Hello
and good day my Lovely Readers, Came back again on Juliana Esti blog’s… for
this occasion I’m going to explain and share with you all about “ METONYMY and
SYNECDOCHE”. So let’s read together…
Metonymy Definition
It
is a figure of speech that replaces the name of a thing with the name of
something else with which it is closely associated. We can come across examples
of metonymy both from literature and in everyday life.
Metonymy, Synecdoche and Metaphor
Metonymy
is often confused with another figure of speech called synecdoche. They
resemble each other but are not the same. Synecdoche refers to a thing by the
name of one of its parts. For example, calling a car “a wheel” is a synecdoche.
A part of a car i.e. “a wheel” stands for the whole car. In a metonymy, on the
other hand, the word we use to describe another thing is closely linked to that
particular thing, but is not a part of it. For example, “Crown” which means
power or authority is a metonymy.
Metonymy
is different from a metaphor. A metaphor draws resemblance between two
different things as in “You are sunlight and I moon” – Sun And Moon from Miss
Saigon. Sunlight (and moon) and human are two different things without any
association but it attempts to describe one thing in terms of another based on
a supposed similarity. Metonymy, however, develops relation on the grounds of
close associations as in “The White House is concerned about terrorism.” The
White House here represents the people who work in it.
Examples of Metonymy in Everyday Life
We
use metonymy frequently in our everyday life. For a better understanding, let
us observe a few metonymy examples:
England decides to keep check on immigration.
(England refers to the government.)
The pen is mightier than the sword. (Pen refers to
written words and sword to military force.)
The Oval Office was busy in work. (“The Oval Office”
is a metonymy as it stands for people at work in the office.)
Let me give you a hand. (Hand means help.)
Function of Metonymy
Generally,
metonymy is used in developing literary symbolism i.e. it gives more profound
meanings to otherwise common ideas and objects. By using metonymy, texts
exhibit deeper or hidden meanings and thus drawing readers’ attention. In addition, the use of metonymy helps
achieve conciseness. For instance, “Rifles were guarding the gate” is more
concise than “The guards with rifles in their hands were guarding the gate.”
Furthermore,
metonymy, like other literary devices, is employed to add a poetic color to
words to make them come to life. The simple ordinary things are described in a
creative way to insert this “life” factor to the literary works.
Synecdoche Definition
Synecdoche
is a literary device in which a part of something represents the whole or it
may use a whole to represent a part.
Synecdoche
may also use larger groups to refer to smaller groups or vice versa. It may
also call a thing by the name of the material it is made of or it may refer to
a thing in a container or packing by the name of that container or packing.
Difference between Synecdoche and
Metonymy
Synecdoche
examples are often misidentified as metonymy (another literary device). Both
may resemble each other to some extent but they are not the same. Synecdoche
refers to the whole of a thing by the name of any one of its parts. For
example, calling a car “wheels” is a synecdoche because a part of a car
“wheels” stands for the whole car. However, in metonymy, the word we use to
describe another thing is closely linked to that particular thing, but is not
necessarily a part of it. For example, “crown” that refers to power or
authority is a metonymy used to replace the word “king” or “queen”.
Synecdoche Examples from Everyday Life
It
is very common to refer to a thing by the name of its parts. Let us look at
some of the examples of synecdoche that we can hear from casual conversations:
The word “bread” refers to food or money as in
“Writing is my bread and butter” or “sole breadwinner”.
The phrase “gray beard” refers to an old man.
The word “sails” refers to a whole ship.
The word “suits” refers to businessmen.
The word “boots” usually refers to soldiers.
The term “coke” is a common synecdoche for all
carbonated drinks.
“Pentagon” is a synecdoche when it refers to a few
decision makers.
Function of Synecdoche
Literary
symbolism is developed by the writers who employ synecdoche in their literary
works. By using synecdoche, the writers give otherwise common ideas and objects
deeper meanings and thus draw readers’ attention.
Furthermore,
the use of synecdoche helps writers to achieve brevity. For instance, saying
“Soldiers were equipped with steel” is more concise than saying “The soldiers
were equipped with swords, knives, daggers, arrows etc.”
Like
any other literary device, synecdoche when used appropriately adds a distinct
color to words making them appear vivid. To insert this “life” factor to
literary works, writers describe simple ordinary things creatively with the aid
of this literary device.
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