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Alexandra Christakidou PhD student in Cognitive Linguistics

The emotion of LOVE  in George Seferis’ poetry:   A Cognitive Linguistic analysis of one of his poems . Alexandra Christakidou PhD student in Cognitive Linguistics Thessaloniki Cognitive Linguistics Reading Group Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Greece. George Seferis

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Alexandra Christakidou PhD student in Cognitive Linguistics

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  1. The emotion of LOVE in George Seferis’ poetry:  A Cognitive Linguistic analysis of one of his poems  Alexandra Christakidou PhD student in Cognitive Linguistics Thessaloniki Cognitive Linguistics Reading Group Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Greece

  2. George Seferis (1900-1971) Nobel Prize for Literature in 1963

  3. Objectives • To analyse a love poem that was written by George Seferis on August 28th , 1945 (Seferis 1973: 18-19; Seferis 1974: 10). • To analyse the poem using tools from Cognitive Linguistics. • To investigate the separate emotional effects each lexical item, as well as, the poem as a whole has. • To understand how figurative language works in the poem. • To focus on contrast, blending, and synaesthesia.

  4. Cognitive Poetics • “The cognitive turn in the humanities is an aspect of a more general cognitive turn taking place in the contemporary study of human beings”. • “Its purpose […] is […] to invent a practical, sustainable, intelligible, intellectually coherent paradigm for answering basic and recurring questions about the cognitive instruments of art, language, and literature.” (Turner 2002:9)

  5. Embodiment • One of the most important subjects in Cognitive Linguistics is that of embodiment. • Embodiment associates cognition with our bodily experiences. (Lakoff and Johnson 1999; Gibbs 2006; Sharifian, Dirven, Yu and Niemeier 2008). • “It also views the more abstract target domains of cognition, e.g. those of thought, emotion and language, as based on concrete source domains such as the human body and the conceptualizations of the internal body parts” (Sharifian, Dirven, Yu and Niemeier 2008 : 7) EMBODIMENT IN THE EXPRESSION OF LOVE

  6. Conceptualization of Emotions • Conceptualization of emotions  “is governed by ecological, environmental, culture-specific and universal factors.” (Athanasiadou and Tabakowska 1998: xxi)

  7. Χωρὶςχρῶμα, χωρὶςσῶμα… • Χωρὶςχρῶμα, χωρὶςσῶματούτηἡἀγάπηποὺπηγαίνεισκορπισμένη, μαζεμένη,σκορπισμένηπάλι-πάλι,κιὅμωςσφύζεικιὅμωςπάλλειστὴδαγκωματιὰτοῦμήλουστὴχαραγματιὰτοῦσύκουσ᾿ἕναβυσσινὶκεράσισὲμιὰρώγαἀπὸροδίτητόσηἀνάερηἈφροδίτηθὰδιψάσειθὰκεράσειἕναστόμακιἄλλοστόμαχωρὶςχρῶμα, χωρὶςσῶμα. (George Seferis August 28th 1945) (Seferis 1973: 18-19)

  8. Transcription of Pronunciation xorís xróma, xorís sóma … xorís xróma, xorís sóma toúti i aγápi pou piʝéni skorpizméni, mazeméni, skorpizméni páli-páli ki ómos sfízi ki ómos páli sti δagomatçiá tou mílou sti xaraγmatçiá tou síkou s éna visiní kerási se miá róγa apo roδíti tósi anáeri afroδíti θa δipsási θa kerási ena stóma ki álo stóma xorís xróma, xorís sóma

  9. Translation: Colorless, bodiless… Colorless, bodiless, this love advances, scattered, gathered, scattered again and again, yet throbs and beats in the biting of the apple in the bursting of the fig into a dark-red cherry in a rose-colored grape; so airy an Aphrodite will thirst, will offer one mouth and another mouth colorless, bodiless (Translation of Seferis’ poem by A. Anagnostopoulos in A Poet's Journal. Days of 1945-1951, 1974: 10)

  10. Χωρὶςχρῶμα, χωρὶςσῶμα/xorís xróma, xorís sóma/Without color, without body‘Colorless, bodiless’ • Negation effect: creates contrast. • E.g. from Elytis’ ‘the Monogram’ (1972) And none had heard about you About you neither the dittany nor the mushroom On Crete’s high places nothing. (Christakidou 2012: 82) • Binary opposition • E.g. Right/left • An opposition thatcarries a markedness criterion along with it — right is unmarked andleft is marked. (Danesi 2009: 29)

