Metaphoral

Metaphoral is a term used to describe the combination of metaphor and metalanguage in literary theory and criticism. It refers to the use of a metaphoric expression to comment on or describe the very act of speaking or writing in a metalanguage.

This concept is often associated with the work of literary theorists who examine the relationships between language, meaning, and reality. Metaphoral is particularly relevant in poststructuralist and postmodernist theories, where the instability and fluidity of language are emphasized.

In a metaphoral text, language is used to self-consciously reflect on its own operations and limitations. This can involve the use of metaphors to describe the constructive nature of language, the provisional nature of meaning, or the fragmentary nature of language and reality.

Metaphoral is distinct from other concepts in literary theory, such as intertextuality or metalepsis. While intertextuality highlights the interrelatedness of texts and contexts, and metalepsis refers to the blurring of the boundaries between narrative levels, metaphoral specifically addresses the intersection of metaphor and metalanguage.

Examples of writers who have employed metaphoral in their work include James Joyce in "Finnegans Wake" and Thomas Pynchon in "Gravity's Rainbow". These authors use metaphoric language to reflect on the ontological and epistemological assumptions of their narratives, often subverting the reader's expectations of what constitutes a stable or certain truth.

Overall, metaphoral represents a critical methodology for analyzing literary texts that refocuses attention on the material and semantic properties of language itself, highlighting the performativity and ambiguity of metaphor and metalanguage.