Powerful Metaphor Research Articles

Speaking Up and Being Heard: The Changing Metadiscourse about ‘Voice’ in British Parliamentary Debates since 1800

As a metaphor for political power, participation, and legitimacy, the concept of ‘voice’ is central to considerations of representative politics during the modern era. Little is known about how political actors themselves understood and referred to their own voices, those of others, and their respective significance for representative politics. This article focuses on the British Parliament, which was since the eighteenth century regarded as a paradigmatic incarnation of political voice and as the pinnacle of modern representative government. Based on a corpus of Hansard debates from 1800 to 2005, we analyse MPs’ explicit references to ‘voice’ in parliamentary debates. We aim to explore the salience of ‘voice’ for MPs and of different aspects of voice as a vehicle for expressing political will. We also shed light on how metadiscursive references to ‘voice’ change over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

ФЕНОМЕН ВІЙНИ У ПЕРЕЛОМЛЕННІ СВІТОВОГО МИСТЕЦТВА: АКТУАЛЬНІ НАГОЛОСИ

The article studies the interpretations of war in the artistic space, where they demonstrate humanistic positions and the presence of moral principles. The author analyzes the most notable examples of the phenomenon of war in the refraction of world art in the historical context and reveals what messages permeate the canvases, where the theme of deaths due to wars is emphasized. Such works serve as one of the most powerful condemnations of the war through the power of art. Article shows which key features in the experience of understanding past wars with the help of art coincide with the time of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. The war situation radically transforms the background of artistic creativity, where everything is embroidered with symbols, because the basis of creativity is represented by a symbol as a profound idea. The gallery of images dedicated to the understanding of war as an anti-human phenomenon is represented by the works of Rubens, Goya, Picasso, Dali and also modern world artists who artistically responded to the Russian aggression in Ukraine (Banksy, Driscoll, Melnychuk, mydogsights). The image of suffering mother, presented in most iconic works at different times, is consistent with Ukrainian reality. These are not separate human images, they are the quintessence of the general image of war and accompanying images of suffering, grief, and torment. In each work from the given gallery of images, an expressive desperately crying figure with hands raised to the sky was visibly present as an archetype of a martyr during the war. By demonstrating the horrors of war in visible symbols of culture, the artists utter their own humanist manifesto, while at the same time they warn about the catastrophic nature of the attitude towards war for the history of civilization, and thus the destruction of the main subjects of both history and culture. Did generations understand these powerful messages of artistic geniuses, framed in no less powerful symbols, metaphors and allegories? We will receive an answer in the near future.

Kintsugi: Fosters Student Nurse Externs' and New Nurse Residents' Sense of Respect, Resilience, and Rebuilding Post Pandemic.

Kintsugi serves as a powerful metaphor for nurse externs and residents to identify lessons learned from the pandemic and to refocus on the golden cracks to foster respect, resilience, and rebuilding. Kintsugi encourages nurses to embrace their challenges, find strength in their vulnerabilities, and grow from their experiences.

Performances of transparency

Abstract The names by which luxury items are marketed are often interpreted as names that trigger forms of mimesis. By considering the connections made through naming, products such as perfumes seem to be powerful metaphors for a particular lifestyle, wealth, and specific identity constructions, thereby obviously suggesting the possibility that through owning and using such products, clients can – for a while – become what is promised on the package. The names of perfumes and fragrances in postcolonial contexts, however, are semantically more complex. They refer to various locations, languages, and narratives, serving different purposes. This contribution examines the meanings of names in African perfumery practices in order to shed light on the different connections and relations they symbolize, the ritual contexts in which they are used, and the memory-making associated with both language and sensory experience.

