Cognitive poetics is a school of

literary Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...

criticism that applies the principles of cognitive science, particularly

cognitive psychology Cognitive psychology is the scientific study of mental processes such as attention, language use, memory, perception, problem solving, creativity, and reasoning. Cognitive psychology originated in the 1960s in a break from behaviorism, which ...

, to the interpretation of literary texts. It has ties to

reader-response criticism Reader-response criticism is a school of literary theory that focuses on the reader (or "audience An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature (in which they are called "readers"), theatre ...

, and also has a grounding in modern principles of

cognitive linguistics Cognitive linguistics is an interdisciplinary branch of linguistics, combining knowledge and research from cognitive science, cognitive psychology, neuropsychology and linguistics. Models and theoretical accounts of cognitive linguistics are con ...

. The research and focus on cognitive poetics paves way for psychological, sociocultural and indeed linguistic dimensions to develop in relation to

stylistics Stylistics, a branch of applied linguistics, is the study and interpretation of texts of all types and/or spoken language in regard to their linguistic and tonal style, where style is the particular variety of language used by different individu ...

. Topics addressed by cognitive poetics include

deixis In linguistics, deixis (, ) is the use of general words and phrases to refer to a specific time, place, or person in context, e.g., the words ''tomorrow'', ''there'', and ''they''. Words are deictic if their semantic meaning is fixed but their de ...

; text world theory (the feeling of immersion within texts);

schema The word schema comes from the Greek word ('), which means ''shape'', or more generally, ''plan''. The plural is ('). In English, both ''schemas'' and ''schemata'' are used as plural forms. Schema may refer to: Science and technology * SCHEMA ...

, script, and their role in reading; attention; foregrounding; and

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

. One of the main focal points of cognitive literary analysis is

conceptual metaphor In cognitive linguistics, conceptual metaphor, or cognitive metaphor, refers to the understanding of one idea, or conceptual domain, in terms of another. An example of this is the understanding of quantity in terms of directionality (e.g. "the pr ...

, an idea pioneered and popularized by the works of

Lakoff Lakoff is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * George Lakoff (born 1941), American linguist and cognitive scientist *Robin Lakoff Robin Tolmach Lakoff (; born November 27, 1942) is a professor emerita of linguistics at the Univ ...

, as a tool for examining texts. Rather than regarding metaphors as ornamental

figures of speech A figure of speech or rhetorical figure is a word or phrase that intentionally deviates from ordinary language use in order to produce a rhetorical effect. Figures of speech are traditionally classified into '' schemes,'' which vary the ordinary ...

, cognitive poetics examines how the conceptual bases of such metaphors interact with the text as a whole.

Background

Prominent figures in the field include

Reuven Tsur Reuven Tsur (Hebrew: ראובן צור) (December 15, 1932 - September 6, 2021) was professor emeritus of Hebrew literature and literary theory at Tel Aviv University. He was born in Oradea (''Nagyvárad''), Romania his mother tongue was Hungarian ...

, who is credited for originating the term, "Reuven Tsur ... has run a cognitive poetics project since the early 1970s, long before the first publications in cognitive linguistics." Gerard Steen and Joanna Gavins, "Contextualising cognitive poetics", in Gavins and Steen (2003): p. 3.

Ronald Langacker Ronald Wayne Langacker (born December 27, 1942) is an American linguist and professor emeritus at the University of California, San Diego. He is best known as one of the founders of the cognitive linguistics movement and the creator of cognitive ...

, Mark Turner, Gerard Steen, Joanna Gavins and Peter Stockwell. Although Tsur's original, "precise and particular" sense of the term ''

poetics Poetics is the theory of structure, form, and discourse within literature, and, in particular, within poetry. History The term ''poetics'' derives from the Ancient Greek ποιητικός ''poietikos'' "pertaining to poetry"; also "creative" an ...

'' was related to his theory of "

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

and

perception Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous system ...

", it has come to be "more broadly applied" to any "theory" or "system" of the workings (Greek ''poiesis'') of literature of any genre. "Cognitive poetics is still relatively new as a discipline, though it makes clear reconnections back to much older forms of analysis such as classical rhetoric." Stockwell (2002): p. 8. During the first half of the twentieth century, emphasis was placed on the particular literary text itself. Moreover, concentration on style and linguistic placement of the texts helped to place an importance on the structural patterns prevalent within the literature. However, during this time period, attention to the human interaction aspect of literary analysis was largely unobserved. Cognitive poetics, therefore aimed to describe how poetic language and form is naturally constrained and shaped by various human cognitive processes. It allows for the science of

cognition Cognition refers to "the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...

and the literary understanding regarding literary texts to both have significance when conducting any literary analytical process. Moreover, cognitive poetics helps demonstrate how ways of expression and ways of conscious perception are mutually inclusive. The nature of literature involves explaining its function and application in the human mind. Cognitive poetics therefore illustrates just how vital the means of comprehending and analysing literature is to the process of human cognition.

