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Cross-modal resonances in creative multimodal metaphors

Breaking out of conceptual prisons

image of Cross-modal resonances in creative multimodal metaphors

This article uses examples of multimodal metaphors from three different genres in order to develop a new understanding of the nature of creativity in metaphor. I argue that multimodality provides distinctive opportunities for metaphor creativity by exploiting the unique affordances of the different semiotic modes and the possibility of combining them in unexpected ways. Such innovation at the level of representation may encourage novel thought patterns, I suggest, even in such cases where the underlying metaphorical mappings are relatively conventional. The notion of “cross-modal resonances” is introduced to emphasize the role of unconscious, preverbal, intuitive understanding and the emotions in producing and interpreting creative multimodal metaphors.

References

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  12. Fludernik, M
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  13. Forceville, C
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  14. Forceville, C. , & Urios-Aparisi, E
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     https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110215366 [Google Scholar]
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  16. Gibbs, R.W. Jr. & Bogdonovich, J
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  19. Goatly, A
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  20. Hanks, P
    (2006) Metaphoricity is gradable. In A. Stefanowitsch & S. Gries (Eds.), Corpus-based approaches to metaphor and metonymy (pp. 17–35). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
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  21. Koestler, A
    (1964) The act of creation. New York: Penguin Books.
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  22. Kövecses, Z
    (2002) Metaphor: A practical introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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  23. (2005) Metaphor in culture: Universality and variation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/CBO9780511614408
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  24. Kress, G
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  25. (2009) What is mode?In C. Jewitt (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of multimodalanalysis (pp. 54–67). London/New York: Routledge.
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  26. Kress, G. , & van Leeuwen. T
    (2001) Multimodal discourse: The modes and media of contemporary communication. London: Arnold.
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  27. Lakoff, G. , & Johnson, M
    (1980) Metaphors we live by. Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Lakoff, G. , & Turner, M
    (1989) More than cool reason: A field guide to poetic metaphor. Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press. doi: 10.7208/chicago/9780226470986.001.0001
     https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226470986.001.0001 [Google Scholar]
  29. Lemke, J.L
    (1998) Multiplying meaning: Visual and verbal semiotics in scientific text. In J.R. Martin & R. Veel (Eds.), Reading science: Critical and functional perspectives (pp. 87–113). London: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. (2002) Travels in hypermodality. Visual Communication, 1(3), 299–325. doi: 10.1177/147035720200100303
     https://doi.org/10.1177/147035720200100303 [Google Scholar]
  31. Mayr, A
    (2008) Language and power: An introduction to institutional discourse. London/New York: Continuum.
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  32. McGilchrist, I
    (2009) The master and his emissary: The divided brain and the making of the western world. Yale: Yale University Press.
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  33. Mitchell, W.J.T
    (2009) Beyond comparison. In J. Heer & K. Worcester (Eds.), A comics studiereader (pp. 116–123). Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Musolff, A
    (2006) Metaphor scenarios in public discourse. Metaphor and Symbol, 21(1), 23–38. doi: 10.1207/s15327868ms2101_2
     https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327868ms2101_2 [Google Scholar]
  35. Ortony, A
    (1979) Metaphor, language, and thought. In A. Ortony (Ed.), Metaphor and thought (pp. 1–16). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Rohdin, M
    (2009) Multimodal metaphor in classical film theory from the 1920s to the 1950s. In C. Forceville & E. Urios-Aparisi (Eds.), Multimodal metaphor (pp. 403–428). Berlin/ New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. Satrapi, M
    (2006) Persepolis. London: Jonathan Cape.
     [Google Scholar]
  38. Semino, E
    (2008) Metaphor in discourse. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  39. Steen, G
    (2008) The paradox of metaphor: Why we need a three-dimensional model of metaphor. Metaphor and Symbol, 23(4), 213–241. doi: 10.1080/10926480802426753
     https://doi.org/10.1080/10926480802426753 [Google Scholar]
  40. Tardif, T.Z. , & Sternberg, R.J
    (1988) What do we know about creativity?In R.J. Sternberg (Ed.), The nature of creativity: Contemporary psychological perspectives (pp. 429–440). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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  41. Thibodeau, P.H. , & Boroditsky, L
    (2011) Metaphors we think with: The role of metaphor in reasoning. PLOS one, 6(2), 1–11. Available at: www.plosone.org (accessed11.10.2011).
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References

