Meaning Construction of Selected Quranic Metaphors

Abstract

This paper examines a number of Quranic conceptual metaphors from the perspective of Kövecses (2013) model of metaphor analysis. This is a model of metaphorical expressions’ meaning construction based on the idea of the main meaning construction that incorporates in its analysis aspects from both cognitive theories, the Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980) and the Conceptual Blending Theory (CBT) (Faucconier and Turner, 1998, 2003). The purpose of the study is to demonstrate the adequacy of Kövecses (2013) four-stage model for studying the meaning construction of metaphorical expressions in the Holy Quran, and to draw attention to the important role of lexical items in the appropriate meaning specification which enables comprehending the divine messages implemented in Quranic metaphorical instantiation.