Identifying cultural metaphors and metonymies in Taufiq Rafat’s poetry and linking them to cultural schemas

Abstract

Taufiq Rafat is a renowned English poet who is well-known for introducing Pakistani idioms to poetry. The study focuses on tracing cultural metaphors and metonymies in the selected poems of Taufiq Rafat with  the lens of the theoretical and analytical framework of cultural linguistics  as  proposed  by  Farzad  Sharifian.  The  research  is  qualitative  and  carries  a descriptive  analysis  of  the  text  and  used  the  constructivism  paradigm.  The  study's  findings revealed  that  the  cultural  metaphors  and  metonymies  used  in his  poetry  are  engrossed  in Pakistani culture and are culture-specific. Therefore, cultural metaphors originate from the culture  and  are  manifested  in  the  human  lexicon,  thinking,  and  feelings  that  exhibit  the cultural schema.