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Metaphor is a ubiquitous phenomenon in people’s daily life. Conceptual integration theory is the most typical theory in analysing metaphors from the aspect of cognitive linguistics. The thesis puts more emphasis on the application of the conceptual integration theory to analyze the psychological forming mechanics in creating， appreciating and comprehending poetry and illustrates the influence of the metaphors cognitive analysis on poem teaching. This method has provided a brand--new angle of view for the analysis and understanding of poetry.
Key words： metaphor； Conceptual Integration； cognition； poem teaching
中圖分类号：G4 文献标识码：A 文章编号：1009-914X（2013）23-331-02
The Usage of Cognitive Analysis of Metaphors
in Poem Teaching
Introduction
Metaphor starts to absorb people’s attention from ancient time. Fauconnier who developed and proposed conceptual integration theory became a prominent person on metaphor study. In Mappings in Thought and Language， Fauconnier unfolded his four-space model in which there are two inputs， one generic space and a blend space. By this four-space model， Fauconnier argues that the on—line meaning of natural languages can be constructed. Fauconnier and Turner further pointed out that conceptual integration is a basic psychological cognitive mechanism， which goes through nearly all cognitive activities. Conceptual integration theory makes a significant progress by granting a cognitive value to the nature of metaphor and suggests an entirely new perspective for the development of metaphor theories. Utilizing conceptual integration， the author analyzes the metaphors in some poems and concludes the influence of metaphors on peom teaching in English and American Literature.
Cognitive Analysis of Metaphors in Poems and Poem Teaching
Here we mainly use conceptual integration theory， taking Whitman’s O Captain！ My Captain！ as an example， to make a cognitive analysis of metaphors.Whitman wrote this poem in memory of President Lincoln after he was assassinated by an agent of the Southern slave—owners at the end of the Civil war in 1865. In this poem， Whitman extols Lincoln’s wisdom， virtue， honesty and promptness. Lincoln is not only a leader， but a participant of the enterprise. In order to arrive at the success shore， Lincoln struggled against slavery with all the comrades side by side. Whitman celebrates the heroic struggle of the American people for democracy， freedom and justice and expresses his seething hatred of slavery. O Captain！ my Captain！ our fearful trip is done；
The ship has weather'd every rack， the prize we sought is won；
The port is near， the bells I hear， the people all exulting，
（1-3）
In this poem， there are two main metaphors. One metaphor is The United States during the Civil War is the sailing ship in the sea. This metaphor involves first two input spaces： the source space of the ship in the sea and the target space of the United States during the Civil War. The two domains share structure and vocabulary. The metaphorical correspondences underlying two domains reflect cross-space mappings of counterpart connections which represented by the solid lines in Figure 1. In the target space， by partial projection and cross-space mapping， the emergent structure through composition is brought out. Blending composes elements and relations from the two inputs. Here the president of the United States corresponds to the captain on the ship. The American corresponds to the sailors on the ship. At that time， the United States was undergoing the Civil War， so the whole country is in disorder. This kind of situation is just like the ship which is running aimlessly in the sea. Here we utilize conceptual integration theory to analyze this metaphor. Figure 1 below can show the metaphor clearly.
Whitman described another metaphor like this： The Civil War of the United States is a trip through the storm. According to conceptual integration theory， there are four metal spaces： Input 1 concerns some elements of trip， such as travelers， point of departure， destination and storm. Input 2 includes the elements of civil war， such as people， dig up the hatchet， ceasefire and battles， travelers correspond to people in Input 2； Point of departure of a trip corresponds to dig up the hatchet of the Civil war. And the destination of a trip corresponds to ceasefire of the civil war. The metaphorical correspondences underlying two domains reflect partial cross-space mappings of counterpart connections. The common feature in the generic space is that the trip and the civil war are both a process with participant， start， and termination. In input 1， there also exists another element “storm” which is projected into the blend. Storm always comes violently. If the travelers during the trip undergo the storm， they will fell very difficult to move forward. In input 2， there is also an element “battles” which is projected into the blend as well. If a country is in a condition of battles， it will be turbulent. In that way， it is very difficult for the people in this country to fight against the civil war. In the blend， there are not only the projected parts from inputs， but the self–elaborated structure， which is produced through the interaction of the elements in the blend. Here the emergent structure arises： The civil war is like a trip through the storm. The Civil War is violent and difficult. Conceptual integration theory breaks a new path for understanding metaphors. Because metaphor has a ubiquitous characteristic， any nation and people will use metaphors. But we must pay attention to the fact： for the same thing， different nations and people may have different opinions and different metaphors. In other words， different nations may form different conceptual system due to their different culture and experience for the same thing. It proves that metaphor is not only a mental phenomenon， but a cultural phenomenon. Many significant concepts originate form the cultural experience， so they have to be restricted by a certain culture and historical background. In order to understand metaphors influenced by different culture， we must learn the function of cultural factors， which exist in generic space， to metaphors formation. Therefore，when we understand certain metaphors in a specified social background， we have to consider the influence of the cultural factors on metaphors.
