Author(s): Chen Ziwei

Abstract: This paper analyzes how linguistic features in James Joyce's short story "Araby" affect the expression and appreciation of emotions from the perspective of cognitive stylistics. The article first briefly introduces the theoretical foundations of cognitive stylistics that can be applied to the study of emotions in literature. It then discusses the impact of styles on emotional presentation from the aspects of lexicon, syntax, and phonetics in the original text. Combining three cognitive theories, Conceptual Metaphor, Image Schema, and Foregrounding, it connects the three dimensions of language, cognition, and emotion. The correlation is used to analyze the emotional changes of the characters and reveal the growth and disillusionment of the young boy in the pursuit of love.

Keywords: Cognitive Stylistics; “Araby”; James Joyce; Emotion

Article Info: Received: 11 Oct 2025; Received in revised form: 09 Nov 2025; Accepted: 15 Nov 2025; Available online: 21 Nov 2025

DOI: 10.22161/ijels.106.23