Even Frederick Douglass's Paper enacted this synecdoche. Remember that synecdoche refers to parts and wholes of a thing, metonymy to a related term. ", "The rustler bragged he'd absconded with five hundred head of longhorns. 4. In the same way a synecdoche can use a part to represent a whole, it can also use the whole to represent a part. Some people refer to any variety of cola as "Coke". he is the breadwinner; music is my bread and butter). By going through this article, you will enhance your list of synecdoches and provide you examples that will guide you get a clear picture. 3. "In showing a journey by night, Friedrich Ermler blacked out the sky, the trees, the road, and the carriage itself: all we see is a flickering white horse galloping larger toward us. Though this may not matter as long as they are used in proper context, examining the most popular varieties of synecdoche will make it easier for you to recognize this figurative language when used. A typical figure of speech in which either a part or the entire sentence is used to depict a particular scenario. "At midnight I went on deck, and to my mate's great surprise put the ship round on the other tack. (sailors), His parents bought him a new set of wheels. The Bible. There are several different forms of synecdoche. Eliot. In truth, some synecdoche are a form of metonymy. He hurled the barbed weapon at the whale. The word “boots” usually refers to soldiers. The use of 'run away from us over the cobbles' is the use of this figure of speech. Asking someone to put their "John Hancock" on a document refers to anyone putting their signature there. In truth, synecdoche and metonymy have a lot in common and even grammarians can't always agree on whether an expression is synecdoche or metonymy. Types of Synecdoche. Here is a list of some of these examples: Boots on the ground—refers to soldiers. "His eye met hers as she sat there paler and whiter than anyone in the vast ocean of anxious faces about her.". "Friends, Romans, countrymen: lend me your ears." ". The usage of synecdoche, thus, emphasizes a sentence delivering the right context and embellishing the literary work. Bullets are sometimes referred to as "lead". Copyright © 2020 LoveToKnow. Any bit of polystyrene is referred to as "Styrofoam". You ride in a car, so it's a related word, but it's not an element of a car. (new car), He has many mouths to feed. This figure of speech is also considered a sub-class of metonymy (where one term is not called by its actual name instead it is referred to something closely associated with it). The whole world did not treat him badly only a part. The word “suit” refers to a businessman. "Tell that its sculptor well those passions read. When people say "The New York Times" printed a new story, they mean one specific journalist wrote a new piece. The important thing to keep in mind is that you're always going to be dealing with parts and wholes. (This is another example of a synecdoche taken from A Description of the Morning written by Jonathan Swift (1667 - 1745), where the broomy stumps refer to the broom as a whole.) His terrible whiskers flitted round me in silent criticism.". A synecdoche may use a word or phrase as a class to express more or less than the word or phrase actually means. It's easy to confuse synecdoche and metonymy because they both use a word or phrase to represent something else (some even consider synecdoche a type of metonymy). The word "bread" can be used to represent food in general or money (e.g. Examples of Synecdoche in a sentence. Another common word for car is "ride." Instead of referring to each coin, merchants employed a synecdoche for all money by calling it silver. In literature, forms of love poetry and sonnets also use this figure of speech to signify the beauty of their beloved, which in turn beautifies the piece of work further. The word “bread” refers to food or money, as in “Writing is my bread and butter,” or “He is the sole breadwinner.” 2. 3. 1. Because it colors ordinary rhetoric, synecdoche is a favorite in poetry and music lyrics. "Friends, Romans, countrymen: lend me your ears.". You may also see periodic sentence examples. 2. All adhesive bandages are commonly referred to as "Band-Aids". You may also see allegory examples. To go for a walk in the "woods" means to go for a walk in a forest-like setting. Before we take a walk down this multi-colored lane, let's clear the air regarding the confusion between synecdoche and metonymy. While a synecdoche takes an element of a word or phrase and uses it to refer to the whole, a metonymy replaces the word or phrase entirely with a related concept. While a synecdoche takes an element of a word or phrase and uses it to refer to the whole, a metonymy replaces the word or phrase entirely with a related concept. ". Tropes include metaphor, simile, metonymy, synecdoche, etc. For example, "Let's take my new ride out for a spin." Sometimes we refer to the United States as "America" when the "Americas" is actually made up of a few different countries. So, the next time you want to write about the sun shining on the ocean, think about the individual parts, maybe the bright rays catching the waves, and you'll soon enter into the ranks of synecdoche superiority. Julius Caesar, Shakespeare. It's easy to confuse synecdoche and metonymy because they both use a word or phrase to represent something else (some even consider synecdoche a type of metonymy). As well as synecdoche, you have metaphors, similes, personification, and more. "I should have been a pair of ragged claws Scuttling across the floors of silent seas." Figurative language comes in many shapes and sizes. In truth, some synecdoche are a form of metonymy. Synecdoche is a figure of speech which expresses either more, or less, than it literally denotes. Examples of Synecdoche from Literature. 6. Even mythic characters, Gods and literary personalities like Hamlet, Othello, Desdemona, Romeo, Juliet and Macbeth have been viewed as synecdochical. The little lady in Cleveland couldn't pay her heating bill. This emphasizes the style of presentation too, The ship was lost with all hands. It's actually very common in the English language for part of something reference the whole. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening written by Robert Frost, where the journey through the woods and forests refers to life's journey. The word “sails” refers to a whole ship. During 2010, in the Winter Olympics, Canada added glory by winning 14 gold medals for the country. The word "police" can be used to represent one or several officers. There are several different types of synecdoche in speech and writing. When a whole is used as the part or a part of a thing is put for the whole Examples: * "The world treated him badly." Most renowned poets use synecdoches to make their prose effective and meaningful in a vivid and impressive way. Flesh that needs to be loved. Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare A synecdoche (pronounced si-nek-duh-kee) is a member of the figurative language family. If someone says "the restaurant" was lovely, they either mean the wait staff, the food, or the environment. There are two key types of synecdoche: microcosm and macrocosm.Microcosm is the phrase for synecdoche in which a smaller part signifies a larger whole.Macrocosm, on the other hand, is the phrase for synecdoche in which a larger whole signifies a smaller collection of parts.