Abstract

Statement of the Problem and Objective: Cognitive stylistics is a modern approach within stylistic studies that emerged in the early twenty-first century, following the rise of cognitive linguistics and under its strong influence. Building upon cognitive linguistic principles, this approach examines how concepts, experiences, and mental structures are represented in literary language. Unlike traditional stylistics, which focuses on linguistic and rhetorical features, cognitive stylistics aims to uncover the mental and cognitive mechanisms that writers and readers employ in the processes of text production and interpretation. One of the most significant of these mechanisms is conceptual metaphor. In the conceptual metaphor theory introduced by Lakoff and Johnson, metaphor is not simply a decorative literary device but a fundamental cognitive mechanism through which humans think and understand the world. Accordingly, the human mind comprehends abstract ideas through concrete, sensory experiences, and language functions as the medium for expressing these mental processes. Among the modern Arab writers who have skillfully expressed their worldview through cognitive metaphors is Mustafa Lutfi al-Manfaluti. His collection al-Nazarāt reveals a rich network of conceptual metaphors that reflect his outlook on social and moral issues. A stylistic study of this work within the cognitive framework demonstrates how al-Manfaluti uses metaphorical language and mental imagery to convey his personal experiences and social concerns, enabling readers to share and reconstruct his worldview. This research therefore aims to identify and analyze the key stylistic features of al-Manfaluti’s social conceptual metaphors in selected stories from al-Nazarāt (al-Kaʾs al-Ūlā, Ilā al-Dayr, ʿIbrat al-Dahr, Ghurfat al-Aḥzān, al-Bāʾisāt, al-Tawba, ʿAlā Sarīr al-Mawt, and Qatīlat al-Jūʿ) and to explain how these metaphors represent the author’s social perspectives. The study also investigates which source domains al-Manfaluti most frequently draws upon in mapping his conceptual metaphors.
Methodology: This research is library-based and employs a descriptive–analytical method within the framework of cognitive stylistics. Data were collected, classified, and analyzed using content analysis. First, the theoretical foundations of cognitive stylistics and the main scholarly perspectives in this field were outlined. Then, examples of social conceptual metaphors were extracted from the selected stories of al-Nazarāt. In the final stage, data were analyzed according to source and target domains to clarify their range and variety, as well as to determine their stylistic and ideological functions in representing the author’s social vision.
Discussion and Analysis: In the selected stories of al-Nazarāt, al-Manfaluti, through his distinctive style, succeeds in presenting complex and abstract social ideas as concrete, perceptible experiences—rooted in the reader’s sensory and cognitive world, making them more accessible and tangible. He achieves this through an extensive network of structural, ontological, and orientational metaphors, among which structural metaphors are the most frequent, as they allow multiple conceptual mappings that make social relations and hierarchies more intelligible. The analysis highlights al-Manfaluti’s capacity for multidimensional conceptualization: he connects each target domain (e.g., marriage, corruption, love, drunkenness) with multiple, diverse source domains. This approach generates new layers of meaning and permits the interpretation of social issues from various perspectives. For example, marriage is conceptualized not merely as a human contract but as commerce, trial, or battle; moral corruption appears through metaphors of theft and trade; love is portrayed as a perilous path, a deadly poison, or a bitter drink; and drunkenness becomes seduction, murder, blindness, or the veil of reason. Such diversity in metaphorical mappings is not merely ornamental—it endows al-Manfaluti’s prose with emotional intensity and rhetorical power, allowing him to address social problems with striking vividness. Readers thus engage with his writing both intellectually and emotionally. The interweaving of ontological and orientational metaphors deepens this engagement by linking abstract concepts to fundamental elements of human experience—such as space, direction, path, object, and substance—and thus facilitating a more profound comprehension of complex ideas.
Findings: Al-Manfaluti’s prose in al-Nazarāt demonstrates a distinctive and deliberate use of social cognitive metaphors. Through rhetorical techniques such as restriction (qaṣr), the strategic use of demonstratives and relative clauses, and emotionally charged, oratorical language, he amplifies meaning and impact. Prominent stylistic features include binary oppositions, rhythmic balance, and a didactic tone, all of which enrich the text both semantically and affectively. Ultimately, al-Manfaluti, through his wide range of conceptual metaphors, successfully transforms abstract social concerns into vivid, multilayered representations, creating prose that not only conveys meaning but also evokes emotional and intellectual resonance in the reader.