Ebn-Almoqaffa in Narrative and Poetry (Formerly known as Quarterly of Arabic Language and Literature

Ebn-Almoqaffa in Narrative and Poetry (Formerly known as Quarterly of Arabic Language and Literature

The Conceptual Metaphor of Love in the Diwan of Imru’ al-Qais and Nizar Qabbani’s Kitab al-Hub: A Comparative Study in Light of Lakoff and Johnson’s Cognitive Theory

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Fatemeh Albuali
Zohreh Naemi
Department of Arabic language and literature, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran
10.22059/jal-lq.2026.407307.1564
Abstract
Conceptual metaphor, within the framework of cognitive linguistics and Lakoff and Johnson’s theory, constitutes a fundamental cognitive mechanism for meaning construction and the representation of abstract concepts. It operates by understanding an abstract conceptual domain in terms of another domain that is more concrete and experientially grounded. Love is among the concepts most frequently manifested through this metaphorical pattern in poetic discourse. This study addresses the problem of how conceptual metaphors of love are formed in the poetry of Imruʾ al-Qays and Nizar Qabbani, and what these metaphors reveal about the cognitive and cultural visions of love within two different historical contexts. It aims to analyze the patterns of conceptual metaphors associated with love in the works of both poets, to identify the source domains through which this abstract concept is reorganized, and to clarify the impact of cultural and social context on shaping these cognitive structures. The study adopts a descriptive-analytical approach within the framework of cognitive linguistics, through the analysis of selected poetic texts by Imruʾ al-Qays and Kitab al-Hubb by Nizar Qabbani, and through classifying the metaphors according to their structural, ontological, and orientational types. The analysis demonstrates that conceptual metaphor plays a central role in shaping the poetic experience of love, and that differences in source domains contribute to variations in the representation of love according to differing cultural and historical contexts. In the poetry of Imruʾ al-Qays, love appears as an experience of oppression, suffering, and loss, through source domains based on sorrow, burning, madness, and illness. In contrast, in Nizar Qabbani’s poetry, love emerges as a force of creation, transformation, and illumination, through aesthetic, existential, and sensory source domains such as art, light, birth, and power. The study concludes that conceptual metaphor constitutes an effective approach to understanding the philosophy of love in Arabic poetry, as it reveals the close relationship between language, cognition, and lived experience, and shows how metaphorical structures express transformations in cultural consciousness and representations of the self in each historical era.
Keywords
Cognitive linguistics
conceptual metaphor
love
Imru’ al-Qais
Nizar Qabbani
ابن قتيبه، الشعر والشعراء، تحقيق: احمد محمد شاكر، القاهره: دار المعارف، لا تا.
اكبری، الهام؛ خضری، علی؛ فرع شيرازی، سيدحيدر (1402ش)، «الاستعارة المفهومية في ديوان لا ماء في النهر لناصر البدري علی ضوء نظرية جونسون ولايكوف»، بحوث في اللغة العربية، دوره 15، ش 29، صص 85-69.
بحری، خداداد (1396ش)، «صورت و سيرت ليلی در ديوان قيس بن ملوح»، دومين كنفرانس بين­المللی ادبيات و زبان­شناسی.
الدراويش، عبدالفتاح (2009م)، (نزار قبانی: حياته وشعره)، بيروت: دار الاهليه للنشر والتوزيع.