A Womb With a (Political) View: Reclaiming Reproductive Rights in Spanish Feminist Cartoons

Drawing attention to the ways in which art activism can be mobilized “with the objective of achieving social and or political change” (Serafini, 2018, p. 3), in this article, I attend especially to the image of the womb as a powerful visual metaphor for political intervention. Analyzing the transformative potential of an embodied medium such as political cartoons, the present article focuses on Wombastic, a Tumblr-based initiative organized by the Spanish collective Autoras de Cómic in response to the restrictive abortion bill that the Spanish right-wing Partido Popular approved in the Council of Ministers on December 20, 2013. While right-wing legislators have turned women’s bodies into battlefields in their attempt to reinstate heteropatriarchal gender norms, feminist graphic interventions reclaim the body as a site of resistance to disrupt neoconservative propaganda. Studying the sociopolitical context in which it was launched, this article underlines the connection between the “repoliticization of Spanish social life” (Herrero, 2019, p. 127), and the resurgence of powerful feminist activism, centering on reproductive rights. Steeped in the post 11M social climate, this study reveals the discursive power of political cartoons at a time of renewed politicization of the body, increased social mobilizations, and powerful feminist activism. Socially engaged comics and cartoons such as the ones uploaded to Wombastic display feminist agency, reclaiming women’s creativity and ownership of their own sexuality and reproductive choices.

The power of metaphor in thesis writing process

Abstract The article contributes to the discussion of writing at the master’s level by investigating metaphors underlying the process of writing a master’s thesis from the perspective of graduate students. The analysis focuses on the use of metaphors in semi-structured interviews conducted with graduate students who defended their thesis and reflected on the whole process. Their metaphor use is non-elicited and this rhetorical device is spontaneously used showing that thesis writers conceptualize their research and all it entails in metaphorical terms to a significant extent. Despite the fact that thesis writers themselves were not encouraged to pay attention to or use metaphorical language, their narratives reveal the interplay of metaphors when describing the writing process.

Polarising metaphors in the Venezuelan Presidential Crisis

Abstract The 23rd of January 2019 marked the beginning of the Venezuelan Presidential Crisis, a unique socio-political conflict that confronted Nicolás Maduro, president of Venezuela, to the self-proclaimed leader Juan Guaidó. This paper explores the divisive power of conceptual metaphors in this context through the analysis of polarising metaphors, namely, metaphors that conceptualise ‘Us’ positively and/or ‘Them’ negatively. More specifically, from a corpus-based critical socio-cognitive perspective (Musolff 2016; Soares da Silva 2020; Charteris-Black 2011), this study looks at the main polarising metaphors of Maduro and Guaidó’s political discourses and examines their role in the discursive construction of ideological polarisation, social identities, and legitimacy using a target-based approach (Stefanowitsch and Gries 2006). The results show that both leaders strategically use polarising metaphors, especially those of CONFRONTATION, HUMAN BEING and JOURNEY, to reproduce their ideologies, reinforce their social identities, and legitimise their political positions.

A Critical Analysis of Conceptual Metaphor in Inaugural Address by Joseph Biden

Metaphors play a crucial role in political discourses. This study critically analyzes conceptual metaphors found in inaugural address by the US President Joseph Biden in 2021. It is found that Biden has employed different conceptual metaphors to simply complex political views, making them more relatable and understandable to the public. At the same time, the president tries to use the power of metaphors to influence public perception and political ideologies in achieving social goals, highlighting the significance of personal sacrifice and unity. The incorporation of metaphors in political speeches is not a mere rhetorical flourish but rather a deliberate strategic choice. Therefore, it is essential for audiences to critically evaluate the underlying meanings and biases the speech may carry.

La metafora: the power of metaphors and creative resources in working systemically with families and children with autism—a conversation with Carmine Saccu

AbstractMetaphors are valuable tools of expression, which give meaning to situations and allow the spontaneous processing of feelings and emotions. As therapists, we can support clients to develop and create their individual metaphor to explain their own meaning of experiences or communicate their perception of problems. Creativity provides us with a rich landscape to explore, expand, and enrich ourselves as therapists and consequently our clients. As systemic therapists, we are responsible for the co‐creation of a human process, which has at its core safety in allowing expression, connection, and movement. Through a respectful and curious approach, we can develop pathways to tap organically into our ‘creative selves’ while reaching into our clients' creativity and selves as catalysts for connection and positive change. Creative resources and therapies have been successfully used in psychotherapy to enhance the mental and emotional well‐being of children, particularly children with autism who have limited verbal capacity or who are non‐verbal. These children also wish to be understood in expressing their thoughts and feelings; however, they use other methods of communication – sometimes obvious, sometimes not. Therefore, it is important that a therapist can access diverse ways to support the child through this process. The creative use of animals in therapy neutralises spaces, eliciting calm, safety, and healing. This is particularly the case when working with this group of children. This paper is derived from my conversation with an elder statesman of the family therapy profession, Professor Carmine Saccu. He is a jovial master storyteller who craftfully communicates via metaphors. Through creative means, play, and humour, he has developed a remarkably unique way of working with children, especially non‐verbal children with autism. He uses his canine, co‐therapist Mafalda, as a powerful resource and intervention strategy to safely elicit engagement and connection in the therapeutic space.

