---

This article studies the question of “meaning” in literary texts. First, I havepresented a definition for linguistic proposition. There is no proposition in language that does not have a linguistic definition; however,literature is replete with propositions without any acceptable referents. Under three circumstances the linguistic definition of a text is rendered null: (1) unconsciousness that is whenthe text indicates that the propositions were produced under an unconscious state; (2) anti-referentiality when the linguistic definition of a text is denied because itrefers to a referent that is inconsistent with our everyday experience; and (3) incongruity between the proposition and its producer, which happens when there is discrepancy between the linguistic definition of the propositions and our already-established assumptions about its producer. In conclusion, this article categorizes the propositions of a text in three categories: Propositions with acceptable linguistic definition that refers to a known referent; Propositions in which the secondary meaning is the speaker’s primary intended meaning and under this meaning they have external referents as well; Propositions that—no matter what generated their semantic ambiguity—are without any acceptable linguistic definition and that are not congruent with our known world and resist comprehension. 

---

Metalepsis, in its narratological sense, is a trope in which an unnatural relationship is built between different levels of narrative. The natural relationship between narrative levels is formed by the act of narrating; a character from one level becomes the narrator of another. The term “Metalepsis of topic and illustration” can be coined to name a similar trope. This trope has been used for centuries in Persian poetry. Every Image comprises a topic and an illustration. The topic is what is being talked about and the illustration is what the topic is compared to. When several images are present along together, two different levels are distinguishable: the level of the topic and the level of illustration. The natural relationship between these two levels is similarity and any other relationship will result in metalepsis. As in the narratological metalepsis, there is always a paradox in the metalepsis of topic and illustration. The effect of these two kinds of metalepsis is also similar and can be humorous, fantastic, or a mixture of the two.