Emblematic Forms and the “Flickering” of Meanings

Abstract

The paper deals with the significance of the procedural nature of “flickering” meanings, identifying their functionality in the formation and interpretation of emblematic structures. By integrating visual and verbal signifiers, the emblem attains the status of an image schema, suggesting a semantic volume that it partially reconstructs. Contemporary scholarly interpretations extend the temporal and disciplinary dimensions of “emblematicity”, which, as a conceptual category, have seen a substantial increase in its applicability. This concept appeals to a foundational cognitive mechanism rooted in the coherence between phenomena and noumena, the perceptual background and verbal articulation, and the interplay of iconic and conventional elements in diverse configurations. The emblematic form presents an expanded model of the dialectical and synergetic process, whereby cognitive activity is transformed into semantic experience through verbal-iconic mediation.