Analysis of the Central Mapping of Conceptual Metaphors and Pictorial Schemas of the Words “Water” and “Fire” in Proverbs Derived from Persian Literature

In contrast to the traditional rhetorical view of aesthetic metaphor, which is a purely linguistic phenomenon, Linguists such as George Lakoff and Mark Johnson consider metaphor to be perceptual and conceptual in nature. This view of metaphor falls within the framework of cognitive semantics, in which meaning is based on conceptual constructs and, like other cognitive domains, represents subjective categories. The present study uses a descriptive-analytical approach to analyze conceptual metaphors and pictorial schemas in proverbs. Love, life, science, disability, humiliation, worldliness, and modesty are among the mappings of positive and negative concepts in conceptual metaphors in proverbs derived from literary texts. Among these, “water” and “fire” are words that have been used in Persian proverbs and the divans of poets and prose of former and contemporary writers to indicate the material and spiritual realms.The findings of this research indicate that the main mapping in the metaphorical sense of the proverbs based on the word “fire” is destructive, which is repeated with a frequency of 42 times.The main mapping in the conceptual metaphor of proverbs based on the word “water” is in the form of a spatial scheme (displacement) that is repeated 18 times. This highlights the central mapping of the word “water” and its rotation and instability. In general, by borrowing these mappings, poets and writers have created themes that always keep the listener enthusiastic and have contributed to the promotion of proverbs.