A cognitive linguistic approach to the analysis of fantasy text characters
Abstract
This article aims to suggest a procedure of analyzing fantasy text characters focusing on their evaluative component. The said procedure is based on the methodology of cognitive linguistics, namely the basic frames theory. Basic frames are schematic mental structures that form the backbone of our informational system. The frames consist of propositional schemas containing static and dynamic characteristics of a character under scrutiny. The empirical data of the research are represented by descriptions of characters in a series prototypical for fantasy genre – legendarium by J. R.R. Tolkien which includes the novels The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings. In his books, the writer created not only an alternative universe with its geography and mythology but also versatile characters who belong to different “races” – Elves, Men, Hobbits, Dwarves, Ents, and Orcs. The race affiliation of a protagonist exposes his/her peculiar traits of character, worldview, and way of life making it easier for the writer to describe them. So analyzing the evaluation of characters one should take into consideration both common features shared by all representatives of a race portraying it as a homogeneous entity – eidos (a holistic non-segmented image) and unique individual features of the protagonist – logos (an image where its constituents are singled out). Consequently, the evaluation of a character may be mathematically represented as a summary coefficient equal to the ratio of logical and eidetic coefficients. The former is calculated as the ratio of positive and negative propositions describing the personal qualities of a protagonist, the latter is the ratio of positive and negative propositions describing the race to which the character belongs. The article contains a detailed analysis of the six races of Tolkien’s legendarium and two representatives of each race which enabled to outline their generalized portraits and determine summary evaluations which makes it clear that some characters are “better” and some are “worse” than average representatives of their race.
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