Comparison of Approaches to Conceptualizing Grief in the Poems of Mohammad Javad Mohabbat and Yadollah Behzad

Abstract

Metaphor is among those phenomena whose conception has been basically revisited by cognitive linguists. Being elaborated on in terms of conceptual domains and image schemata, metaphors are now defined not just as a literary device, as it was thought of in traditional approaches, but as a linguistic means for the expression of abstract ideas on the basis of embodied experiences. Adopting a cognitive approach, the present study seeks to identify the tools that are employed by Yadollah Behzad and Mohammad Javad Mohabat for metaphorical reflection of grief in their poetry. Detailed analyses of our data demonstrate that in the works of both poets the notion of grief has been metaphorically expressed via animism, placeness, and also referring to natural components and comestible phenomena. The shared mechanisms one can find in both poets’ works hint to the shared experiences that both poets might have had in their life. Moreover, the fact that Behzad has used other notions like “time” and “downfall” in his poetry shows that he has perceived grief in a variety of other experiences as well.

Keywords

• cognitive linguistics
• conceptual metaphor
• abstract concepts
• objective concepts
• sadness
• mohammad javad mohabbat
• yadollah behzad