ABSTRACT
The concept of metaphorical-metonymic oscillation is part of a bipolar approach to associative functioning that employs the two modes of metaphor and metonymy, an explicit reference to Roman Jakobson and Jacques Lacan. Metaphorical-metonymic oscillation occurs when an undecidable situation arises in the search for meaning. Consequently, in the attempt to bring out meaning, which is impossible to reach by means of the successful employment of the habitual combination of metaphor and metonymy, a sort of panic occurs, an oscillation between the two poles. Metaphorical-metonymic oscillation was first described by G. Rosolato in two specific contexts, in the clinical study of perversion and in the origins of aesthetic joy, but it is encountered in many other situations.
