Fire, Poison, and Black Tears : Metaphors of Emotion in Rebétiko
(2012) In Studia Graeca et Latina Lundensia 18.- Abstract
- This dissertation is a study of metaphors of emotion in rebétiko song texts. Rebétiko is a major popular-music style of modern Greece, consisting mostly of melancholic songs full of sorrow, disappointment, and misfortune, as well as passion and romance, but also of cheerful songs of revelry and a carefree attitude to life. Rebétiko as a music style developed in the Greek-speaking world and its diaspora in the early twentieth century. It consists of many interrelated music styles and subcategories. Its roots can be traced to mainland Greece, Asia Minor, and the Greek islands, but the musical form has been broadly influenced by many different cultures and other musical traditions.
In this study particular attention is devoted to the... (More) - This dissertation is a study of metaphors of emotion in rebétiko song texts. Rebétiko is a major popular-music style of modern Greece, consisting mostly of melancholic songs full of sorrow, disappointment, and misfortune, as well as passion and romance, but also of cheerful songs of revelry and a carefree attitude to life. Rebétiko as a music style developed in the Greek-speaking world and its diaspora in the early twentieth century. It consists of many interrelated music styles and subcategories. Its roots can be traced to mainland Greece, Asia Minor, and the Greek islands, but the musical form has been broadly influenced by many different cultures and other musical traditions.
In this study particular attention is devoted to the interpretation of certain frequently recurring words and phrases as literal or as metaphorical. Metaphors of emotion in rebétiko are examined in the light of the theories of conceptual metaphor developed by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson from 1980 onwards and subsequently elaborated in respect of emotion metaphors by Zóltan Kövecses. In the theories of Kövecses, emotions are perceived as forces. This dissertation tests the applicability of these theories to metaphors of emotion commonly encountered in Greek, and specifically in rebétiko. The dissertation aspires to contribute to knowledge of the language of rebétiko by detailed documentation and analysis of one relatively small but important aspect, the metaphor of emotion.
The analysis examines whether the various metaphors encountered are conventional or creative, and universal or culture-specific. The lyrics of rebétiko should be suitable texts for this purpose, given the enduring popularity and increasing pervasiveness of the genre among successive generations of Greek-speakers, which suggests that it expresses what might be termed ‘the Greek spirit and Greek mentality’ to a significant extent.
The approach to metaphor taken in this dissertation is text-based, inasmuch as it deals with the analysis of metaphor in a body of authentic texts. Words and phrases are collected from multiple contexts, in order to observe their typical behaviour. The corpus of approximately 1350 rebétiko song texts analysed in this dissertation was compiled specifically for this purpose from sources representing various time periods and thematic subcategories.
The basic thesis advanced and documented here is that the lyrics of rebétiko songs are highly metaphorical and that the character of their metaphors is very emotional. Also that metaphors of emotion are of crucial significance to the poetry of the emotionally charged genre which is rebétiko. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Popular Abstract in Swedish
Avhandlingen Fire, Poison, and Black Tears – Metaphors of Emotion in Rebétiko är som titeln anger en studie av metaforer för känslouttryck i rebétikomusikens texter. Den populärmusikaliska genren rebétiko är en utbredd musikstil i det moderna Grekland. Dess rötter kan spåras till det grekiska fastlandet, Mindre Asien, och de grekiska öarna, men den musikaliska formen har påverkats av andra musikaliska traditioner. Genren består av melankoliska sånger i klagande rytmer om sorg, besvikelse och olycka, om passion och romantik, men också av glada sånger om festande och sorglöst leverne. Vanliga teman i sångerna är, förutom kärlek och relationer, även samhällsföreteelser och emigration, samt narkotika... (More) - Popular Abstract in Swedish
Avhandlingen Fire, Poison, and Black Tears – Metaphors of Emotion in Rebétiko är som titeln anger en studie av metaforer för känslouttryck i rebétikomusikens texter. Den populärmusikaliska genren rebétiko är en utbredd musikstil i det moderna Grekland. Dess rötter kan spåras till det grekiska fastlandet, Mindre Asien, och de grekiska öarna, men den musikaliska formen har påverkats av andra musikaliska traditioner. Genren består av melankoliska sånger i klagande rytmer om sorg, besvikelse och olycka, om passion och romantik, men också av glada sånger om festande och sorglöst leverne. Vanliga teman i sångerna är, förutom kärlek och relationer, även samhällsföreteelser och emigration, samt narkotika och fängelsevistelse, men också till viss del omvälvande historiska händelser. Sångerna är skrivna av vitt skilda textförfattare, från knappt läskunniga arbetare till högutbildade tjänstemän. De framförs ofta till ackompanjemang av sträng¬instrumentet bouzouki, eller dess miniatyrversion baglamas, av musikgrupper av varierande storlek på caféer och restauranger, och även på konserter och andra kulturella evenemang. Sångerna hörs numera i samhällets alla skikt och i alla åldrar, och en stor del av den mu¬sik som produceras i Grekland är starkt influerad av rebétiko. Den kontinuerliga popularitet som rebétiko har haft hos flera generationer grekisktalande tyder på att genren i väsentlig utsträckning kan sägas ge uttryck åt den grekiska själen och mentaliteten, samtidigt som grekiskheten i både text och musik blivit livligt debatterad ur kulturella och politiska aspekter.