  11. Χωρὶςχρῶμα, χωρὶςσῶμα/xorís xróma, xorís sóma/Without color, without body‘Colorless, bodiless’ Contrasting with the following lines that describe colorful fruit, pleasure, heartbeat, etc. “Oxymoron” and “Paradox” • a. “I must be cruel to be kind”. • b. “He’s a wise fool”. • “In [a], which is an example of paradox, a cruel actionis in fact kind if seen from a different perspective. In [b], an oxymoron, a person’sgenerally foolish behavior can be seen as occasionally having surprisingly positiveresults that would be considered wise by many”. • “In boththe hearer is required to construct a source domain where the opposed terms canbe reconciled on the basis of different perspectives”. • “Interestingly, in this kind of mapping, two separate (in fact opposite)domains are conflated into one single domain that reconciles their discrepancies, which ultimately converts the A IS B operation into adomain-internal one, whichis the canonical relationship in A FOR B operations”. (Ruiz de Mendoza 2011: 113-115)

  12. Χωρὶςχρῶμα, χωρὶςσῶμα/xorís xróma, xorís sóma/Without color, without body‘Colorless, bodiless’ • This line can be read both literally and figuratively. Literally: • Love is an emotion and it cannot be seen or touched. • Metaphorically: • LOVE IS A LIVING CREATURE with a body and colour (normally). • In this love relationshipTHE OPPOSITE HAPPENS. • (Unmarked / marked). • Also, it could be claimed that there is a metonymic relationship between the lack of BODY and lack of TOUCH. • BODY STANDS FOR TOUCH (WHOLE FOR PART). • Possible entailments • This love relationship cannot be seen. (It is secret) • It is not a happy relationship. • There is no hope to advance. • It is without physical connection. ( From a distance?)

  13. τούτηἡἀγάπηποὺπηγαίνει /toúti i aγápi pou piʝéni/this love that goes‘this love advances’ One of the main metaphors of the poem is of the type LOVE IS A JOURNEY (Lakoff and Johnson 1980: 44-45)

  14. σκορπισμένη, μαζεμένη/skorpizméni, mazeméni/scattered, gathered This love is not static but it changes: ->It is scattered/ it spreads, ->It is gathered. METAPHORS LOVE IS AN OBJECT that can be broken, scattered, and its pieces can be gathered and form the initial object again. or LOVE IS A SUBSTANCE that can be scattered and gathered again. CONTRAST: SCATTERED/GATHERED (OPPOSITE CONCEPTS)

  15. “σκορπισμένηπάλι-πάλι”/skorpizméni páli-páli/scattered again and again The sense of repetition enhances the sense of movement of this love and it places emphasis on the first part of the contrast SCATTERED/ GATHERED. Moreover, SCATTERING creates an image of expansiveness that may entail HAPPINESS ( Lakoff and Johnson 1980: 18). But also SCATTERING to even more pieces may refer to a DESTRUCTION that entails SADNESS (Christakidou 2010). Thus: The same concept read from a different perspective can lead to opposite emotions. Since the reader cannot be sure of which reading is correct, there is a kind of CONCEPTUAL BLENDING (Fauconnier and Turner 2006/ 1998) , where both inputs co-exist.

  16. κιὅμωςσφύζεικιὅμωςπάλλει /ki ómos sfízi ki ómos páli/yet throbs, yet beats‘yet throbs and beats’ Though love cannot be seen, it can be heard and felt by the HEARTBEAT of the two lovers. Metonymy PHYSICAL/BEHAVIORAL EFFECT FOR EMOTION CAUSING IT (Radden and Kövecses 1999: 39) THE INTENSE HEARTBEAT STANDS FOR LOVE or THE INTENSE BEATING OF VEINS STANDS FOR LOVE

  17. κιὅμωςσφύζεικιὅμωςπάλλει /ki ómos sfízi ki ómos páli/yet throbs, yet beats‘yet throbs and beats’ • An entailment of this metonymy is that THIS LOVE IS A LIVING ORGANISM since certain living organisms, can have a heartbeat. Hence, if LOVE IS A LIVING ORGANISM, it also has a BODY. This creates CONTRAST with the word bodiless of the first line of the poem. • Moreover, the word “σφύζει” in Greek is related with being healthy and active. • “σφύζει από ζωή” • /Sfízi apo zoí/ • ‘(S)he bustles with life’ • Another CONTRAST: Between this line and the previous one, due to the adversative conjunctionKI OMΩΣ/ ki ómos/ ‘ΥΕΤ’.

