Cognitive Narratology: Applying the Conceptual Blending Theory to Persian Folk Tales

Cognitive narratology is a systematic approach that, following the achievements of cognitive semantics, has played an important role in determining the nature and function of the narrative texts. G. Fauconnier and M.Turner have thoroughly explained the principles and the framework of the conceptual blending. This article, after introducing the theoretical approach of conceptual blending, examines the processes of meaning formation and characterization in two Persian folk tales based on the hypothesis that creativity and dynamism of meaning formation in folk tales can be analyzed by the paradigms and principles of conceptual blending. The article aims at explaining the processes used in activating imagination and creating meaning in order to provide the possibility of a better reading of the folk tales.