Abstract
In this chapter I will develop the argument that in political contexts metaphor can be, and often is, used for ideological purposes because it activates unconscious emotional associations and thereby contributes to myth creation: politicians use metaphor to tell the right story. I explain my understanding of the term ‘metaphor’ and provide a number of illustrations of the everyday, conventional metaphors that are the bread and butter of political language. I hope to demonstrate how, rhetorically, metaphors contribute to mental representations of political issues, making alternative ways of understanding these issues more difficult and in so doing ‘occupy’ the mind. However, I will also explain how metaphors are contested by illustrating how the same type of metaphor may be used by a politician’s critics to convey a completely different evaluation from the one that was originally intended. In doing this I hope to show — both in this chapter and the remainder of the book — how analysis of metaphors contributes to our knowledge of political rhetoric by enabling us to understand how world views are communicated persuasively in language.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2011 Jonathan Charteris-Black
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Charteris-Black, J. (2011). Metaphor in Political Discourse. In: Politicians and Rhetoric. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230319899_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230319899_2
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-230-25165-6
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-31989-9
eBook Packages: Palgrave Language & Linguistics CollectionEducation (R0)