The performative potential of metaphor

Abstract

This article investigates metaphor, especially fresh metaphor, from a perspective that integrates literary pragmatics, language as social semiotic, and cognitive linguistics. It proposes that such metaphor may be not only thought but also forged by deliberate choice. It posits a performative view of metaphor in use, that is, metaphor treated as possessing performative potential — being able to perform force. To elucidate the performative potential of metaphor, this article will first discuss a list of thirteen functions that metaphors can perform and address the question of why metaphor is sometimes used in favor of non-metaphorical language. It will then proceed to characterize the performative potential of metaphor in the light of Halliday's theory concerning the metafunctions of language. The concept of performative potential highlights the interpersonal function of language while not disregarding its ideational and textual functions. The notion of these three functional components provides a perspective from which to consider what can be performed by metaphor — to present and represent thought, to enable the writer to articulate his notion of selfhood and its role, to interact with the addressee, and to exercise textual performance. By way of illustration, I will analyze two passages from William Blake's The book of Thel and juxtapose them with several passages from The Dhammapada, a Buddhist text consisting of aphorisms in verse form. Both texts articulate the nature of the struggle towards a meaningful life, and more importantly, both contain metaphors of love and wisdom.