Synecdoche
Literary term · say it sih-NEK-duh-kee
Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part stands for the whole, or the whole stands for a part. Calling workers hands is a familiar example: one part of their bodies stands for the people themselves.
Two ways synecdoche appears
People named by their work
A body part can stand for a person, especially when that part suggests the person's work. This can draw attention to a useful skill while leaving the rest of the person out of view.
In Moby-Dick, sailors aboard the Pequod are repeatedly referred to as hands when they are called to work. The part of the body doing the labour stands for each whole sailor.
In Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
A person represented by one part
A single body part can stand for someone whose actions or character matter to a scene. The chosen part keeps attention on what that person does.
In Ozymandias, the traveller describes the sculptor's hand as capturing the ruler's passions. The hand stands for the sculptor whose skill preserved that expression in stone.
In Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley
How to spot synecdoche
- Look for a part named where a whole person or thing is meant.
- Check whether the named thing is actually part of what it represents.
- Ask what the chosen part brings into focus.
What is the difference between synecdoche and metonymy?
Synecdoche depends on a part-and-whole relationship, while metonymy uses a close association. Hands for workers is synecdoche because hands are parts of people. The crown for royal power is metonymy because a crown is associated with a ruler, rather than being part of the ruler's body.
Can synecdoche use a whole to mean only a part?
Yes, synecdoche can use a whole to stand for a part. If someone says the school won a football match, school can stand for its football team, not every pupil and teacher. Context helps show how much of the whole is actually meant.
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