Performance Task In English

Submitted to: Ma’am Fely Bautista

Definition of Synecdoche

• 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 is often confused with another literary device called metonymy. Both may resemble each other to some extent but are not the same. Synecdoche refers to a 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 king or the queen.

Examples of Synecdoche from Everyday Life

• It is very common to refer to things by the name of its parts. Let us a look at some common examples:

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” refers to soldiers. The term “coke” is a common synecdoche for all carbonated drinks. “Pentagon” is a synecdoche when it refers to the few decision makers. The word “glasses” refers to spectacles. “Coppers” often refers to coins.

Examples of Synecdoche in Literature

• 1. Coleridge employs synecdoche in his poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”:

“The western wave was all a-flame.The day was well was nigh done!Almost upon the western waveRested the broad bright Sun”

• The “western wave” is a synecdoche as it refers to the see by the name of its part i.e. wave.

Examples of Synecdoche in Literature

• 2. Look at the use of synecdoche in the lines taken from Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116:

“O no! It is an ever-fixed markThat looks on tempests and is never shaken.”

• The phrase “ever-fixed mark” refers to a lighthouse.

Examples of Synecdoche in Literature

• 3. Look how Shelly uses synecdoche in his poem “Ozymandias”:

“Tell that its sculptor well those passions readWhich yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them.”

• “The hand” in the above lines refers to the sculptor who carved the “lifeless things” into a grand statue.

Examples of Synecdoche in Literature

• 4. Observe the use of synecdoche in the following lines from “The Secret Sharer” by Joseph Conrad:

“At midnight I went on deck, and to my mate’s great surprise put the ship round on the other tack. His terrible whiskers

flitted round me in silent criticism.”

• The word “whiskers” mentioned in the above lines refers to the whole face of the narrator’s mate.

Examples of Synecdoche in Literature

• 5. Jonathon Swift in “The description of the Morning” uses synecdoche:

“Prepar’d to scrub the entry and the stairs.The youth with broomy stumps began to trace.”

• In the above lines the phrase “broomy stumps” refers to the whole broom.

Examples of Synecdoche in Literature

• 6. Note the use of synecdoche in “The Lady or the Tiger?” by Frank R. Stockton:

“His eye met hers as she sat there paler and whiter than anyone in the vast ocean of anxious faces about her.”

• “Faces” refers to the whole persons.

Function of Synecdoche

• Literary symbolism is developed by the writers who employ synecdoche in their literary works. By using synecdoche, the writers give the otherwise common ideas and objects deeper meanings and thus drawing 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.”

Synecdoche Forms

• There are several different forms of synecdoche examples including:

A synecdoche may use part of something to represent the entire whole

It may use an entire whole thing to represent a part of it. It can use a word or phrase as a class that will express less or

more than the word or phrase actually means. It may use a group of things that refer to a larger group or use a

large group to refer to a smaller group A synecdoche may also refer to an object by the material it is

made from or refer to the contents in a container by the name of the container

Examples of each type of synecdoche

Part to Represent Whole

It is common in our language for part of something to be used to represent the whole. For example:

The word “bread” can be used to represent food in general or money (e.g. he is the breadwinner; music is my bread and butter).

The word “sails” is often used to refer to a whole ship. The phrase "hired hands" can be used to refer to workmen. The word "head" refers to cattle. The word "wheels" refers to a vehicle.

Whole to Represent a Part

Using the whole to refer to a part is also a common practice in speech today.

For example:

At the Olympics, you will hear that the United States won a gold medal in an event. That actually means a team from the United States, not the country as a whole.

If “the world” is not treating you well, that would not be the entire world but just a part of it that you've encountered.

Whole to Represent a Part

The word "society" is often used to refer to high society or the social elite.

The word "police" can be used to represent only one or a few police officers.

The "pentagon" can refer to a few decision-making generals. "Capitol Hill" refers to both the U.S. Senate and the House of

Representatives

Class as Representing the Whole

A large group or class is sometimes used to represent a portion of it.

One example of this is referring to the United States as “America” when the “Americas” is actually made up of many countries. "Milk" is commonly used to refer to cow's milk when, in

reality there are many sources of milk.

Class as Representing the Whole

• Specific Part Representing A Whole

Asking someone to put their “John Hancock” on a document refers to anyone putting their signature there.

It is fairly common in the United States to refer to any carbonated beverage as “Coke”.

Facial tissue is often referred to as "Kleenex"

Material Representing an Object

The material used to make something, or that was used in the past, is often used to represent the entire object.

For example:

Silverware or dishes made of silver may be called “silver” even if they aren't sold silver.

The word “plastic” is commonly used to refer to credit cards.

Material Representing an Object

The word "ivories" is often used to denote piano keys, even though the keys are no longer made of ivory.

When a golfer plays with their "woods" they are referring to their longest golf clubs.

The word "lead" is commonly used to refer to bullets.

Container Representing its Contents

Lastly, the name of a container may be used to denote its contents.

One example is using the word “barrel” for a barrel of oil or beer.

A "keg" is used to refer to a keg of beer.

Why are Synecdoche Important in Politics?

• Answer: Important symbolic devices in political life because we often make polices based on examples believed to be representative of a larger universe.