ABSTRACT
The different theories attempting to explain how metaphors achieve their effects have proliferated in recent years. This chapter introduces a set of symbols for use in simple diagrams that help in following what is going on with rhetorical referencing. It then uses these diagrams in describing early language-based theories of metaphor before moving to the emergence of conceptual theories that focus more on the contribution of cognitive processes. After acknowledging the limitations of conceptual approaches, the chapter then turns to one conceptual theory, “configuration mapping”, that adopts a relational approach to metaphors and which will be adopted throughout this book.
