Analysis of "Conceptual Metaphor and Its Types" in Chosen Poems of Parvin E'tesami based on Fauconnier and Turner's Conceptual Metaphor Theory

In literary studies, metaphor is considered to be the basic element of creativity and a characteristic expression of the author's artistic individuality. Metaphor can be used by writers in various social contexts to support the basic statements and beliefs of a specific ideology or point of view. Fauconnier and Turner raised a new issue in the field of cognitive linguistics and metaphor. They proposed that mental spaces are small conceptual packages that are created in the human mind when speaking or thinking and, therefore, form the basis of understanding. In Persian poetry, Parvin E'tesami's poems have a greater suitability and capacity for the application of this theory because of their metaphorical language and because they are free from the limitations governing some formal types of ancient literature. Therefore, all the metaphors of Parvin E'tesami's poems were analyzed to lay bare the metaphors which constructed the mental spaces. Findings indicate that the conceptual domains of Parvin's metaphors are divided into six groups: ontological metaphors (phenomenal or material), characterizing metaphors, directional metaphors for positive and negative emotions, and structural metaphors (abstract phenomena, body parts, the concept of life, natural phenomena). In general, it can be said that in case of all constructed metaphors, the use of conceptual areas in the construction of metaphors to convey specific meanings to the audience has been done in a targeted manner.