Lexical stylistic devices: metonomy (its types and functions) and synecdoche as its variant, antonomasia, oxymoron.

Metonymy.In metonymy we observe a different type of relation between the dictionary and contextual meaning, based not on identification, but on contiguity (nearness) of objects or phenomena. Transference of names in metonymy does not involve a necessity for two different words to have a common component in their semantic structures, as in the case with metaphor, but proceeds from the fact that two objects (or phenomena) have common grounds for existence in reality. Metonymy is in many cases trite and registered by dictionaries in the semantic structure of a polysemantic word, e.g. the press (i.e. a printing or publishing establishment), the bench (i.e. magistrates and justices), a hand (a worker), etc. Genuine metonymy reveals quite an unexpected substitution of one word for another, or one concept for another, on the ground of some strong impression produced by a chance feature of the thing, e.g.Then they came in. Two of them, a man with long fair moustaches and a silent dark man. Definitely the moustache and I had nothing in common. (D.L.) We have a feature of a man which catches the eye, in this case his facial appearance: the moustache stands for the man himself. The metonymy here shows that the speaker does not know the man in question, moreover, there is a definite implication that this is the first time the speaker has seen him.

There are various types of relations in metonymy. The most common are as follows:

1. A concrete thing is used instead of an abstract notion. In this case the thing becomes the symbol of the notion, e.g. There you are at your tricks again. The rest of them do earn their bread; you live on my charity. (E.Br.)

2. The container instead of the thing contained, e.g. The hall applauded,

3. The relation of proximity, e.g. The round game table was
boisterous and happy. (D.)

4. The material instead of the thing made of it, e.g. The marble spoke.

5. The instrument which the doer uses in performing the action instead of the action or the doer himself, e.g. As the sword is the worst argument that can be used, so should it be the last. (B.)

Metonymy is less frequently observed than metaphor, because the scope of human imagination identifying two objects or phenomena on the ground of commonness of one of their innumerable characteristics is boundless while actual relations between objects are more limited. As a rule, metonymy is expressed by nouns or substantivized numerals, e.g. Dinah, a slim, fresh, pale seventeen, was plain and yet fragile. (C.H.)

One type of metonymy, which is based on the relations between the part and the whole, is often viewed independently as synecdoche, e.g. For every look that passed between them, and word they spoke, the dwarf had eyes and ears. (D.)

Antonomasia.This is a lexical stylistic device in which a proper name is used instead of a common noun or vice versa. Here we observe the interplay between the logical and nominal meaning of the words. Let us consider a few typical examples. In the sentence "Her mother is perfectly unbearable. Never met such a Gorgon " (O.W.) the proper name of a mythological woman is preceded by the indefinite article and it means not that particular personage, but any woman whose character is similar to that of Gorgon, i.e. a fussy, cruel, cantankerous woman, something like a monster. When a common noun is employed instead of a proper name, antonomasia is intended to point out the leading, most characteristic feature of a person or event, at the same time pinning this leading trait as a proper name to the person concerned. In fact, antonomasia is the initial stage in naming individuals. E.g. The next speaker was a tall gloomy man, Sir Something Somebody. (P.) Here we are to understand the insignificance and triviality of the speaker who is indistinguishable among the multitude of common people.

Another type of antonomasia is presented in the so-called "speaking names", names whose origin from common nouns is still clearly perceived. So, in such popular English surnames as Mr. Smith or Mr. Brown the etimology can be restored, but no speaker of English today has it in the mind that the first used to mean occupation and the second - colour. But such names from Sheridan's School for Scandal as Lady Teazle or Mr. Surface immediately raise associations with certain human qualities due to the primary meaning of the words "to tease" and "surface". In Ukrainian and Russian literature this device is used by many classic writers, e.g. Vralman, Molchalin, Korobochka, Kalytka, Halushka, Taras Tryasylo.

The use of antonomasia in publicistic style also has the same function, e.g. / suspect that the Noes and Don't Knows would far outnumber the Yesses. ("The Spectator")

Oxymoron.This is a combination of two words in which the meanings of the two clash, because they are opposite in sense, e.g. sweet sorrow, nice rascal, horribly beautiful. Each oxymoron is a combination of two semantically contradictory notions that help to emphasize contradictory qualities as a dialectical unity simultaneously existing in the described phenomenon. One of the two members of the oxymoron points out the feature which is universally recognized, while the other shows a purely subjective individual perception of the object.

Oxymoron may have the structural model Adj.+Noun, e.g. loving hate, cold fire, etc. Here the subjective part of the oxymoron is embodied in the attribute-epithet. In this structural model the resistance of the two component parts to fusion manifests itself most strongly. Another model is Adv.+Adj. Here the change of meaning in the first element is more rapid, and the resistance to the unifying process is not so strong.

Besides, there exist other structural models, in which verbs are used. Such verbal structures as to shout mutely, to cry silently seem to strengthen the idea and show the writer's individual approach to it. Sometimes the tendency to combine the uncombinative is revealed in structurally different forms. Here the originality and specificity of oxymoron becomes especially evident, e.g. the street damaged by improvements (O.H.), silence was louder than thunder (U.). The reader immediately feels that, in the first example, the author is critical of the improvements and shows that they were quite unnecessary, in the second -silence has a dangerous quality and produces a deafening effect on the listener. In this way a lot of additional, objective information is conveyed in the oxymoronic structure.

Though oxymorons rarely become trite, some of them have really become traditional and show a high degree of the speaker's spiritual involvement in the situation, e.g. awfully nice, terribly sorry. Here the qualifying adjectives serve as intensifiers.

Synecdoche Definition

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 examples are often misidentified as metonymy (another literary device). Both may resemble each other to some extent but they are not the same. Synecdoche refers to the 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 word “king” or “queen”.

Synecdoche Examples from Everyday Life

It is very common to refer to a thing by the name of its parts. Let us look at some of the examples of synecdoche that we can hear from casual conversations:

· 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” usually refers to soldiers.

· The term “coke” is a common synecdoche for all carbonated drinks.

· “Pentagon” is a synecdoche when it refers to a few decision makers.

· The word “glasses” refers to spectacles.

· “Coppers” often refers to coins.

Examples of Synecdoche in Literature

Example #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 wave
Rested the broad bright Sun”

The “western wave” is a synecdoche as it refers to the sea by the name of one of its parts i.e. wave.

Example #2

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

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

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

Function of Synecdoche

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

Like any other literary device, synecdoche when used appropriately adds a distinct color to words making them appear vivid. To insert this “life” factor to literary works, writers describe simple ordinary things creatively with the aid of this literary device.