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Article published In: Metaphor and the Social World
Vol. 8:1 (2018) ► pp.25–39

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The end of a long and fraught marriage

Metaphorical images structuring the Brexit discourse

 | University of Belgrade
 | University of Belgrade
Published online: 7 May 2018
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/msw.17010.dur
Abstract
Set against the backdrop of a separation process between Britain and the EU, popularly referred to as Brexit, our paper explores how the married partners metaphor scenario structures the Brexit discourse via vivid metaphorical images of political reality describing complicated relations between Britain and the EU. We use a critical approach to metaphor ( (2004). Corpus approaches to critical metaphor analysis. Basingstoke & New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, (2005). Politicians and rhetoric: The persuasive power of metaphor. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) and especially apply (2006). Metaphor scenarios in public discourse. Metaphor and Symbol, 21(1), 23–38. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar concept of ‘metaphor scenario’ to the data collection gathered from various media sources published in English during the period closely preceding and following the Brexit vote. As “the married partners scenario is applicable to any bilateral […] relationship” ( (2006). Metaphor scenarios in public discourse. Metaphor and Symbol, 21(1), 23–38. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, p. 34), by exemplifying the Britain-EU relationship via numerous lexical instantiations (e.g., rocky marriage, messy divorce very hard on the children, shotgun divorce), we attest to a great generative potential of the married partners scenario as well as its argumentative use. Our main aim is to point out how the married partners metaphor scenario is used in political discourse both to simplify and enable the understanding of the tangled relationship between Britain and the EU at a crucial point in their history.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical framework
  • 3.Data collection and method
  • 4.The married partners scenario
    • 4.1The marriage metaphor in the Brexit discourse
    • 4.2The divorce metaphor
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Note
  • References
References (24)
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