Abstract
Through an analysis of the metaphorical structure of poetry – both theoretically and through the case study of Tran Sang’s “Huc hac dong troi” (2014) – this paper examines not only metaphor’s expressive power as a cognitive and artistic device but also the value of the conceptual metaphor approach in decoding literary texts. Conceptual metaphor enables us to uncover meanings beyond the surface, interpreting the text as a unified whole while clarifying metaphor’s function in poetry. In “Huc hac dong troi”, this manifests as a comprehensive metaphorical framework: the poem establishes a source domain of rivers and water, which readers map onto the target domain of society – encompassing humanity, life, memory, time, and other embodied social experiences. Thus, the study’s findings not only enrich interpretations of “Huc hac dong troi” but also offer a methodological lens for analyzing poetic works by demonstrating how metaphor operates within them.
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