Rebétikosångernas texter innehåller en stor mängd metaforiska uttryck som till karaktären är utpräglat känslomässiga. Känslometaforerna i rebétiko granskas mot bakgrund av de teorier om konceptuella metaforer som George Lakoff och Mark Johnson utvecklade på 1980-talet. Dessa teorier har vidareutvecklats av Zóltan Kövecses som hävdar att känslor kan uppfattas som krafter av olika slag. Avhandlingen undersöker om vissa frekvent återkommande ord och fraser i sångtexterna ska tolkas som bokstavliga eller bildliga, och i analysen undersöks även om de påträffade metaforerna är konventionella eller kreativa, liksom om de är universella eller kultur-specifika.
Den korpus som analyseras i denna avhandling har sammanställts speciellt för detta ändamål från källor som representerar olika tidsperioder och tematiska kategorier inom rebétiko.
Denna avhandling visar att metaforer för känslouttryck är av avgörande betydelse för poesin i den känslomässigt laddade genren rebétiko. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/3046527
- author
- Smaragdi, Marianna LU
- supervisor
- opponent
-
- Professor Holton, David, University of Cambridge
- organization
- publishing date
- 2012
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- rebétiko, Greek music, song texts, lyrics, metaphor, metaphorical expressions, figurative language, conceptual metaphor, emotion concepts, force metaphors, Lakoff and Johnson, Kövecses
- in
- Studia Graeca et Latina Lundensia
- volume
- 18
- pages
- 206 pages
- publisher
- Centre for Languages and Literature, Lund University
- defense location
- Hörsalen, Palaestra, Paradisgatan 4, Lund
- defense date
- 2012-09-29 10:15:00
- ISSN
- 1100-7931
- ISBN
- 978-91-7473-363-1
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015. The record was previously connected to the following departments: Centre for Languages and Literature (015016000), Greek (015004007)
- id
- b814b517-fcf8-4131-beb8-09ccf12f5b2b (old id 3046527)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 14:45:35
- date last changed
- 2019-05-23 17:38:28
@phdthesis{b814b517-fcf8-4131-beb8-09ccf12f5b2b,
abstract = {{This dissertation is a study of metaphors of emotion in rebétiko song texts. Rebétiko is a major popular-music style of modern Greece, consisting mostly of melancholic songs full of sorrow, disappointment, and misfortune, as well as passion and romance, but also of cheerful songs of revelry and a carefree attitude to life. Rebétiko as a music style developed in the Greek-speaking world and its diaspora in the early twentieth century. It consists of many interrelated music styles and subcategories. Its roots can be traced to mainland Greece, Asia Minor, and the Greek islands, but the musical form has been broadly influenced by many different cultures and other musical traditions.<br/><br>
In this study particular attention is devoted to the interpretation of certain frequently recurring words and phrases as literal or as metaphorical. Metaphors of emotion in rebétiko are examined in the light of the theories of conceptual metaphor developed by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson from 1980 onwards and subsequently elaborated in respect of emotion metaphors by Zóltan Kövecses. In the theories of Kövecses, emotions are perceived as forces. This dissertation tests the applicability of these theories to metaphors of emotion commonly encountered in Greek, and specifically in rebétiko. The dissertation aspires to contribute to knowledge of the language of rebétiko by detailed documentation and analysis of one relatively small but important aspect, the metaphor of emotion.<br/><br>
The analysis examines whether the various metaphors encountered are conventional or creative, and universal or culture-specific. The lyrics of rebétiko should be suitable texts for this purpose, given the enduring popularity and increasing pervasiveness of the genre among successive generations of Greek-speakers, which suggests that it expresses what might be termed ‘the Greek spirit and Greek mentality’ to a significant extent. <br/><br>
The approach to metaphor taken in this dissertation is text-based, inasmuch as it deals with the analysis of metaphor in a body of authentic texts. Words and phrases are collected from multiple contexts, in order to observe their typical behaviour. The corpus of approximately 1350 rebétiko song texts analysed in this dissertation was compiled specifically for this purpose from sources representing various time periods and thematic subcategories. <br/><br>
The basic thesis advanced and documented here is that the lyrics of rebétiko songs are highly metaphorical and that the character of their metaphors is very emotional. Also that metaphors of emotion are of crucial significance to the poetry of the emotionally charged genre which is rebétiko.}},
author = {{Smaragdi, Marianna}},
isbn = {{978-91-7473-363-1}},
issn = {{1100-7931}},
keywords = {{rebétiko; Greek music; song texts; lyrics; metaphor; metaphorical expressions; figurative language; conceptual metaphor; emotion concepts; force metaphors; Lakoff and Johnson; Kövecses}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Centre for Languages and Literature, Lund University}},
school = {{Lund University}},
series = {{Studia Graeca et Latina Lundensia}},
title = {{Fire, Poison, and Black Tears : Metaphors of Emotion in Rebétiko}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/4146634/3046531.pdf}},
volume = {{18}},
year = {{2012}},
}