The Key Ragtime Metaphor and Secondary Metaphors with the Source Sphere “Music” in the novel “Ragtime” by E.L. Doctorow

Abstract

Purpose of this article: to explore musical metaphors in the novel by E.L. Doctorow “Ragtime”. This goal involves the solution of the following tasks: 1) describe the key metaphor of ragtime and outline the specific characters of its use in the novel; 2) analyze minor musical metaphors with the source sphere “Music” in accordance with the theory of metaphorical modeling, highlighting the system of frame magnets and slots. The research results show that in E.L. Doctorow's key metaphor for ragtime is based on the play on words of the musical term “ragtime”, allowing, on the one hand, to show the difficult time of the early twentieth century in American history, and, on the other hand, – the specifics of ragtime as a musical genre popular at that time. The secondary metaphors with the source sphere “Music” include the following source frames: “Sound of Music”, “Singing”, “Timbre of a Musical Instrument”, “Playing a Musical Instrument”, “Musical Instrument”. Such metaphors undoubtedly embellish the narrative, making it more vivid and aesthetically pleasing to the reader.