphoric tokens in Othello, and nearly 19.5% of the metaphoric tokens in Macbeth, as shown in the following table of the results:
Statistical Results of Othello’s Empirical Study by Metaphor Types
Lines Tokens Personifications Similes Idioms Metonymies
3323 1057 133 48 44 95
Statistical Results of Macbeth’s Empirical Study by Metaphor Types
Lines Tokens Personifications Similes Idioms Metonymies
2113 1238 242 43 19 106
The previous argument shows that analysing ST data in terms of the statistical results of traditional metaphor types says something about Shakespeare’s metaphor as a process of abstraction in the first degree. Furthermore, this quantification of ST data has another
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advantage in that it highlights the comprehensiveness and objectivity of Cognitive Theory in dealing with metaphor as a process of thought. Indeed, if we look at the wide gap between the total number of tokens (conceptual patterns), on the one hand, and the number of metaphors that fall under classical metaphor types, on the other hand, we realize that dealing with metaphor from a purely linguistic perspective remains partial and falls well short of being an objective way of investigating metaphor. One reason behind this observation is that extracting ST data by traditional metaphor types does not cover the representations of two kinds of conceptual metaphor, namely image schemas and structural metaphor. For example, metaphoric patterns such as LOVE IS A DIAMETRICAL CHANGE, ASSUMING POWER IS ASCENDING A LADDER, CREATIVE THINKING IS DELIVERING, CREATIVE THINKING IS HUNTING and THE MIND IS A CONTAINER do not fall under any of the simple categories of personification, simile, idiomatic expressions, or metonymy. Rather, they reflect the presence of complex conceptual processes that take place as a result of the interaction between two patterns of conceptual metaphor at least, as will be further clarified in the analysis below.