著者

谷村 緑 仲本 康一郎

出版者

一般社団法人大学英語教育学会

雑誌

大学英語教育学会紀要 (ISSN:02858673)

巻号頁・発行日

no.48, pp.81-93, 2009-03-23

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In this study we will explore how metaphors help students comprehend poetry from a cognitive linguistics perspective. A metaphor in cognitive linguistics is not just a figure of speech but is pervasive in everyday language as well as in poetry and fiction (Lakoff & Turner 1989). For example, when English speakers say "we still have a long way to go," they understand life as a journey: LIFE IS A JOURNEY. In this paper we put a special focus on the mega-metaphor which is a type of metaphor effective to develop ideas in poems. It occurs repeatedly throughout a text and works like a central theme. Through the course the students learnt metaphor as a strategy to comprehend and interpret texts and to learn how language works to convey meaning. We analyzed 26 term papers on conceptual metaphors which were developed at poetry in order to evaluate and monitor the students' understanding. We found out that the students for the first couple of months had great difficulties finding metaphorical expressions in light of conceptual metaphors. However, they enjoyed reading poetry once they acquired the strategies for reading it. In the end they were able to read poems as independent learners.