Zoltán Kövecses
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780190224868
- eISBN:
- 9780190224882
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190224868.003.0008
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Psycholinguistics / Neurolinguistics / Cognitive Linguistics
Given the proposal in Chapter 5 that the shared meaning making system can be thought of as a global cultural context, it is proposed in the chapter that linguistic humor is commonly based on how ...
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Given the proposal in Chapter 5 that the shared meaning making system can be thought of as a global cultural context, it is proposed in the chapter that linguistic humor is commonly based on how particular meanings function in a larger conceptual context (in the sense of culture, discussed in Chapter 5). More specifically, the claim is that the concepts that are available in the conceptual system may be an important source for the creation of metaphors in humorous expressions and jokes. Why do we find certain linguistic expressions humorous? It is suggested that such cognitive operations as metaphor, metonymy, and blending cannot in themselves explain humor and that the notion of incongruity is an essential part of what we find humorous. It is claimed, at the same time, that figurative devices help us create the incongruities themselves that are responsible for humor.Less
Given the proposal in Chapter 5 that the shared meaning making system can be thought of as a global cultural context, it is proposed in the chapter that linguistic humor is commonly based on how particular meanings function in a larger conceptual context (in the sense of culture, discussed in Chapter 5). More specifically, the claim is that the concepts that are available in the conceptual system may be an important source for the creation of metaphors in humorous expressions and jokes. Why do we find certain linguistic expressions humorous? It is suggested that such cognitive operations as metaphor, metonymy, and blending cannot in themselves explain humor and that the notion of incongruity is an essential part of what we find humorous. It is claimed, at the same time, that figurative devices help us create the incongruities themselves that are responsible for humor.
Jeannette Stirling
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9781846312373
- eISBN:
- 9781846316173
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5949/UPO9781846316173
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Social Groups
At least 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy. This book seeks to understand the epileptic body as a literary or figurative device intelligible beyond a medical framework. The author argues that ...
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At least 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy. This book seeks to understand the epileptic body as a literary or figurative device intelligible beyond a medical framework. The author argues that neurological discourse from the late nineteenth century through to the mid-twentieth century is as much forged by the cultural conditions and representational politics of the times as it is by the science of western medicine. Along the way, she explores narratives of epilepsy depicting ideas of social disorder, tainted bloodlines, sexual deviance, spiritualism and criminality in works as diverse as David Copperfield and The X Files.Less
At least 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy. This book seeks to understand the epileptic body as a literary or figurative device intelligible beyond a medical framework. The author argues that neurological discourse from the late nineteenth century through to the mid-twentieth century is as much forged by the cultural conditions and representational politics of the times as it is by the science of western medicine. Along the way, she explores narratives of epilepsy depicting ideas of social disorder, tainted bloodlines, sexual deviance, spiritualism and criminality in works as diverse as David Copperfield and The X Files.
Pantelis Michelakis
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199239078
- eISBN:
- 9780191746840
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199239078.003.0008
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter focuses on some of the roles played by Greek tragedy in attempts to use film to think about the present as a historical moment. Theo Angelopoulos' Travelling Players, Volker ...
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This chapter focuses on some of the roles played by Greek tragedy in attempts to use film to think about the present as a historical moment. Theo Angelopoulos' Travelling Players, Volker Schlöndorff's Antigone episode in the omnibus film Germany in Autumn, and Tony Harrison's Prometheus provide different ways of thinking about what constitutes the ‘present’ and what the relevance of Greek tragedy might be for that present, engaging with debates about the role of tragedy and history after the Holocaust. The films under consideration locate Greek tragedy within specific histories of the present not only to authenticate these histories but also to reveal their complexities, limitations, and aporias. Greek tragedy returns in cinema not as a past relic to be revered or protected but as a figurative device working within narrative understandings of history related to fragmentation, irony, and compassion.Less
This chapter focuses on some of the roles played by Greek tragedy in attempts to use film to think about the present as a historical moment. Theo Angelopoulos' Travelling Players, Volker Schlöndorff's Antigone episode in the omnibus film Germany in Autumn, and Tony Harrison's Prometheus provide different ways of thinking about what constitutes the ‘present’ and what the relevance of Greek tragedy might be for that present, engaging with debates about the role of tragedy and history after the Holocaust. The films under consideration locate Greek tragedy within specific histories of the present not only to authenticate these histories but also to reveal their complexities, limitations, and aporias. Greek tragedy returns in cinema not as a past relic to be revered or protected but as a figurative device working within narrative understandings of history related to fragmentation, irony, and compassion.