Metaphors for Wellbeing

Metaphors for Wellbeing

ALGORITHMIC SUTURING: Platforms, Motorcycles and the ‘Last Mile’ in Urban Africa

AbstractThe ‘last mile' is not only a powerful metaphor of contemporary life, but also the tangible site of a challenge, whether for governments wanting to reach their citizens or companies wanting to reach their customers. In urban Africa this challenge is compounded by the fragmented material condition of cities. As a result, a growing number of tech companies have been compelled by the possibility of creating digital platforms that address the unique logistical configurations of African cities, often enrolling informal systems such as motorcycle taxis to address spatial and economic fragmentation. Through the perspective of three Nairobi‐based startups that incorporate motorcycle taxis into their last‐mile platforms, this article illustrates how processes of ‘algorithmic suturing’ knit together the loose ends of splintered urban networks thanks to platform business models that visualize the last mile as a site of optimization. In parallel with common understandings of suturing within African infrastructure debates which foreground makeshift practices of the urban poor, this article argues that algorithmic suturing is a speculative endeavour through which urban fractures are made legible as sites of value. By stitching together city fragments, these platforms envision large data‐driven urban economies which interface with informal mobility networks and the shifting urban demographic of the lower‐middle class.

Drawing a River: Utilizing the Power of Metaphors in Interviews With Children and Young People.

In the field of qualitative health research on children, scholars have called for the inclusion of children's perspectives. Still, health care research on children appears to be characterized by an exclusionary approach that stems from a conception of disability and sickness as equivalent to a lack of agency. This article responds to the call to include children's perspectives. It presents the Double-view (Dovi)-river interview, which is a drawing- and metaphor-based interview method that enables ambiguous and multi-layered life course narratives. Based on two steps - (1) a life course interview conducted while drawing a river of the child's life and (2) revisiting and unfolding the child's stories - the method allows for an arts-based, joint exploration of life experiences. Inspired by childhood studies as well as a poststructuralist epistemology, the article discusses and proposes ways to challenge power relations between the adult interviewer and the child interviewee. It is argued that the method can also challenge the predominant deficit view and the dichotomous understanding of children's experiences of their life and capabilities that characterize much health care practice and health research, by focusing both on challenges and opportunities. Doing so enables a more nuanced and appreciative approach to children. We draw on empirical examples from a study with children with disabilities. However, we suggest that the method's potential for enabling articulation of the complex and ambiguous can inspire qualitative research and health care practice more broadly.

Doing Evangelical Public Theology: The Gardener Approach as a Methodology

Even though the subject of Public Theology is popular and widespread, it lacks a definite and authoritative methodology and so the search for a methodology continues. As a contribution to the search for a methodology for this relatively new brand of theology, this paper developed a theological model based on the gardener’s vocation. It argues that the work of a gardener represents a powerful metaphor for understanding the task of the public theologian because the two vocations are strikingly analogous in nature and scope. The Gardener Approach ensures that public theological discourses are not only biblically grounded but also contextually sensitive, politically engaging, practically oriented, and accessible to the public. The paper is organized in two sections. Using a comparative approach, the first section draws parallels between the tasks of the public theologian and the gardener. With the results of this step as a framework, the second section establishes five methodological steps for doing evangelical Public Theology based on the principles of gardening. The steps are: Preparing the socio-political soil (exploration phase); planting the theological seed (planting phase); maintaining the theological crop (maintenance phase); harvesting the theological fruit (harvesting phase) and distributing the theological fruit for consumption (distribution phase). The article contributes to the field of Public Theology by creatively and practically linking theology with agriculture in a way that emphasizes the centrality of Scripture in theological discourses and makes theologizing accessible to the ordinary researcher/reader without compromising academic standards. Keywords: The Gardener Approach, Public Theology, Socio-political soil, Systematic Theology, Practical Theology, Theological seed

On the Dual Narrative Space of the Film "Assassin in Red"

