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.

Synecdoche Examples The word “Coke” can mean -Coca Cola Pepsi (Basically any carbonated drink) Dr. Pepper The word “Kleenex” is the universal word for anything you blow your nose on.

Continued… Look how Shelly uses synecdoche in his poem Ozymandias: “Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which 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.

Metonymy Where the word we use to describe another thing is closely linked to that particular thing, but is not a part of it.

Metonymy Examples “Crown” which means power or authority is a metonymy. The suits were at meeting. (The suits stand for business people.) Let me give you a hand. (Hand means help.)

Tone an attitude of a writer toward a subject or an audience. Tone is generally conveyed through the choice of words or the viewpoint of a writer on a particular subject. The tone can be formal, informal, serious, comic, sarcastic, sad, and cheerful, etc.

What is the tone of this paragraph? “The place seemed fitted for quiet study and profound meditation. It was buried deep among the massive walls of the abbey and shut up from the tumult of the world.”

What is the son’s tone? Father: “We can’t go on vacation this summer.” Son: “Ok. Great! That’s exactly what I expected.”

Symbolism the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by giving them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal sense. The dove is a symbol of peace. Black is a symbol that represents evil or death.

Idiom A common figure of speech whose meaning is different from the literal meaning of the word. He kicked the bucket= the man died Let’s hit the road!= let’s leave now It’s raining cats and dogs= it’s pouring outside

Paradox A statement that seems to contradict itself but may nevertheless suggest an important truth. In Walden, Henry David Thoreau writes the paradox, “I am not as wise as the day I was born.” The statement suggests that civilization erases a child’s innate wisdom and spiritual awareness.

Another example “What a pity that youth must be wasted on the young.” – George Bernard Shaw

Pun a play on words in which a humorous effect is produced by using a word that suggests two or more meanings or by exploiting similar sounding words having different meanings. Why do we still have troops in Germany? To keep the Russians in Czech. I had a pet leech one time. It was pretty attached to me.

Imagery The descriptive words and phrases that a writer uses to re-create sensory experiences. (think 5 senses)