Published Online: Jan 30, 2017
Page range: 103 - 114
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/nor-2017-0123
Keywords
© 2010 Leif Dahlberg, published by De Gruyter Open
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.
The subject of this article is the extensive use of metalepsis as an argumentative and rhetorical device in media discourse, and in particular in advertising. Metalepsis, a form of metonymy, sets up an inverted relation – causal, logical or contiguous – between terms and/or objects, either as an aesthetic effect or a means of persuasion. The first part of the article discusses the use of metalepsis in literature and film; the second part discusses the use of the figure in mass media and advertising; the third part discusses the relation between advertising, art, and popular culture. The final part of the article discusses the pervasive use metalepsis in advertising. Since metalepsis is a powerful rhetorical device, I have chosen the figure of the tiger to illustrate how it operates in advertising and media discourse.