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Introduction: Communicating Metaphor

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The Relevance of Metaphor
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Abstract

This chapter introduces metaphor as a central feature of literature and as a communicative phenomenon more generally, in light of the relevance theory account of communication developed by Dan Sperber and Deirdre Wilson. The structure of the rest of the book is outlined: Chapter 2 considers the notion of relevance as a literary critical concern, and introduces relevance theory; Chapter 3 surveys the history of and significant developments within metaphor studies; and the second part of the book consists of chapters on three poets in relation to three key features of relevance theory's account of communication:Emily Dickinson and inference, Elizabeth Bishop and implicature, and Seamus Heaney and mutual manifestness.

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Correspondence to Josie O’Donoghue .

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O’Donoghue, J. (2021). Introduction: Communicating Metaphor. In: The Relevance of Metaphor. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83954-3_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83954-3_1

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-83953-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-83954-3

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