The language of poetry is the most exquisite language in literary works. The language of poetry is able to make people feel elegancy and power of language. Poetry always contains profound philosophy which is the embodiment of wisdom. Poetry can embody the pulse of a certain era and can deepen the understanging of a certain nation. The metaphors in poetry are able to make poetry more elegant and more attractive and avoid poetry plain and monotone. Metaphor changes abstract concepts into concrete ones and makes poetry legible， easily understood and vivid. Thus， in order to understand poetry， it is obviously important to understand the metaphors included in poetry first， which is the precondition to appreciate and understand poetry. The theme of poetry is usually hidden in the whole passage， so that it is difficult to dig it out. However， we are trying to exposit the themes of poetry utilizing some figures on the basis of conceptual integration theory. This method has opened up a new field to reveal the theme of the poems and a new way to teach poems in English and American Literature.
Conclusion
Through the analysis above， the author proved that the metaphor is not just the simple substitution and interaction between the words， while it is a cognitive process in people’s minds. And conceptual integration theory is an effective and scientific method to explain the process of metaphors forming. Through the analysis of the metaphors’ forming process， when we teach poems in literature class， teachers should pay attention to analyze the metaphors in a certain poem to help the students comprehend the theme of the poem. Under the framework of conceptual integration theory， because we have to emphasize the cultural factors to the metaphors formation， in this way are the students able to undertstand the cultural background of a certain
poem better. Only in a certain historical and cultural background can poets create certain metaphor， so it is a new method to analyze the metaphors in poems with conceptual integration theory. In this way， poems analysis become more profound， and we also acquire a new perspective for poems analysis and appreciation. This is a brand--new angle to analyze the theme of poetry. In this way， the hidden meaning can be illustrated clearly. This method provides people with a new channel for analyzing and understanding the themes of poems and open up a new way to poem teaching in literature.
Works Cited
Fauconnier， Gilles. Mappings in Thought and Language. New York： Cambridge University Press， 1997.
胡壯麟. 认知隐喻学. 北京： 北京大学出版社， 2004.
束定芳. 隐喻学研究. 上海： 上海外语教育出版社， 2000.
本论文为黑龙江省高等教育学会高等教育科学研究“十二五”规划课题阶段性成果，
课题编号为HGJXHC110626
Key words： metaphor； Conceptual Integration； cognition； poem teaching
中圖分类号：G4 文献标识码：A 文章编号：1009-914X（2013）23-331-02
The Usage of Cognitive Analysis of Metaphors
in Poem Teaching
Introduction
Metaphor starts to absorb people’s attention from ancient time. Fauconnier who developed and proposed conceptual integration theory became a prominent person on metaphor study. In Mappings in Thought and Language， Fauconnier unfolded his four-space model in which there are two inputs， one generic space and a blend space. By this four-space model， Fauconnier argues that the on—line meaning of natural languages can be constructed. Fauconnier and Turner further pointed out that conceptual integration is a basic psychological cognitive mechanism， which goes through nearly all cognitive activities. Conceptual integration theory makes a significant progress by granting a cognitive value to the nature of metaphor and suggests an entirely new perspective for the development of metaphor theories. Utilizing conceptual integration， the author analyzes the metaphors in some poems and concludes the influence of metaphors on peom teaching in English and American Literature.
Cognitive Analysis of Metaphors in Poems and Poem Teaching
Here we mainly use conceptual integration theory， taking Whitman’s O Captain！ My Captain！ as an example， to make a cognitive analysis of metaphors.Whitman wrote this poem in memory of President Lincoln after he was assassinated by an agent of the Southern slave—owners at the end of the Civil war in 1865. In this poem， Whitman extols Lincoln’s wisdom， virtue， honesty and promptness. Lincoln is not only a leader， but a participant of the enterprise. In order to arrive at the success shore， Lincoln struggled against slavery with all the comrades side by side. Whitman celebrates the heroic struggle of the American people for democracy， freedom and justice and expresses his seething hatred of slavery. O Captain！ my Captain！ our fearful trip is done；
The ship has weather'd every rack， the prize we sought is won；
The port is near， the bells I hear， the people all exulting，
（1-3）
In this poem， there are two main metaphors. One metaphor is The United States during the Civil War is the sailing ship in the sea. This metaphor involves first two input spaces： the source space of the ship in the sea and the target space of the United States during the Civil War. The two domains share structure and vocabulary. The metaphorical correspondences underlying two domains reflect cross-space mappings of counterpart connections which represented by the solid lines in Figure 1. In the target space， by partial projection and cross-space mapping， the emergent structure through composition is brought out. Blending composes elements and relations from the two inputs. Here the president of the United States corresponds to the captain on the ship. The American corresponds to the sailors on the ship. At that time， the United States was undergoing the Civil War， so the whole country is in disorder. This kind of situation is just like the ship which is running aimlessly in the sea. Here we utilize conceptual integration theory to analyze this metaphor. Figure 1 below can show the metaphor clearly.
