Image schemas are mental representations that provide basic patterns for understanding conceptual relationships. Human beings construct image schemas on the basis of the interaction between their bodily conditions and their physical environment and subsequently share these schemas with their society and audiences. Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh is a distinguished epic and mythical work of Persian literature that conveys and concretizes valuable cultural, social, and, more broadly, human concepts. The representation of image schemas in this work plays an important role in the conceptualization of meaning. Various characters play roles in the Shahnameh, each representing different characteristics of human beings. Among the influential stories in the Shahnameh, the story of “Bijan and Manijeh” contains events that can represent and conceptualize various aspects of human life and, in particular, provide a basis for image-schematic conceptualization. Accordingly, the present study aims to investigate the representation of three types of image schemas, namely the containment schema, path schema, and force schema, based on Johnson’s (1987) model, in the story of “Bijan and Manijeh” in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh. The results of the data analysis revealed a significant difference (p < 0.05) among the representations of the three image schemas. In particular, the most important finding of the present study is that the path schema is the dominant image schema in the story of “Bijan and Manijeh”, representing the concepts of movement and dynamism in human life.
Introduction
In recent decades, scholars and researchers in fields related to the cognitive approach, particularly cognitive linguists and cognitive psychologists, have paid considerable attention to image schemas. The concept of the image schema originates in the notion of embodied cognition and experience, which was raised by Lakoff and Johnson (1980) in their discussion of the origins of the complexity of the human conceptual system. According to them, embodied experience provides the basis for the formation of concepts.
Johnson (1987) defines image schemas as recurring and dynamic patterns of perceptual interaction and motor programs that provide coherence and structure to our experience. Accordingly, schemas establish connections among human experiences, perceptions, and mental processes, which can influence the formation of new experiences and perceptions and contribute to cognition. Given the embodied nature of conceptualization, image schemas encompass various types, including the containment schema, path schema, and force schema. Conceptual structure is organized within a metaphorical system characterized by related sets of conventional associations or mappings between concrete and abstract domains. A domain in conceptual metaphor theory is a body of knowledge that organizes related concepts. Image schemas are important because they can provide an experiential basis for such metaphorical mappings (Evans and Green, 2006: 190; Kövecses, 2020: 17; Lakoff and Johnson, 1980: 254).
Among the great literary works of Persian literature, Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh is a mythical, ancient, and epic work regarded as a valuable masterpiece from both cultural and linguistic perspectives and has attracted researchers’ attention from various viewpoints. The story of “Bijan and Manijeh” is considered one of the heroic-lyrical narratives of the Shahnameh, in which the role of women is particularly noteworthy (Aydenloo, 2016: 120). This story combines resourcefulness, deception, love, and war, while fate intervenes in the course of events (Mahmoudi and Ghasemi, 2022: 155). Moreover, based on an in-depth analysis of its structure, the story of “Bijan and Manijeh” has been shown to have been influenced by fertility rituals (Malmir and Hosseinpanahi, 2012: 109).
Considering the importance of the use, conceptualization, and representation of various types of image schemas in conveying concepts related to human life in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, as well as the distinctive characteristics of the two characters, “Bijan” and “Manijeh”, in this epic, lyrical, and mythological work, the present study aims to examine the representation of various types of image schemas, including the containment schema, path schema, and force schema, based on Johnson’s (1987) model, in the story of “Bijan and Manijeh” in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh. Accordingly, the null hypothesis of the present study is that “there is no significant difference in the frequency of occurrence of the various types of image schemas, including the containment schema, path schema, and force schema, in the story of ‘Bijan and Manijeh’ in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh.”
Literature Review
The theory of image schemas proposed by Johnson (1987) has attracted the attention of many researchers interested in cognition, particularly embodied cognition, across various fields, including literature. Some of the relevant studies are presented below. Fazaeli and Sharifi (2013) examined Persian proverbs in which a problem and ways of dealing with it are represented within the framework of the force schema. They argued that the frequency of different manifestations of the force schema in the proverbs under study provides insights into Iranian ethnopsychology. Ameri et al. (2019) examined image schemas in Hafez’s poetry, as an example of classical Persian poetry, and Sohrab Sepehri’s poetry, as an example of modern Persian poetry, based on Johnson’s (1987) theory of image schemas. They demonstrated that the poetry of the two poets differs in its use of image schemas. Fayazi and Ahmadpour Lakhtaji (2022) also examined the role of image schemas in conveying the themes of Forough Farrokhzad’s poetry. Their study showed that path schemas in Farrokhzad’s poetry represent themes and concepts such as “loneliness,” “despair and sadness,” “avoidance of sin,” and “the desire to strive and seek new experiences.”
As is evident, the study and identification of image schemas, their types, and the concepts they represent are of particular importance. In this regard, there is a research gap concerning the study of image schemas in the Shahnameh, an enduring and influential work of Persian literature. Most studies conducted on Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh from a cognitive perspective have examined conceptual metaphors, including the studies by Seraj and Mahmoudi Bakhtiari (2018) and Khalifehloo and Mojahedi Rezaian (2022). However, many cognitive linguists consider image schemas to constitute the basis for the formation of conceptual metaphors. Therefore, their study and understanding appear necessary and valuable.
Research Methodology
The present study employs a descriptive-analytical method. The data were selected from Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, based on the Julius von Mohl edition and the Moscow edition (2008), covering the story from its beginning to “Bijan’s Return with Gasteham,” comprising a total of 1,283 verses. First, the three types of image schemas proposed by Johnson (1987), namely the containment schema, path schema, and force schema, were identified in the story of “Bijan and Manijeh”. The collected data were then analyzed using SPSS. The frequency of the different types of image schemas was calculated and presented in a frequency table. Subsequently, the chi-square test was employed to examine the null hypothesis of the study, namely that there is no significant difference in the frequency of occurrence of the various types of image schemas, including the containment schema, path schema, and force schema, in the story of “Bijan and Manijeh” in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, at a significance level of 0.05 (p < 0.05).
Findings
To describe and analyze the collected data, examples of the three types of image schemas identified in the story of “Bijan and Manijeh” in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, based on Johnson’s (1987) model, are presented below.
a) Containment schema: Humans develop a containment schema through experiences of being in enclosed places, such as xɒne “home”, and of placing various objects in spaces that provide containment. Accordingly, in the story of “Bijan and Manijeh”, del “heart” and diːde “sight” are conceptualized as containers that can be filled with ænduh “sorrow” or xuːn “blood”. In the story, words such as del “heart” are generally used to represent a contained space capable of accommodating abstract concepts such as ænduh “sorrow”, gonɒh “guilt”, and omid “hope”. This type of embodied conceptualization gives abstract concepts greater experiential concreteness.
b) Path schema: A path schema is an abstract schema formed in the mind through experiences of human movement and other phenomena in the surrounding environment. It can also be applied to entities that are not themselves capable of physical movement. For example, in the story of “Bijan and Manijeh”, xɒːb ræftæn “to go to sleep” represents an image schema in which sleep is conceptualized, through the experience of physical movement, as a path toward which one can move. Similarly, færɒːz ɒmædæne noruːz “the rise of Nowruz” means resiːdæne noruːz “the arrival of Nowruz” and is formed on the basis of the path schema, whereby the event of Nowruz is conceptualized as an entity that can move toward and reach a particular place or destination.
c) Force schema: A force schema develops from a person’s physical experiences of movement, force, and obstacles. In everyday life, people encounter individuals or things that oppose them. They generally have three options when facing such an opposition or obstacle: they may remain behind the obstacle and be unable to move, pass through or around it and continue on their way, or remove it from their path. Through such experiences, people develop image schemas that they subsequently use to understand and interpret different experiences. For example, in the story of “Bijan and Manijeh”, sepær “shield”, as a “barrier against evil”, forms a force schema based on human experience of the physical environment. Similarly, zendɒn “prison” is conceptualized as a “barrier” representing a force schema based on human experience of the physical environment.
The frequency of image schemas in the verses under study from Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh is presented below. As Table 1 shows, among the three image schemas, the path schema, with a frequency of 52.3%, has the highest frequency in the story of “Bijan and Manijeh”. It is followed by the force schema, with 31.7%, and the containment schema, with 16.1%.
Table 1. Frequency of image schema types in the story of “Bijan and Manijeh” in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh




Image schema


Frequency


Percent


Valid Percent


Cumulative Percent






Path schema


114


52.3


52.3


52.3




Containment schema


35


16.1


16.1


68.3




Force schema


69


31.7


31.7


100




Total


218


100


100







To test the null hypothesis that there is no significant difference in the frequency of occurrence of the three types of image schemas in the story of “Bijan and Manijeh” in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, a chi-square test was conducted. As shown in Table 2, the results indicate a significant difference among the frequencies of the image schemas. In other words, path schemas occur significantly more frequently than the other image schemas.
Table 2. Chi-square test of image schema types in the story of “Bijan and Manijeh” in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh




Test


Value


df


Asymptotic Significance (2-sided)






Pearson Chi-Square


436.000a


4


.000




Likelihood Ratio


434.606


4


.000




Linear-by-Linear Association


116.329


1


.000




N of Valid Cases


218










Considering the p-value obtained from the statistical test (0.00), the null hypothesis is rejected at the 0.05 significance level (p < 0.05).
Conclusion
The representation of various image schemas in conveying different cognitive concepts and meanings is one of the characteristics of Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh. Each image schema is used for a particular purpose in the text, depending on its application, characteristics, and role. The findings show a significant difference among the frequencies of the various image schemas proposed by Johnson (1987) in the story of “Bijan and Manijeh”. In other words, path schemas occur significantly more frequently than the other types of image schemas.
Path schemas are formed on the basis of human experiences of movement, locomotion, and interaction with the surrounding environment (Johnson, 1987). The path schema consequently has a high frequency of representation in human life and, by extension, in human cognition and language. Accordingly, Bijan is represented in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh as a heroic character who chooses a path and moves along it to reach a goal. In this regard, Jafari and Choghadi (2013) state that Ferdowsi’s story of “Bijan and Manijeh” is based on the hero’s journey, in which the hero sets out on a symbolic and dangerous path to achieve a more complete and developed personality. This characteristic may account for the high frequency of path schemas observed in the story of “Bijan and Manijeh” in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh. This finding is also consistent with the findings of Ameri et al. (2019) concerning Hafez’s poetry as an example of classical Persian poetry, as well as those of Fayazi and Ahmadpour Lakhtaji (2022) concerning Forough Farrokhzad’s poetry as an example of modern Persian poetry, regarding the use of path schemas.
Since human thought, cognition, and language are metaphorical in nature (Johnson, 1987: 13; Kövecses, 2020: 17; Lakoff and Johnson, 1980: 254), metaphor plays an important role in the formation of our conceptual system. Therefore, the first level of the schema system, namely image schemas, is of considerable importance in the formation of higher-level structures and ultimately of conceptual metaphors. Accordingly, examining and analyzing schemas in influential Persian works such as Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh can contribute to a deeper understanding of their epic, historical, mythological, cultural, and narrative concepts and features and their applications in fields such as psychology, literary criticism, and education.