A Poetics of Minds and Madness: Fiction, Cognition and Interpretation

​This monograph aims to explore the mind-narrative nexus by conducting a cognitive narratological study on the mad minds in fictional narratives. Set on the interface of narrative and cognitive science (cognitive linguistics, cognitive psychology and cognitive neuropsychology), it adopts an indirect empirical approach to the fictional representation of madness. The American writer Ken Kesey’s novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is chosen as the primary text of investigation, whereas due consideration is also given to other madness narratives when necessary. This book not only demonstrates the value of reading and rereading literary classics in the modern era, but also sheds light on the studies of cognitive narratology, cognitive poetics, madness narratives and literature in general.

Xinran YANG is an associate professor of Linguistics and English Language/Literature at Beijing International Studies University, where she teaches pragmatics, discourse analysis and academic writing, etc. Her major research interests include stylistics, cognitive poetics, narratology and discourse analysis. Her publications include stylistic analysis of literary texts, cognitive poetic studies, cognitive narrative studies and academic writing.