Whitman described another metaphor like this： The Civil War of the United States is a trip through the storm. According to conceptual integration theory， there are four metal spaces： Input 1 concerns some elements of trip， such as travelers， point of departure， destination and storm. Input 2 includes the elements of civil war， such as people， dig up the hatchet， ceasefire and battles， travelers correspond to people in Input 2； Point of departure of a trip corresponds to dig up the hatchet of the Civil war. And the destination of a trip corresponds to ceasefire of the civil war. The metaphorical correspondences underlying two domains reflect partial cross-space mappings of counterpart connections. The common feature in the generic space is that the trip and the civil war are both a process with participant， start， and termination. In input 1， there also exists another element “storm” which is projected into the blend. Storm always comes violently. If the travelers during the trip undergo the storm， they will fell very difficult to move forward. In input 2， there is also an element “battles” which is projected into the blend as well. If a country is in a condition of battles， it will be turbulent. In that way， it is very difficult for the people in this country to fight against the civil war. In the blend， there are not only the projected parts from inputs， but the self–elaborated structure， which is produced through the interaction of the elements in the blend. Here the emergent structure arises： The civil war is like a trip through the storm. The Civil War is violent and difficult. Conceptual integration theory breaks a new path for understanding metaphors. Because metaphor has a ubiquitous characteristic， any nation and people will use metaphors. But we must pay attention to the fact： for the same thing， different nations and people may have different opinions and different metaphors. In other words， different nations may form different conceptual system due to their different culture and experience for the same thing. It proves that metaphor is not only a mental phenomenon， but a cultural phenomenon. Many significant concepts originate form the cultural experience， so they have to be restricted by a certain culture and historical background. In order to understand metaphors influenced by different culture， we must learn the function of cultural factors， which exist in generic space， to metaphors formation. Therefore，when we understand certain metaphors in a specified social background， we have to consider the influence of the cultural factors on metaphors.
The language of poetry is the most exquisite language in literary works. The language of poetry is able to make people feel elegancy and power of language. Poetry always contains profound philosophy which is the embodiment of wisdom. Poetry can embody the pulse of a certain era and can deepen the understanging of a certain nation. The metaphors in poetry are able to make poetry more elegant and more attractive and avoid poetry plain and monotone. Metaphor changes abstract concepts into concrete ones and makes poetry legible， easily understood and vivid. Thus， in order to understand poetry， it is obviously important to understand the metaphors included in poetry first， which is the precondition to appreciate and understand poetry. The theme of poetry is usually hidden in the whole passage， so that it is difficult to dig it out. However， we are trying to exposit the themes of poetry utilizing some figures on the basis of conceptual integration theory. This method has opened up a new field to reveal the theme of the poems and a new way to teach poems in English and American Literature.
Conclusion
Through the analysis above， the author proved that the metaphor is not just the simple substitution and interaction between the words， while it is a cognitive process in people’s minds. And conceptual integration theory is an effective and scientific method to explain the process of metaphors forming. Through the analysis of the metaphors’ forming process， when we teach poems in literature class， teachers should pay attention to analyze the metaphors in a certain poem to help the students comprehend the theme of the poem. Under the framework of conceptual integration theory， because we have to emphasize the cultural factors to the metaphors formation， in this way are the students able to undertstand the cultural background of a certain
poem better. Only in a certain historical and cultural background can poets create certain metaphor， so it is a new method to analyze the metaphors in poems with conceptual integration theory. In this way， poems analysis become more profound， and we also acquire a new perspective for poems analysis and appreciation. This is a brand--new angle to analyze the theme of poetry. In this way， the hidden meaning can be illustrated clearly. This method provides people with a new channel for analyzing and understanding the themes of poems and open up a new way to poem teaching in literature.
Works Cited
Fauconnier， Gilles. Mappings in Thought and Language. New York： Cambridge University Press， 1997.
胡壯麟. 认知隐喻学. 北京： 北京大学出版社， 2004.
束定芳. 隐喻学研究. 上海： 上海外语教育出版社， 2000.
本论文为黑龙江省高等教育学会高等教育科学研究“十二五”规划课题阶段性成果，
课题编号为HGJXHC110626