  1. Black, M
    (1979) More about metaphor. In A. Ortony (Ed.), Metaphor and thought (pp. 19–43). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Camp, E
    (2006) Metaphor in the mind: The cognition of metaphor. Philosophy Compass, 1(2), 154–170. Available at: upenn.academia.edu/ElisabethCamp/Papers/1047417/Metaphor_in_the_Mind_The_Cognition_of_Metaphor1 (accessed10.11.2012). doi: 10.1111/j.1747‑9991.2006.00013.x
     https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-9991.2006.00013.x [Google Scholar]
  3. Collins English Dictionary (2005) 7th edition. Glasgow: HarperCollins.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Crisp, P
    (2008) Between extended metaphor and allegory: Is blending enough?Language and Literature, 17(4), 291–308. doi: 10.1177/0963947008095960
     https://doi.org/10.1177/0963947008095960 [Google Scholar]
  5. de Bono, E
    (1990) Lateral thinking: A textbook of creativity. London: Penguin.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. El Refaie, E
    (2003) Understanding visual metaphor: The example of newspaper cartoons. Visual Communication, 2(1), 75–96. doi: 10.1177/1470357203002001755
     https://doi.org/10.1177/1470357203002001755 [Google Scholar]
  7. (2009a) Metaphor in political cartoons: Exploring audience responses. In C. Forceville & E. Urios-Aparisi (Eds.), Multimodal metaphor (pp. 173–196). Berlin/New York: Mouton-de Gruyter.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. (2009b) Multiliteracies: How readers interpret political cartoons. Visual Communication, 8(2), 181–205. doi: 10.1177/1470357209102113
     https://doi.org/10.1177/1470357209102113 [Google Scholar]
  9. (2012) Autobiographical comics: Life writing in pictures. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. doi: 10.14325/mississippi/9781617036132.001.0001
     https://doi.org/10.14325/mississippi/9781617036132.001.0001 [Google Scholar]
  10. Fauconnier, G. , & Turner, M
    (2003) The way we think: Conceptual blending and the mind’s hidden complexities. New York: Basic Books.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Finke, R.A. , Ward, T.B. , & Smith, S.M
    (1992) Creative cognition: Theory, research, and applications. Cambridge/ London: Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Fludernik, M
    (Ed.) (2011) Beyond cognitive metaphor theory: Perspectives on literary metaphor. New York/London: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Forceville, C
    (2009) Non-verbal and multimodal metaphor in a cognitivist framework: Agendas for research. In C. Forceville & E. Urios-Aparisi (Eds.), Multimodal metaphor (pp. 19–42). Berlin/New York: Mouton de Gruyter. doi: 10.1515/9783110215366
     https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110215366 [Google Scholar]
  14. Forceville, C. , & Urios-Aparisi, E
    (Eds.) (2009) Multimodal metaphor. Berlin/New York: Mouton de Gruyter. doi: 10.1515/9783110215366
     https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110215366 [Google Scholar]
  15. Gibbs, R.W. Jr
    (2011) Are ‘deliberate’ metaphors really deliberate?Metaphor and the Social World, 1(1), 26–52. doi: 10.1075/msw.1.1.03gib
     https://doi.org/10.1075/msw.1.1.03gib [Google Scholar]
  16. Gibbs, R.W. Jr. & Bogdonovich, J
    (1999) Mental imagery in interpreting poetic metaphor. Metaphor and Symbolic Activity, 14(1), 37–44. doi: 10.1207/s15327868ms1401_4
     https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327868ms1401_4 [Google Scholar]
  17. Giora, R
    (1999) On the priority of salient meanings: Studies of literal and figurative language. Journal of Pragmatics, 31(7), 919–929. doi: 10.1016/S0378‑2166(98)00100‑3
     https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-2166(98)00100-3 [Google Scholar]
  18. Giora, R. , Fein, O. , Kronrod, A. , Elnatan, I. , Shuval, N. , & Zur, A
    (2004) Weapons of mass distraction: Optimal innovation and pleasure ratings. Metaphor and Symbol, 19(2), 115–141. doi: 10.1207/s15327868ms1902_2
     https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327868ms1902_2 [Google Scholar]
  19. Goatly, A
    (1997) The language of metaphors. London/New York: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780203210000
