THE CONCEPTUALIZATION OF LOVE IN ENGLISH LITERATURE

Abstract

This paper investigates the conceptualization of love in English literary discourse within the framework of Conceptual Metaphor Theory. It argues that love, as an abstract emotional domain, is systematically structured through embodied source domains that shape its representation in literature. Drawing on the works of William Shakespeare and Jane Austen, the study examines how metaphorical models such as LOVE IS FIRE, LOVE IS WAR, and LOVE IS A JOURNEY organize narrative meaning and construct distinct literary worldviews. The analysis demonstrates that Shakespeare conceptualizes love as intense and conflict-driven, foregrounding passion, instability, and emotional risk, whereas Austen presents love as a gradual process of development and moral transformation. These differences reveal how conceptual metaphors function as cognitive frameworks rather than decorative linguistic devices. The findings suggest that metaphor plays a fundamental role in shaping literary representations of romantic experience and reflects broader cultural patterns of understanding emotion in English literary tradition.