Polysemy of Phrasal Verbs in Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe

Abstract

This article investigates the polysemous nature of phrasal verbs in Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe. The study focuses on three phrasal verbs—take up, go on, and break off—and analyzes their contextual meanings within the novel. By comparing dictionary definitions from the Cambridge Dictionary and the Longman Phrasal Verbs Dictionary with actual usage in the text, the research reveals how phrasal verbs shift between literal and figurative senses. The analysis also applies theoretical insights from cognitive linguistics, particularly Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) Conceptual Metaphor Theory and Tyler and Evans’s (2003) Principled Polysemy Model, to explain how multiple meanings develop systematically. The findings demonstrate that phrasal verbs play a vital semantic and stylistic role in literary discourse, while their polysemy poses challenges for interpretation and translation.