Tsunamis, waves, Quixotes, and KO-vid: Metaphors about the pandemic as seen in cartoons

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.11.18273

Keywords:

metaphor, COVID-19, cartoons, discourse analysis, construals

Abstract

Several studies have shown evidence for the significant role that metaphors play in public health communication. The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered not only the use of common communication frameworks such as war metaphors, but also the creative use of metaphors, which is particularly relevant in the case of cartoonists. This article presents a review of the different metaphors used in cartoons (both in Spanish and in English), with the aim of compiling different metaphorical uses and reflecting upon the evaluative function of metaphors and how they contribute to expressing different visions of reality. The examples collected here show not only how certain social and political actions are legitimised or discredited, but also how these uses often appeal to particular contextual knowledge.

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Author Biography

Laura Filardo-Llamas, University of Valladolid (Spain).

Associate Professor of English Language and Linguistics in the Department of English Studies at the University of Valladolid (Spain). Her main area of research is Critical Discourse Analysis from the perspective of cognitive linguistics. Her main research interest is understanding of the discursive construction of political and cultural conflict and the discursive (de)legitimisation of political action.

References

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Published

2021-01-21

How to Cite

Filardo-Llamas, L. (2021). Tsunamis, waves, Quixotes, and KO-vid: Metaphors about the pandemic as seen in cartoons. Metode Science Studies Journal, (11), 14–20. https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.11.18273
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