‘The People Were Toppled by the Fire from All Sides’: An Analysis of the Metaphorical Use of Fire in Jordanian Political Speeches

Abstract

This paper examines the metaphorical use of fire in political speeches in the House of Representatives of Jordan. The analysis relies on political speeches made on different occasions between 2015 and 2022. This study uses a corpus-based approach to analyse fire metaphors. The findings indicate that fire is used in political speeches to achieve different metaphorical purposes, both positive and negative. The positive use of fire includes using it as a metaphor relating to hope and optimism for a better future as well as using it to praise courageous deeds and efforts of others. The negative use of fire includes using it to indicate danger, the speed at which unwanted things spread, pain and distress and the urgency to take immediate action to stop danger.