Conceptual metaphors of death in the story of Siavash

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Associate Professor of Persian Language and LiteratureUniversity of Bojnord

2 Master's student of Persian language and literature University of Bojnord

10.29252/kavosh.2024.20587.3472

Abstract

The conceptual metaphors of death in the story of Siavash in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh are studied in this article based on Lakoff and Johnson’s linguistic theory of conceptual metaphor. The researchers find that the concept of death is reflected in six mega-metaphors, including death is humiliation, death is war, death is breach of promise, death is the end, death is revenge, and death is mourning. We have studied each of these mega-metaphors in the context of the narrative and attempted to shed light on the concept of death in Ferdowsi’s view by bringing example sentences from Shahnameh. The study is conducted with an analytical-descriptive method. It concludes that Ferdowsi’s view of death in the story of Siavash is different for the individual characters of the story. In fact, Ferdowsi introduces the concept of death differently in accordance with the status of each character in the narrative. In the story of Siavash, Ferdowsi identifies the death of the first character of the story as his main function. Ferdowsi believes that Siavash’s death is his beginning because, with his death, a thirst for revenge develops throughout Iran to realize his purpose, which was the elimination of evil, and the land of Touran is cleansed from the rule of Afrasiab and his relatives.

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References

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Journal of Kavoshnameh in Persian Language and Literature
Volume 25, Issue 61 - Serial Number 61
September 2024
Pages 203-236

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