The construction of the story world in movies is mainly achieved through the expressive function of space. In the movie "Assassin in Red", the dual narrative space of surrealism creates a fantasy aesthetic intertwined with reality and the alien world. The two narrative spaces are full of connections and interactions, greatly breaking through the audience's life experience and aesthetic cognition, becoming a quite eye-catching presence during the Spring Festival period. This article will focus on exploring the parallel world of the movie "Assassination of the Novelist", where the vertical Chongqing mountain city structure in the real space serves as a metaphor for power and class, and the closed imperial capital space has a utopian illusion function, making the novel world a reflexive reflection on the real world, and the real world a reference for the novel world. By interpreting the dual space, we will better explore the inspiration this film brings to our society.

Representing Dissent through Poetry: A Study of Select Poems of Maya Angelou

Literature in general and protest poetry in particular have been vocal about human condition and problems. This article examines Maya Angelou’s representation of dissent in selected poems, using the historical and socio-political context of her life as a lens. It analyses how Angelou’s work, including “Still I Rise,” “Caged Bird,” “Phenomenal Woman,” and some others, articulates resistance against racial, gender, and social inequalities. Through her powerful metaphors, repetitive phrases, and vivid imagery, Angelou defied societal norms and called for change. The study concludes by emphasizing Angelou’s enduring impact and legacy, not just in literature, but also in shaping civil rights discourse and inspiring social change. Her poetry exemplifies how art can be a potent instrument of protest. The article employs language for ‘writing back’, questioning norms, resisting atrocities and creating scope for change. Protest poetry, which is deeply embedded in American history, remains a prominent part of English literary corpus, contributing greatly to African American literature. The category of African American protest poetry is large owing to the huge expanse of time during which it has been written and also because of the great number of poets who have contributed to this form of writing. As a result, African American protest poetry is divided into three sub-categories– the first deals with protest during slavery, the second during segregation and Jim Crow Laws and the third after political obstacles to equality were presumably removed. This paper aims to deliberate on the following questions— what are the prominent themes of African American protest poetry? How have the African American poets used this genre of literature variously during different historical epochs? How are the concerns of female poets different from their male counterparts? What role has protest poetry played in political movements against inequality, social injustice, oppression, segregation etc.? The present paper aims to engage with this seemingly broad area of literature from the feminist and racial perspectives. The paper intends to deal with few important African American protest poets from foundational poets to the contemporary ones.

TERRESTRIAL SPACES AND CELESTIAL SYMBOLISM IN CEMETERIES: AN EMPIRICAL EXAMINATION OF SPACES OF THE DECEASED

The open terrestrial swathes are by far the most collaborative of spaces shared by human beings as they partake of the spatial and temporal experience. Their experiential reality is shaped by the sensory experience rooted in the physical plane of existence, palpably elusive of the metaphysical. Cemeteries however hold a unique terrestrial position as not simply seeking out open spaces on earth, but also symbolize the metaphysical experience; transcending the earthly in death. This unique ambivalence of the earthly and the celestial entrenched in the cemeteries is going to be a major concern of this research article. The article seeks to deconstruct how cemeteries which command sanctity can be powerful celestial signs in contradiction to ordinary cemeteries which however are bracketed with a relatively less celebrated and overtly mundane experience of death and Thanatos. The article will dwell into the role of select cemeteries as metaphors of power emanating from the treatment meted out to the cemeteries. The centre-periphery, life-death and celestial-terrestrial binaries will be explored through the epithets conferred upon rites of death, cemeteries and phenomena of afterlife in different cultures. Keywords: Celestial, Terrestrial, Ambivalence, Juxtaposition, Binaries, Thanatos.

A Stylistic Analysis of Diverse Linguistic Features in Maupassant’s The Piece of String

This article offers a comprehensive stylistic analysis of Maupassant’s renowned short story, The Piece of String including imagery, alliteration, simile and anaphora, using the theoretical perspective of Wales, Nikolyukina, Kemertelidze and Manjavidze. Employing a third-person omniscient narrative voice, Maupassant establishes a sense of intimacy with the characters, delving into their inner thoughts and emotions. Rich and evocative imagery further enhances the story’s vivid portrayal of the Normandy countryside and its inhabitants. Noteworthy is the skillful use of symbolism, with the piece of string serving as a powerful metaphor for the fragility of one’s reputation, susceptible to ruin through the dissemination of rumors. Through repetition, anaphora and suspenseful narrative elements, the author effectively sustains readers’ engagement. This scholarly pursuit constitutes a commendable addition to the realm of literary criticism, enriching the comprehension of Maupassant’s literary finesse, while simultaneously accentuating the import of stylistic exploration in deciphering the strata of meaning enshrined within timeless literary creations.

