The aesthetic judgements of metaphors in understanding literary texts

The term ‘metaphor’ resonates strongly with contemporary cognitive linguistics, literary studies, and second language (L2) teaching, but it is minimally employed in the Algerian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) literature classroom as an aesthetic device for the analysis of literature or to aid in understanding literary texts. This study evaluated the aesthetic judgements of Algerian EFL learners when encountering metaphorical images and how these judgements affect their perceptions of literary texts through an empirical assessment (pre/posttest) of the evaluation of two poems by 20 first-year Algerian EFL students, and a paired-samples t-test in SPSS was employed to identify any significant differences in participant grades. The findings indicate that by interpreting metaphors, students come to appreciate the emotional depth of literary texts, thereby influencing their comprehension. This study emphasises the advantages of an integrated framework for teaching metaphors.