This volume looks at spatialization of abstract concepts in verbo-pictorial aphorisms at work in the cartoons of a single artist. While extensive work has been done in studying spatialization of abstract concepts in grammar and lexicon within cognitive linguistics, this book is the first of its kind to provide a detailed account of such phenomena in multimodal discourse. The volume integrates a range of approaches from cognitive linguistics, including image schema theory, conceptual theory of metaphor, multimodal metaphor theory, the dynamic approach to metaphor, and a multimodal approach to metonymy, and applies this multi-faceted framework to a selection of cartoons from the work of Polish artist Janusz Kapusta. Taken together, these cartoons form the basis of two comprehensive case studies which explore the abstract concepts of "emotions" and "life," highlighting the ways in which cartoons can illustrate the important relationship between space, situated cognition, and language and in turn, a clear and systematic framework for establishing cohesive ties between the verbal and pictorial modes in multimodal cognitive linguistic research. The volume sheds new light on visual thinking and multimodal rendition of creative abstract thought.

Elzbieta Górska is Professor in the Institute of English Studies at the University of Warsaw, Poland. She has published a monograph On Parts and Wholes. A Cognitive Study of English Schematic Part Terms, and articles on cognitive lexical semantics, word formation, verbo-musical metaphors, text-image relations, and multimodal discourse.

Table of Contents

Typographical conventions

List of Examples, Figures and Tables

Acknowledgements

Preface

Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1 Developments in Image Schema Theory

1.1.1 The Notion of Image Schemas

1.1.2 Socio-Cultural Situatedness of Image Schemas

1.2 Understanding of Abstract Concepts in a Multimodal Perspective

1.3 The Data and the Framework

1.4 The Verbal and Pictorial Cueing of Image Schemas in Cartoons-Preliminaries

Chapter 2 A Multimodal Case Study of EMOTION Concepts

2.1. Introduction

2.2. Data Analysis

2.3. Conclusions

Chapter 3 A Multimodal Case Study of LIFE

3.1 The PATH Schema and the JOURNEY OF LIFE

3.2 LIFE AS A GAME and A SHOW

3.3 LIE and the Domains of PAINTING and SOUND

3.4. Conclusions

Chapter 4 Conclusion

References

Index