“Plants have a will of their own”: the construction of botanical metaphors and symbols in the literary garden of (postcolonial) India
This article offers a preliminary investigation of figurative, metaphorical and linguistic aspects of the garden in Indian English fiction. After providing a short introduction to the symbolism of gardens in the colonial and postcolonial periods, and to the image of the garden in Anglophone Indian l...
Main Author: | |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Università degli Studi di Torino
2016-12-01
|
Series: | Kervan. International Journal of Afro-Asiatic Studies |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://www.ojs.unito.it/index.php/kervan/article/view/1876 |
id |
doaj-ec59464e4401442d93e90e4aa548b801 |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-ec59464e4401442d93e90e4aa548b8012020-11-25T02:02:58ZengUniversità degli Studi di TorinoKervan. International Journal of Afro-Asiatic Studies1825-263X2016-12-0102010.13135/1825-263X/18761372“Plants have a will of their own”: the construction of botanical metaphors and symbols in the literary garden of (postcolonial) IndiaEsterino Adami0Università di TorinoThis article offers a preliminary investigation of figurative, metaphorical and linguistic aspects of the garden in Indian English fiction. After providing a short introduction to the symbolism of gardens in the colonial and postcolonial periods, and to the image of the garden in Anglophone Indian literature, the focus will be on the novel The Solitude of Emperors by David Davidar (2007), in order to stress the relevance of both specific phytonyms and common names of plants as important linguistic, cultural and textual indicators employed to construct and convey meanings, often in the form of cognitive metaphors. In this light, the postcolonial garden emerges as a cultural site of hybridity and connection with the past. The examination is undertaken through an interdisciplinary approach that follows and adapts the theories and methods of postcolonial studies, stylistics and narratology (e.g. Kövecses 2002; Jeffries and McIntyre 2010; Sorlin 2014).http://www.ojs.unito.it/index.php/kervan/article/view/1876botanical metaphorscognitive metaphorsDavid DavidarIndian postcolonial garden |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Esterino Adami |
spellingShingle |
Esterino Adami “Plants have a will of their own”: the construction of botanical metaphors and symbols in the literary garden of (postcolonial) India Kervan. International Journal of Afro-Asiatic Studies botanical metaphors cognitive metaphors David Davidar Indian postcolonial garden |
author_facet |
Esterino Adami |
author_sort |
Esterino Adami |
title |
“Plants have a will of their own”: the construction of botanical metaphors and symbols in the literary garden of (postcolonial) India |
title_short |
“Plants have a will of their own”: the construction of botanical metaphors and symbols in the literary garden of (postcolonial) India |
title_full |
“Plants have a will of their own”: the construction of botanical metaphors and symbols in the literary garden of (postcolonial) India |
title_fullStr |
“Plants have a will of their own”: the construction of botanical metaphors and symbols in the literary garden of (postcolonial) India |
title_full_unstemmed |
“Plants have a will of their own”: the construction of botanical metaphors and symbols in the literary garden of (postcolonial) India |
title_sort |
“plants have a will of their own”: the construction of botanical metaphors and symbols in the literary garden of (postcolonial) india |
publisher |
Università degli Studi di Torino |
series |
Kervan. International Journal of Afro-Asiatic Studies |
issn |
1825-263X |
publishDate |
2016-12-01 |
description |
This article offers a preliminary investigation of figurative, metaphorical and linguistic aspects of the garden in Indian English fiction. After providing a short introduction to the symbolism of gardens in the colonial and postcolonial periods, and to the image of the garden in Anglophone Indian literature, the focus will be on the novel The Solitude of Emperors by David Davidar (2007), in order to stress the relevance of both specific phytonyms and common names of plants as important linguistic, cultural and textual indicators employed to construct and convey meanings, often in the form of cognitive metaphors. In this light, the postcolonial garden emerges as a cultural site of hybridity and connection with the past. The examination is undertaken through an interdisciplinary approach that follows and adapts the theories and methods of postcolonial studies, stylistics and narratology (e.g. Kövecses 2002; Jeffries and McIntyre 2010; Sorlin 2014). |
topic |
botanical metaphors cognitive metaphors David Davidar Indian postcolonial garden |
url |
http://www.ojs.unito.it/index.php/kervan/article/view/1876 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT esterinoadami plantshaveawilloftheirowntheconstructionofbotanicalmetaphorsandsymbolsintheliterarygardenofpostcolonialindia |
_version_ |
1724950252336709632 |