Ελπήνωρ, πως ήρθες… Analysis and interpretation of the poem Elpenor by Takis Sinopoulos using the theory of conceptual blending Cover Image

Ελπήνωρ, πως ήρθες… Analiza i interpretacja wiersza Elpenor Takisa Sinopulosa z uwzględnieniem teorii amalgamatów myślowych
Ελπήνωρ, πως ήρθες… Analysis and interpretation of the poem Elpenor by Takis Sinopoulos using the theory of conceptual blending

Author(s): Magdalena Krzemieniewska
Subject(s): Cultural history, Studies of Literature, Ancient World, Sociolinguistics, Cognitive linguistics, Cognitive Psychology
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: Odyssey; Homer; modern Greek poetry; conceptual integration; Fauconnier; Turner;

Summary/Abstract: This paper attempts to analyze and interpret the poem Elpenor, written by the modern Greek poet Takis Sinopoulos. The methodology used is based mainly on the Fauconnier’s and Turner’s theory of conceptual blending and the main purpose of this article is to prove that this theory can be adjusted in order to interpret and analyze literature. According to this idea, mental spaces, which are interpreted as small packages of terms constructed during thinking and speaking for the purpose of ad hoc understanding and acting, by the human mind are blended to only intuitively understandable cognitive amalgams. Using this method, we can conclude that by re-telling the story of Homeric character, Sinopulos shows the picture of contemporary Greece and the problems which torment it. Moreover, careful analysis allows also to find other, more specific analogies between this little-known fragment of Odyssey and the condition of modern Greece.

  • Issue Year: 2014
  • Issue No: 7
  • Page Range: 13-25
  • Page Count: 13
  • Language: Polish