is a Figure Of Speech that presents a kind of Metaphor in which:
- A part of something is used for the whole,
- The whole is used for a part,
- The species is used for the genus,
- The genus is used for the species, or
- The stuff of which something is made is used for the thing.
Synecdoche, as well as forms of Metonymy , is one of the most common ways to characterize a Fictional Character . Frequently, someone will be consistently described by a single body part or feature, such as the eyes, which comes to represent their person.
Also, Sonnet s and other forms of love poetry frequently use synecdoches to characterize the beloved in terms of individual body parts rather than a whole, coherent self. This practice is especially common in the Petrarchan Sonnet , where the idealised beloved is often described part by part, from head to toe.
- A part of something is used for the whole
- --- "hands" to refer to workers, "head" for cattle, "threads" for clothing, "wheels" for car, "mouths to feed" for hungry people, "white hair" for the elderly, "The Press" for news media
- The whole is used for a part
- --- "the police" for a handful of officers, "body" for the trunk of the body, the "smiling year" for spring, "the Pentagon" for the top-ranking generals in The Pentagon building
- The species is used for the genus
- --- "cutthroat" for assassin, "kleenex" for facial tissue, "coke" for soda, "castle" for home, "bread" for food
- The genus is used for the species
- --- "creature" for person, "milk" for cow's milk
- The stuff of which something is made is used for the thing
- --- "willow" for cricket bat, "copper" for penny, "boards" for stage, "ivories" for piano keys, "plastic" for credit card, "the hardwood" for a gym floor
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