1997 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
The Use of Metaphor by Aeschylus, A Research on his Style by Using Aristotle's Theory
| Project/Area Number |
07610530
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
文学一般(含文学論・比較文学)・西洋古典
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| Research Institution | Juntendo University, |
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Principal Investigator |
IKEDA Reitaro Juntendo University, Dept.of Medicine, professor, 医学部, 教授 (80053106)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1995 – 1997
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| Keywords | metaphor / simile / rhetoric / Aeschylus / Aristotle / stage / tragedy / vividness |
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| Research Abstract |
Metaphor and simile, fundmental techniques of rhetorical art, are of great use in making poetical works. Aristotle defined metaphor in his Poetics that "metaphor by analogy means this : when B is to A as D is to C,then instead of B the poet will say D and B instead of D.And sometimes they add that to which the term supplanted by the metaphor is relative."(1257b-11ff)
The writer proposes a simpler and clearer definition of simile as "A : B*C : D", which becomes a metaphor when one of these elements is left out and expression simplified. When one says "A is to B like C is to D," that is a simile, and a metaphor is a simpler form of "A is D of C." An expression is regarded smart and popular when its metaphor is quickly understood and relative meaning can be grasped easily. Then the scenes are portrayd as vividly as one sees them before his eyes.
To investigate the above theory, all of metaphorical expressions in Aeschylus' tragedies were classified into subject groups to be analyzed. A conclusion was reached that the poet succeeded in describing a complicated feelings of human mind and the scenes out of the stage were vividly presented to the mind of the audience. Metaphor has such a magical power to bring an imaginary scenes to life merely by using an innovating diction and Aeschylus was a poet who preferred metaphor to crude artifacts as stage properties and settings.
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Research Products
(4 results)