  18. στὴδαγκωματιὰτοῦμήλου/sti δagomatçiá tou mílou/‘in the biting of the apple’ • This love can be tasted though it cannot be seen. • For the creation of a feeling of taste, the poet uses words that refer to fruit. • This love has sound since there is the sound of the biting of an apple and the bursting of a fig. • Conceptual blending and synaesthesia: between tastes, sounds, and colors. • Contrast: The fruit mentioned in the poem have intense colors that come in contrast with this love that is referred to as ‘colorless’ in the first line.

  19. Conceptual blending and mixture of senses • Mixture of senses • Conceptual blending • Semantic integration is performed by combining “conceptual integration networks” (see Fauconnier and Turner [1998] 2006: 307). • At least two input mental spaces are required for each conceptual blend (ibid: 308).

  20. Synaesthesia Synaesthesia the unconscious perceptual experience that comes from the combination and interaction of multimodal associations. (Popova 2005: 396 In synaesthesia there is simultaneous neurological activation of different sense cortexes located in the brain lobes. This is called “cross wiring” or “cross activation.” (Ramachandran and Hubard 2001: 8-13; Harrison and Baron-Cohen, 1997; Marks 1997) )

  21. στὴχαραγματιὰτοῦσύκου /sti xaraγmatçiá tou síkou/‘in the bursting of the fig’ • The bursting of the fig can also be a metonymy that denotes the ripeness, as well as the sweetness of the fruit. • Metaphorically, tasting these fruit is receiving love’s pleasure.

  22. σ᾿ἕναβυσσινὶκεράσι/s éna visiní kerási/in a morello-colored sweet cherry‘into a dark-red cherry’ βύσσινοκεράσι /vίsino/ /kerási/ ‘morello’ ‘sweet cherry’ The word βυσσινί is used in Greek for dark-red. It literally means ‘morello cherry color’ However it is unusual to say ‘βυσσινί κεράσι’. It is more usual to say ‘κατακόκκινο/σκούρο κόκκινο κεράσι’ or ‘ώριμο κεράσι’. The phrase ‘βυσσινί κεράσι’ activates connotation mechanisms for both fruit and there is blending and simultaneous contrast between the sour taste of the morello cherry and the sweet taste of the sweet cherry. Yet, with a second reading of the phrase, the reader can realize that when a sweet cherry has the color of the morello cherry, it is in fact ripe and thus, very sweet.

  23. σὲμιὰρώγαἀπὸροδίτη/se miá róγa apo roδíti/in a grape of roditis‘in a rose-colored grape’ • The memory of eating ‘roδitis grape’ is not easy to access, since ‘roδitis’ is a variety of grapes mainly used in wine making. It is used particularly for white wine as well as for rosé (pink) wine varieties. • Since this memory of eating ‘roδitis’ does not exist, there are some processes of blending in order to understand the meaning of the line. • These blending processes create emergent meaning.

  24. σὲμιὰρώγαἀπὸροδίτη/se miá róγa apo roδíti/in a grape of roditis‘in a rose-colored grape’ ΡόδιΡοδίτης /rόδi//roδίtis/ ‘Pomegranate’ ‘Roditis’ : a variety of pink- skinned grapes Blending 1: Ρόδι + Ρώγα σταφυλιού Pomegranate + Grape Blending 2: Ροζ ρώγα (θηλή) + Ρώγα σταφυλιού Pink nipple + Pink grape (nipple and grape have the same name in Greek)

  25. σὲμιὰρώγαἀπὸροδίτη/se miá róγa apo roδíti/in a grape of roditis‘in a rose-colored grape’ Blending 3: Eating grape + Drinking wine Since we drink ‘roditis’ and we know the wine, but we do not know the taste of the fruit, the phrase σὲμιὰρώγαἀπὸροδίτη/‘In a grape of roditis’ produces another blend since the reader combines the two inputs (eating grape and drinking wine) in a new, blended conceptualization.

  26. τόσηἀνάερηἈφροδίτη/tósi anáeri afroδíti/so ethereal an Aphrodite‘so airy an Aphrodite’ Contrast between: AN ETHEREAL GODDESS and HER HUMAN NEED OF THIRST THAT GROUNDS HER NEXT TO HUMANS

  27. θὰδιψάσειθὰκεράσει/θa dipsási θa kerási/she will thirst, she will treat/offer‘will thirst, will offer’ When someone thirsts, it is expected that (s)he will drink something [VAGUENESS]toquench his/her thirst. Nevertheless, there is no reference to the Goddess drinking anything. Rather, she offers the lovers something (to drink/oreat). [VAGUENESS]. There is CONTRAST between what is expected to be mentioned and what is actually being mentioned. Besides, the verb ‘thirst’ can function metonymically, too. Hence, it can mean that she will thirst and drink, though only the first part of the process is mentioned [PART FOR WHOLE].

