Abstract: According to the traditional theory of metaphor, metaphor is a rhetorical device, which is widely used in literary works. In 1980s, Metaphors We Live By, which was written by Lackoff and Johnson, cognitive linguists, marked the formation of conceptual metaphor theory. In Forceville’s opinion, multimodal metaphor is built by source domain and target domain through a variety of modes. As a crime fantasy film, the film Perfume leads people to a new world from the perspective of the smell. It depicts Grenouille, a genus in smell but a fool in life, how to pursue the perfect scent and kill innocent girls. Multimodal metaphor, generated by the cooperation and mapping between the source domain and the target domain, highlights the theme of the film and the performance of the characters. This study analyzes multimodal metaphors in the film Perfume from a cognitive perspective in micro-level. The most basic, representative modes will be taken as the object of study, including pictures, voice and smelling sense to analyze their relations as well as the principle followed by the interaction process among these three modes, so as to explore its role in the process of constructing meaning. Conclusions are drawn as follows: Multimodal metaphor is generated when the source domain and the target domain cooperates and maps. This process stresses the theme of the film as well as the characters. 

Key words: multimodal metaphor; Pictorial Mode; Sonic Mode; Odour Mode

CONTENTS

Abstract

摘要

1.Introduction1

2. Literature Review 1

3. Theoretical Framework2

 3.1 Multimodal Metaphor2

 3.1.1 Definition of Mode2

 3.1.2 Definition of Multimodal Metaphor2

4. An Analysis of Multimodal Metaphors in the Film Perfume 4

 4.1 A Brief Introduction to Multimodal Metaphors in the Film Perfume 4

4.1.1 A Brief Introduction to the Film Perfume4

4.1.2 The Distributions of Multimodal Metaphors in the Film Perfume 5

 4.1.2.1 Pictorial Mode5

 4.1.2.2 Sonic Mode6

 4.1.2.3Odour Mode6

4.2The Interaction of the Three Modes in the Film Perfume7

5. Conclusions 8

Bibliography 9

Acknowledgements10