Combining a cognitive approach based on Lakoff's Conceptual Metaphor Theory and a pragmatic approach based on Critical Metaphor Analysis, this study investigates the use of ANIMAL metaphoric scenarios to figure corruption as a relationship between predators and prey and the cultural implications in the Jordanian context. It also seeks to identify the diverse functions performed by the use of ANIMAL metaphors. Data for the study consist of 10 excerpts taken from a satire-genre discourse "sawalief.com". My argument is that all animal metaphors in the corpus promote the contrast between the ACTIVITY of corrupters and the PASSIVITY of the citizenry and that the goal of this rhetoric is to move the PASSIVE citizenry into ACTION by shaming them into fighting corruption. This is clearly illustrated through the use of two types of ANIMAL metaphoric scenarios: ACTIVE ANIMALS representing corrupters and politicians, and PASSIVE ANIMALS representing the citizens. In addition, the use of these metaphors performs diverse functions: ideological, cognitive, and rhetorical.

Using the tenets of the Cognitive Metaphor Theory (CMT) and the pragmatic approach of the Critical Metaphor Analysis (CMA), this paper investigates a variety of novel metaphoric scenarios targeting the conceptualization of the abstract concept of corruption in Jordanian sociopolitical discourse. My central argument is that by employing a range of conceptual domains to elicit a strong visceral reaction in his readership, the columnist Ahmad Hasan Al-Zu'bi connects the conceptual domain of CORRUPTION back to the equally abstract (but also deeply felt) conceptual domain of SHAME as the embedded running theme in the data under investigation. Unlike the corresponding model, which is primarily concerned with mapping elements from the source domain onto the target counterpart, these scenarios provide us with mini-narratives or storylines, shedding more light on the concept of SHAME which is crystallized through the diverse source domains utilized in the columnist's writings. The study is based on the analysis of 19 extracts taken from the writings of a popular Jordanian columnist Ahmad Hasan Al-Zu'bi in his well-known website Sawalief.com. Two main research questions are raised in this paper: 1. What types of creative metaphoric scenarios are used to frame the abstract target concept of corruption? 2. Why are these particular creative metaphors exploited in the conceptualization of the problem of corruption? Findings of the study reveal that the creative power of these metaphoric scenarios does highlight and connect back to a powerful and emotionally resonant emotion that is important in traditional Jordanian society: SHAME.