A Unified Theory of Figurative Language: How Our Minds Create Meaning

What is it about?

This book provides a clear and comprehensive map of figurative language from common metaphors and similes to more complex figures like allegory and hypallage. The central argument is that our minds use a surprisingly small set of basic cognitive tools, primarily metaphor and metonymy, to generate this vast diversity of expression. We demonstrate how dozens of different figures of speech are actually just specific applications or combinations of these core mental processes. For instance, we show that calling someone “a Shakespeare” (antonomasia) is a type of metonymy, and understanding a parable like “The Good Samaritan” is an exercise in complex metaphorical reasoning. The book not only offers new, clearer definitions for these figures but also explains the cognitive principles that make some figurative expressions work beautifully while others fall flat.

Featured Image

Photo by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash

Photo by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This work is important because it brings order to a traditionally complex and fragmented field. Instead of treating each figure of speech as a separate entity to be memorized, we provide a unified, cognitive framework that explains how they are generated and interconnected. By systematically linking specific linguistic expressions to their underlying mental processes and communicative effects, the book bridges the gap between abstract cognitive theory and practical linguistic analysis. This integrative approach offers scholars and students a powerful, streamlined toolkit for analyzing any piece of figurative language, from everyday conversation to dense literary texts. It establishes a new foundation for understanding figuration that is both theoretically robust and analytically precise

Perspectives