     https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203210000 [Google Scholar]
  20. Hanks, P
    (2006) Metaphoricity is gradable. In A. Stefanowitsch & S. Gries (Eds.), Corpus-based approaches to metaphor and metonymy (pp. 17–35). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Koestler, A
    (1964) The act of creation. New York: Penguin Books.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Kövecses, Z
    (2002) Metaphor: A practical introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. (2005) Metaphor in culture: Universality and variation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/CBO9780511614408
     https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511614408 [Google Scholar]
  24. Kress, G
    (2000) Text as the punctuation of semiosis: Pulling at some of the threads. In U.H. Meinhof & J. Smith (Eds.), Intertextuality and the media: From genre to everyday life (pp. 132–154). Manchester: Manchester University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. (2009) What is mode?In C. Jewitt (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of multimodalanalysis (pp. 54–67). London/New York: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Kress, G. , & van Leeuwen. T
    (2001) Multimodal discourse: The modes and media of contemporary communication. London: Arnold.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Lakoff, G. , & Johnson, M
    (1980) Metaphors we live by. Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Lakoff, G. , & Turner, M
    (1989) More than cool reason: A field guide to poetic metaphor. Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press. doi: 10.7208/chicago/9780226470986.001.0001
     https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226470986.001.0001 [Google Scholar]
  29. Lemke, J.L
    (1998) Multiplying meaning: Visual and verbal semiotics in scientific text. In J.R. Martin & R. Veel (Eds.), Reading science: Critical and functional perspectives (pp. 87–113). London: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. (2002) Travels in hypermodality. Visual Communication, 1(3), 299–325. doi: 10.1177/147035720200100303
     https://doi.org/10.1177/147035720200100303 [Google Scholar]
  31. Mayr, A
    (2008) Language and power: An introduction to institutional discourse. London/New York: Continuum.
     [Google Scholar]
  32. McGilchrist, I
    (2009) The master and his emissary: The divided brain and the making of the western world. Yale: Yale University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Mitchell, W.J.T
    (2009) Beyond comparison. In J. Heer & K. Worcester (Eds.), A comics studiereader (pp. 116–123). Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Musolff, A
    (2006) Metaphor scenarios in public discourse. Metaphor and Symbol, 21(1), 23–38. doi: 10.1207/s15327868ms2101_2
     https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327868ms2101_2 [Google Scholar]
  35. Ortony, A
    (1979) Metaphor, language, and thought. In A. Ortony (Ed.), Metaphor and thought (pp. 1–16). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Rohdin, M
    (2009) Multimodal metaphor in classical film theory from the 1920s to the 1950s. In C. Forceville & E. Urios-Aparisi (Eds.), Multimodal metaphor (pp. 403–428). Berlin/ New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. Satrapi, M
    (2006) Persepolis. London: Jonathan Cape.
     [Google Scholar]
  38. Semino, E
    (2008) Metaphor in discourse. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  39. Steen, G
    (2008) The paradox of metaphor: Why we need a three-dimensional model of metaphor. Metaphor and Symbol, 23(4), 213–241. doi: 10.1080/10926480802426753
     https://doi.org/10.1080/10926480802426753 [Google Scholar]
  40. Tardif, T.Z. , & Sternberg, R.J
    (1988) What do we know about creativity?In R.J. Sternberg (Ed.), The nature of creativity: Contemporary psychological perspectives (pp. 429–440). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  41. Thibodeau, P.H. , & Boroditsky, L
    (2011) Metaphors we think with: The role of metaphor in reasoning. PLOS one, 6(2), 1–11. Available at: www.plosone.org (accessed11.10.2011).
     [Google Scholar]

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