Application

Media and Everyday Life

While the framework for cognitive poetics was still in its infancy during the 1990s, the internet was simultaneously becoming an increasingly popular academic device for research purposes. This technological advancement enabled a large range of cognitive linguists to share their ideas, and scholarly awareness regarding cognitive poetics globally began to diffuse. The current technological advancements and adjustments pertaining to the internet, social media, music, film, and television have broadened the definition of literature. Hence, the applicability of cognitive poetics to a wider scope has been realised. The result of this recent rise in cognitive poetics solidifies the assumptions that the theory views literature as a particular type of the everyday experience, especially cognition that is innate in our general cognitive capabilities for navigating the world. It further establishes the relationship of literature with the human experience and cognition. The theory states that it is due to this relationship that humans are able to interact in these unique methods amongst each other to begin with. The consistent and overlapping nature amongst non-literary and literary backgrounds of language use is especially emphasised through the everyday application of cognitive poetics.

Cognitive-Linguistic Significance

The close link between knowledge and meaning is essential to establish in cognitive linguistic assumptions. According to these assumptions, language is understood through an individual’s knowledge of the world. In relation to cognitive poetics, this significant relationship is also deemed as crucial assumption for the theory, as this can be applied in terms of the nature and language of literature. Cognitive linguists use

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wit ...

as an example for the intersection between knowledge and meaning. They explain that the root of metaphor may originate from metaphorical thought, which is described to be a result of an individual’s reflection of their real-world experiences. This highlights another key assumption cognitive linguists’ maintain, that is, language, cognition and experience are closely connected. Consequently, observing metaphors in this manner helps uncover the contextual background of the writer in question. In cognitive poetics, context is an essential notion for understanding literature. One example of cognitive poetics using these assumptions is in the

literary device A narrative technique (known for literary fictional narratives as a literary technique, literary device, or fictional device) is any of several specific methods the creator of a narrative uses to convey what they want —in other words, a stra ...

of humour. Through the combination of metaphors, and the manipulation of metaphorical schemas, a writer can successfully draw upon the desired emotional response, however more research pertaining to the role of humour and cognitive poetics is needed.

References

Bibliography

* Bachelard, Gaston (1960). ''La poétique de la rêverie''. Paris:

Presses Universitaires de France Presses universitaires de France (PUF, English: ''University Press of France''), founded in 1921 by Paul Angoulvent (1899–1976), is the largest French university publishing house. Recent company history The financial and legal structure ...

. * Boyd, Brian. ''On the Origin of Stories: Evolution, Cognition, and Fiction.'' Harvard, 2009. * Brône, Geert and Jeroen Vandaele (2009). ''Cognitive Poetics. Goals, Gains and Gaps''. Berlin:

Mouton de Gruyter Walter de Gruyter GmbH, known as De Gruyter (), is a German scholarly publishing house specializing in academic literature. History The roots of the company go back to 1749 when Frederick the Great granted the Königliche Realschule in Be ...

* Gavins, Joanna and Gerard Steen (2003). ''Cognitive Poetics in Practice''. London:

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...

. * Gottschall, Jonathan. ''The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human.'' Houghton, 2012. * Semino, Elena and Jonathan Culpeper (2002). ''Cognitive Stylistics: Language and Cognition in Text Analysis''. Amsterdam and Philadelphia:

John Benjamins John Benjamins Publishing Company is an independent academic publisher in social sciences and humanities with its head office in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The company was founded in the 1960s by John and Claire Benjamins and is currently managed ...

. * Stockwell, Peter (2002).
Cognitive Poetics
An Introduction''. London:

. *Tsur, Reuven (2008). ''Toward a Theory of Cognitive Poetics'', Second, expanded and updated edition. Brighton and Portland: Sussex Academic Press. * Vermeule, Blakey. ''Why Do We Care about Literary Characters?'' Baltimore: Johns Hopkins, 2010. * Wolf, Maryanne. ''Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain.'' Harper, 2007. * Zunshine, Lisa. ''Why We Read Fiction: Theory of Mind and the Novel.'' Ohio State University, 2006. * Stockwell, Peter (2007-08-21). ''Cognitive Poetics and Literary Theory''. 1 (1): 135–152. * Freeman, Margaret H. (2009-06-29). ''Cognitive Linguistic Approaches to Literary Studies: State of the Art in Cognitive Poetics''. Rochester, NY. * Stockwell, Peter(2020). ''Cognitive Poetics: An Introduction. Second Edition.'' London: