Thematic Shift of Metaphors in Imam Ali's Shiqshiqiyah Sermon: A Pragma-Cognitive Study

Abstract

The present study is concerned with the transference of theme from the metaphorical realm into the intended implicit theme and the coherence enacted by themes derived from diverse metaphors throughout discourse. This paper aims to determine the essential characteristics of thematic shift of metaphors and their role in textual interpretation. The study investigates the nature of the thematic shift in discourse and its contribution to the effectiveness of the text in Imam Ali's Shiqshiqiyah sermon. It is hypothesized that themes, in a discursive thematic shift procedure, are cognitively manipulated into underlying thematic realizations and correlate coherently to other discursive underlying themes. Two models are proposed for the pragma-cognitive recognition of the metaphorical meaning with the enactment of thematic transference between the two realms: the cognitive filtration processing and the reciprocation processing. A theme is a conceptual realization and operates as the generator for the correlative manipulation of schematic construction of meaning making in discourse. While text is the carrier of meaning, meaning in turn is the carrier of theme. The study has come with a set of conclusions. Thematic shift of metaphors brings together transparent mental image into consonance to construct schematic framework for new communicative content. Thematic shift facilitates perception as it indicates a transference from the material into the spiritual, from the concrete into the abstract, from the physical into the mental, from the outer in the world into the inner in emotions and from the common into the individual. This strategy of thematic transference guides receivers to conceive the diverse implications and reconstruct the text into coherent discourse.