Poetic and visual metaphors in Hungarian folklore

Abstract

Abstract In this paper I have a twofold aim: (1) to reveal the complexity of the concept of love in Hungarian folklore by analyzing a number of its linguistic (oral-verbal) and visual representations side by side; and (2) to decipher these two modes of expression in light of each other, with the help of Conceptual Metaphor Theory. The reason for doing so is that folkloric artefacts and folk poetry are two different self-expressional modes of a community; therefore, if their symbolism represents certain aspects of the same concept, it enables us to get a more complex view on the concept itself, as well as to explore and compare the different modes the messages are conveyed by. Texts of folk songs and the patterns, structure and functions of the hope chest, an artefact that played an essential role in a woman’s life in Hungarian folklore, are analyzed in line with each other. I propose that the model of love revealed by folk poetry and folk art is thoroughly intertwined with the concepts of morality, marriage and life, reflecting an optimistic view of the world that extends the bounderies of this earthly life. Furthermore, I argue that both the linguistic and visual representations under scrutiny are manifestations of a coordinating view of the world, which is present in the form of both coordinated source and coordinated target representations. The conceptual disparity between the two modes lies mainly in the static nature of folk art and the dynamicity of language, but the creativity of the studied community seems to surmount this issue by imparting ornaments with a functional value.