Schizophrenia, Poetic Imagery and Metaphor

Abstract

Poetic imagism and metaphor illustrate important similarities and differences to schizoid uses of figurative language. Both seem to come from similar causes to assuage similar needs, but the poetic succeeds where the schizoid fails. Imagistic poetry, itself a record of sense perception, attempts to fuse word and thing to present them to our senses for understanding. Metaphor also presents objects so that they might suggest further meanings to help us understand reality. A close look at poetic uses of image and metaphor shows how metaphor proceeds from image and illustrates how schizoid attempts to use these psycholinguistic processes fail. First, poetic imagism is compared to schizoid concretization to delineate specifically how one succeeds, and the other fails in imaging offering reasons for the failure. After examining imaging and relating it to identification, poiesis, or metaphor-making is also explained and related to imagery and identification. Closing remarks consider illusion and reality in poetry and schizophrenia.