Spooky concepts and urban studies: Conceptual metaphor, narrative tension and explanatory power

From the metaphor-soaked concepts of Dracula urbanism, the Vampire index, Frankenstein urbanism and zombie neoliberalism to the idea of a vampire property-holding class, conceptual metaphors are a repeating theme in urban studies. Once you are alert to their presence, conceptual metaphors seem to be everywhere, operating as key literary devices, productive interpretive tactics and critical discursive manoeuvres in the field. And if it is true that metaphor is an important conceptual device in urban studies, then the field's use of conceptual metaphor deserves our critical attention. Taking Wilson and Wyly's Dracula urbanism as a prompt, this commentary offers some speculative reflections on conceptual metaphor in urban studies, before commenting on Dracula urbanism as a concept directly. The discussion is organised around the narrative tension, explanatory power and discursive playfulness that conceptual metaphor affords in urban studies. I argue the power of conceptual metaphor comes into play at the level of analytical acuity. A good conceptual metaphor has an explanatory power that moves our understanding of an urban process, issue, etc. forward. It opens new conceptual vistas, or it brings into focus new conceptual stakes, or it paths the way for new types of empirical investigation in the field. Put simply, a good conceptual metaphor allows for a good theoretical intervention. It has productive explanatory power; it takes urban scholars somewhere beyond their initial excitement about a fancy new name for a concept. A spooky conceptual metaphor must be analytically powerful, otherwise it's just Halloween; an empty signifier dressed up as Frankenstein for a night, trick or treating for citations and attention.

Bridging Cultural Differences in Communication: The Power and Pitfalls of Metaphors and Rhetoric

Cross-cultural communication is becoming increasingly important in our globalized world, as individuals and organizations interact with people from different cultural backgrounds. Metaphors and rhetoric are powerful tools for communication, but their interpretation and use vary across cultures. This paper explores the definition and use of metaphors and rhetoric in different cultural contexts, possible misunderstandings and difficulties caused by their use in cross-cultural communication, and strategies for applying them effectively. A case study of a business negotiation between a Western company and a Chinese company is used to illustrate the potential for misunderstandings and difficulties. The paper concludes with a discussion on the importance of cultural competence and understanding cultural differences in communication for successful cross-cultural communication.

Peculiarities of One Narrative− on Holocaust, without Metaphors (based on The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne)

The purpose of our article is to show through John Boyne's well-known novel The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,2006, the lexical-semantic and also the stylistic devices chosen by the writer when he tells us about one of the greatest catastrophes of mankind - the Holocaust. We tried to highlight the writer's style: his choice gives the impression that this horrible event is beyond being described by metaphors. The narrative is straightforward, concise, and mostly devoid of direct emotional charge since the Holocaust itself has become a powerful metaphor for this dreadful humanitarian catastrophe. The story told by the writer is a story experienced through the eyes and mind of a nine-year-old boy, Bruno. Our research aims at revealing those linguistic units − "signifiers", with their specific syntactic, phonetic, lexical-semantic and also stylistic characteristics, which the writer uses for narration. Their functional load is diverse: sometimes, with this or that wisely chosen signifier, the writer shows the possibilities of phonetically different "reading" of this or that word. e.g. "Fury" instead of "Führer"; Sometimes with childish naivety and misunderstanding of the wrongly perceived name: "Out-with" instead of "Auschwitz". We also had a very interesting case when the writer sometimes uses euphemistic expressions to cover what he did not mean to say directly. Similar linguistic units abound throughout the novel, turning the entire text into a homogeneous linguistic fabric. It is also interesting to note the fact that each chapter is titled in a way that suits the nature of the narrative: they also suggest childish logic and thinking. By taking into consideration these lingusitic qualities of the novel, we presume that the article will be interesting for readers interested in psycho-linguistics as well.