Ontological Metaphor in the Lexicon of Celestial Nature in Malih al-Andalus by Ibn Abd Rabbih A Rhetorical-Analytical Study

Abstract

Metaphor is deeply rooted in language and widely present in both ordinary and literary discourse, whether in prose or poetry. It constitutes a linguistic necessity for clarifying and understanding meanings in many contexts. At the same time, metaphor reveals the creative writer’s rhetorical skill, artistic competence, and ability to employ expressive tools, stylistic techniques, and imaginative devices in order to convey intended meanings. A reader of Ibn Abd Rabbih’s Malih al-Andalus immediately notices the remarkable prevalence of metaphorical usage throughout the diwan. There is no doubt that the Arab rhetorical and critical tradition has accorded metaphor exceptional attention. Likewise, metaphor has occupied a significant place in global literary and critical traditions, both ancient and modern, particularly in the work of George Lakoff and Mark Johnson in Metaphors We Live By. In its traditional conception, metaphor is understood as the substitution of a literal meaning with a figurative one. Within such a view, metaphor is often reduced to an aesthetic function through which meanings are embellished and described. However, with the development of linguistic thought, metaphor came to be seen as present in all domains of everyday life. Conceptual Metaphor Theory, as developed by Lakoff and Johnson, expanded the scope of metaphor and liberated it from the constraints of transfer, substitution, ornamentation, and mere aesthetic pleasure. Instead, metaphor came to be understood as a fundamental mechanism in shaping discourse and structuring conceptual experience. Accordingly, Conceptual Metaphor Theory represents an important alternative proposed by modern linguistic and rhetorical studies for approaching meaning, overcoming many of the limitations that characterized traditional approaches. From this perspective, the present study, entitled “Ontological Metaphor in the Lexicon of Celestial Nature in Malih al-Andalus by Ibn Abd Rabbih: A Rhetorical-Analytical Study,” seeks to shed light on a remarkable aspect of the Arab poetic heritage in which this type of language is employed with notable creativity. The study argues that such metaphorical usage constitutes a distinctive linguistic phenomenon in Ibn Abd Rabbih’s literary production.