عرب يوسف آبادی، فائزه؛ فرضی شوب، منيره (1390ش)، «بازتاب فناوری و ماشينيزم در استعاره­های فارسى محاوره­ای»، پژوهش­های زبان و ادبيات تطبيقی، دوره 2 ، ش 1، صص 119-103.
قاسم­زاده، حبيب­الله (1391ش)، استعاره و شناخت، تهران، انتشارات ارجمند.
قبانی، نزار (1356ش)، داستان من و شعر؛ ترجمه غلامحسين يوسفی و حسين يوسف بكار، تهران: انتشارات توس.
قبانی، نزار (1970م) ، كتاب الحب، بيروت: منشورات نزار قبانی.
قيس بن الملوّح (1999م)، ديوان قيس بن الملوّح؛ مجنون ليلی، ط: 1، بيروت: دار الكتب العلميه.
لايكوف،جورج؛ جونسون، مارك (١٩٩٦م). الاستعارات التي نحيا بها، تحقيق: عبدالمجيد جحفه وعبدالإله سليم، دار توبقال للنشر والتوزيع، الطبعه الأولى، الدار البيضاء، المغرب.
ليكاف، جورج (1390ش)، نظريه معاصر استعاره، ترجمه فرزان سجودی، چاپ2، تهران: سوره مهر.
موسویپناه، سيداحمد (1404ش). «دراسة الاستعارة المفهومية في قصيدة المواكب لجبران خليل جبران علی ضوء آراء لايكوف و جونسون». مجلة بحوث في اللغة العربية. العدد 33. ص 143-160.
هاشمی، زهره (1389)، «نظريه استعاره مفهومی از ديدگاه ليكاف و جانسون»، مجله ادب پژوهشی، ش12، 119-140.
هوشنگی، حسين؛ سيفی­پرگو، محمود (1388ش)، «استعاره­های مفهومی در قرآن از منظر زبان­شناسی شناختی»، پژوهشنامه علوم و معارف قرآن كريم، س1، ش3، 9-34.
References
Akbari, E., Khezri, A.,& Fare Shirazi, S.H (2023). Conceptual Metaphor in the Diwan of La mae fi Al-nahr by Nasser Al-Badri Based on Johnson and Lykov’s Theory. Journal of Research in Arabic Language, 15(29), 69-85.
Aldarawish, A. (2009). Nizar Qabbani: Life and Poetry. Beirut. Dar al-Ahliyyah lil-Nashr wa al-Tawzīʿ. [In Arabic]
Arab Yousefabadi, F., FarziShoob, M. (2011). The reflection of technology and mechanism in colloquial Persian metaphors. Research in Comparative Language and Literature, 2 (1), 103–119. [In Persian]
Bahri, K. (2017). The form and essence of Layla in the poetry of Qays ibn al-Mulawwah. In 2nd International Conference on Literature and Linguistics. [In Persian]
Ghasemzadeh, H. (2012). Metaphor and cognition. Tehran: Arjmand Publications. [In Persian]
Hashemi, Z. (2011). Conceptual metaphor theory from the perspective of Lakoff and Johnson. Journal of Research Literature. 12. 119-140 [In Persian].
Houshangi, H., Mahmoud, S. P. (2009). Conceptual metaphors in the Qur'an from the perspective of cognitive linguistics. The Sciences and Knowledge of the Holy Quran. 1(3). 9-34 [In Persian].
Ibn Qutaybah. (n.d.). Al-shir wa al-shuara. A. M. Shakir (Ed.). Cairo. Dar al-Maarif. [In Arabic]
Lakoff, G. (2012). The contemporary theory of metaphor. (Sojodi, Trans). Tehran. Surah Mehr. [In Persian]
Lakoff, G., Johnson, M. (1996). Metaphors with which we live. A.M. Jahfa and Abdel Ilah Selim (1 ed.). Dar Toubkal for Publishing, Printing and Distribution. Morocco. Al dar Al-bayza. [In Arabic]
Mousawipanah, S.A (2025). Studying the Conceptual Metaphor in the Poem “Processions” by Gibran Khalil Gibran in Light of the Views of Lakoff and Johnson, Journal of Research in Arabic Language. Vol. 17. Issue. 2, No. 33, 143-162. [In Persian]
Qabbani, N. (1970). Kitab al-hub. Beirut. Nizar Qabbani Publications. [In Arabic]
Qabbani, N. (1977). My story and poetry. (G. Yousefi & H. Youssef Bakar, Trans.). Tehran. Toos Publications. [In Persian]
Qays ibn al-Mulawwah. (1999). Diwan Qays ibn al-Mulawwah: Majnun Layla (1st ed.). Beirut. Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah. [In Arabic]
Ebn-Almoqaffa in Narrative and Poetry (Formerly known as Quarterly of Arabic Language and Literature
Volume 22, Issue 3
Autumn 2026
Pages 333-348