This study examines the cognitive-semantic functions of colour imagery in Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, emphasizing the central role of chromatic representation in the construction of meaning. It argues that colour imagery in the novella operates as a primary cognitive and symbolic system rather than a purely descriptive device, shaping readers’ perception of endurance, struggle, and human–nature unity. By integrating Geoffrey Leech and Mick Short’s stylistic model with Viktor Shklovsky’s theory of defamiliarization, the research demonstrates how recurrent colours such as blue, white, purple, gold, and dark are foregrounded to renew perception and encode abstract philosophical meanings.

Colour imagery, cognitive semantics, chromatic symbolism, stylistic foregrounding

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