VISUAL SYNAESTHETIC METAPHORS WITH THE COMPONENT OF COLOUR IN THE LYRICAL POETRY BY EMILY DICKINSON

Tetiana Kibalnikova

(Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine)

The term “synaesthesia” basically relates to neuropsychology, which considers this kind of “intersensoriality (hearing colours or seeing sounds and other such forms of cross-modal stimulation) as a very rare genetic condition which has to do with the brains of certain individuals being ‘cross-wired’” [6]. In Linguistics and Literary Studies, synaesthesia is “a metaphorical process by which one sense modality is described or characterized in terms of another” [8]. Thus, synaesthesia is viewed as a specific kind of metaphor.

Synaesthetic metaphors have been studied in the aspect of their semantic, stylistic and cognitive potential [4; 7]; however, little attention has been paid to their specific individual author’s interpretation, which testifies to the topicality of the chosen topic. Therefore, the aim of the given case study is to reveal individual author’s connotations of visual synaesthetic metaphors with the component of color in the lyrical poetry by Emily Dickinson.

Emily Dickinson’s poetic mapping of the world comprises a variety of synaesthetic metaphors, which describe one sensory experience with the help of lexis belonging to others. The poetess resorts to five basic senses in order to express herself. Among the five basic senses E. Dickinson favors sight. The world she sees is variegated enough, though the color spectrum is limited to her favorite blue, purple, red / scarlet, golden and white. Synaesthetic metaphors with the component of color create sensory images that combine color with acoustic and tactile characteristics: inns of molten Blue (I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed), golden finger on her lip; Prodigal of blue, spending scarlet like a woman… (Nature), golden fleece (One of the Ones…), The purple could not keep the east (The Day Came Slow…), Inspiriting habiliments / Of indigo and brown (Before You Thought of Spring…), in the blanket red, April woods are red (Whose are the little beds…), an arc of white (A Spider Sewed at Night…)

Emily Dickinson uses colors in reference to things that are inherently colorless. Hence, the poetess paints her emotions with blurred or bright hues. In the poem ‘Pain — has an Element of Blank – ’, the speaker claims that pain can block experience, and a person sees or remembers nothing. Nothing is blank, having no color, bordering on death. In another lyrical piece, ‘SOME rainbow coming from the fair!’, the poetess resorts to an oxymoronic expression bright detachment.

In poetic discourse, colors commonly acquire symbolic meanings. In E. Dickinson’s lyrical pieces, colors visualize her individual author’s experience. One of her favorite colors is blue. Psychologically, blue is “the color of trust. Blue, the shade of the see and the sky, is thought to induce calm and convey tranquility, serenity and peace. The popular color instills confidence and inspires feelings of trust, loyalty, integrity and responsibility. Cool blue is conservative and can also be perceived as aloof” [1]. Being one of the coolest colors in the spectrum, E. Dickinson’s blue is associated with warmth: inns of molten Blue (I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed), mild blue eyes.

Purple is another frequently used color, which has experienced a transposition of meaning. In the color spectrum, it occupies a position between the warm and the cool colors. Traditionally, it stands for balance and nobility or Royalty because of the purple color of royal garments [5, p. 3-4]. The poetess associates it with divinity and spirituality she sees in the images of nature. She traces purple in the rainbow: a Peacock's purple. Purple is the color of the sky / the clouds: The purple could not keep the east (The Day Came Slow…), a purple stile (A Day), Where Ships of Purple -- gently toss (Where Ships of Purple -- gently toss), a Purple Tar (“A Sloop of Amber slips away), etc. In all these examples, purple adds poetic or romantic flavor to the metaphorical images of nature.

E. Dickinson’s visual synaesthetic metaphors with the component of color may involve not only eyesight but also other senses (acoustic, tactile, gustatory, etc). Her sensory images point to the slightest details, which seem to be trifling at first sight. Thus, metaphors based on the combination of senses allow the poetess to express her individual mapping of the world more acutely, precisely.

The given case study is only an attempt to specify the role of sensory images in shaping an individual artistic mapping of the world. We advocate further research on more complex synaesthetic metaphors involving a number of senses.

References:

1. Color Meaning and Psychology of Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Pink and Violet Colors. (2019, February 14). Retrieved from: https://graf1x.com/color-psychology-emotion-meaning-poster/

2. Day, Sean (1996). Synaesthesia and Synaesthetic Metaphors. Retrieved from http://www.daysyn.com/Day1996.pdf.

3. Dickinson, Emily (1924). Complete Poems. Retrieved from https://www.bartleby.com/113/index2.html.

4. Freeman, Margaret H. (2002). Poetry and the scope of metaphor: Toward a cognitive theory of literature. In Metaphors and Metonomy at the Crossroads: A Cognitive Perspective, B.; N.Y.: Mouton de Gruyter, 2002, (pp. 253–281).

5. Hassan, Hazha Salih (2013). Symbolism of Purple in Emily Dickinson’s Poetry. Retrieved from https://www.iasj.net/iasj?func=fulltext&aId=83214

6. Howes, David (2015). Cultural Synaesthesia: Neuropsychological versus Anthropological Approaches to the Study of Intersensoriality. In Rosenthal Victor (Eds), Synesthesia and Intermodality, Intellectica, 55, (pp.139-158)

7. Lakoff, George (1980). Metaphors we live by. 1st ed. / G.Lakoff, M.Johnson, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980.

8. Nordquist, Richard. (2019, February 11). Synesthesia (Language and Literature). Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/synesthesia-language-and-literature-1692174.