Title: Meaning Generation Based on Figure-Ground Changes: A Cognitive Poetic Interpretation of Lawrence’s “Piano”

Abstract: D. H. Lawrence’s “Piano” is mainly studied through the perspectives of traditional modes of literary criticism. Originating from Gestalt psychology, the figure-ground theory of cognitive poetics is an effective means to the analysis of meaning generation. With the help of this theory, this paper expounds the thematic meaning generation in “Piano” and enables the readers to have a new aesthetic experience.

Keywords: “Piano,” cognitive poetics, figure-ground, meaning generation

Authors: Ruofei Ma, Associate Professor, Foreign Studies College, Huizhou University, Huizhou, Guangdong, China; Fangben Zeng, Professor, Foreign Studies College, Huizhou University, Huizhou, Guangdong, China.