  28. ἕναστόμακιἄλλοστόμα/ena stóma ki álo stóma/‘one mouth and another mouth’ Metonymy MOUTH STANDS FOR THE LOVER [PART FOR WHOLE] What will she offer? Is this food/drink metaphorical? Is this food/drink love? Metaphor LOVE IS FOOD/DRINK

  29. χωρὶςχρῶμα, χωρὶςσῶμα/xorís xróma, xorís sóma/without colour, without body ‘colorless, bodiless’ • Invisible Goddess? • Impalpable? • A spirit? • An idea? • An emotion? • A bond? • Love? • IS THERE CONTRAST ONCE AGAIN ??? • The poem closes like a CYCLE and the last line is the same as the first line. THE REPETITION OF THE FIRST LINE IN THE FINAL LINE ENHANCES THE EFFECT OF CONTRAST IN THE POEM AS A WHOLE.

  30. Conclusions • The poet uses various cognitive processes and techniques to create an impression, a sense, an emotion. • Metaphor and metonymy play an important role in the poet’s conceptualizations. • However, conceptual blending, synaesthesia, and mainly contrast are responsible for the most intense emotional effects the poem has on the reader.

  31. Thank you for your attention!!!!!

  32. References Athanasiadou A. and E. Tabakowska. (eds). (1998). Speaking of Emotions. Conceptualization and Expression. Berlin and New York: Mouton de Gruyter. Christakidou A. (2010). Conceptualization and Expression of the Domain of SADNESS in Modern Greek. Unpublished Diploma Thesis. Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece. Christakidou, A. (2012). The Language of Emotions in Elytis’ Poetry and the Affect of Culture: A Cognitive Linguistic Analysis of Elytis’ The Monogram. MA Thesis. Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece. Danesi, M. (2009). Opposition theory and the interconnectedness of language, culture, and cognition. Sign Systems Studies, 37(1/2). Fauconnier, G. and Mark Turner (2006) [1998]. Conceptual Integration Networks. Cognitive Linguistics. Basic Readings. Dirk Geeraerts, ed. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Gibbs, R.W. (2006). Embodiment and Cognitive Science. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Harrison, J.E. & Baron-Cohen, S. (1997). Synaesthesia: A review of psychological theories. In Baron-Cohen and Harrison (1997). Kövesces, Z. (1986). Metaphors of Anger, Pride and Love: A Lexical Approach to theStudy of Concepts. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Lakoff, G. and M. Johnson. (1980). Metaphors We Live By. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press. Lakoff, G. and M. Johnson. (1999). Philosophy in the Flesh. The Embodied Mind andits Challenge to Western Thought. New York: Basic Books.

  33. References Marks, L.E. (1997), ‘On coloured-hearing synaesthesia: Cross-modal translations of sensory dimensions’, in Baron-Cohen & Harrison (1997). Popova, Y. (2005). Image Schema and Verbal Synaesthesia. Cognitive LinguisticsResearch 29.From Perception to Meaning. Image Schemas in Cognitive Linguistics. B. Hampe (ed). Berlin and New York : Mouton de Gruyter. Radden, G. and Z. Kövecses. (1999). Towards a Theory of Metonymy. Metonymy in Language and Thought. K-U. Panther and G. Radden (eds). Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Ramachandran V.S. and E.M. Hubbard. (2001). Synaesthesia—A Window into Perception, Thought and Language. Journal of Consciousness Studies, Vol. 8(12), 3–34. Ruiz de Mendoza, F. (2011). Metonymy and cognitive operations. Defining Metonymy in Cognitive Linguistics. Towards a consensus view. R. Benczes, A. Barcelona and F. Ruiz de Mendoza (Eds). John Benjamins. Seferis, G. (1973). Μέρεςτου 1945-1951. Athens: Ikaros. Seferis, G. (1974). A Poet's Journal. Days of 1945-1951, tr. A. Anagnostopoulos. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. Sharifian, F., Dirven, R., Yu, N. and Niemeier, S. (2008).Culture and language: Looking for the “mind” inside the body. Culture, Body, and Language: Conceptualizations of Internal Body Organs across Cultures and Languages. Farzad Sharifian et al. (eds). Berlin and New York: Mouton de Gruyter. Turner, M. (2002). The Cognitive Study of Art, Language, and Literature. Poetics Today, 23(1), 9-20.

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