The Branches of Semantics "Metonymy, Synecdoche and Hyperbole"

A.  METONYMY

Metonymy is a cognitive phenomenon—not just a figure of speech—with a considerable role in the organization of meaning (semantics), utterance production and interpretation (pragmatics), and even grammatical structure. It is a figure of speech that replaces the name of a thing with the name of something else with which it is closely associated. The same metonymic principles that relate different senses of a word serve to create and retrieve novel meanings in actual language use. The interpretation of grammatical structure (construction meaning) seems to be sensitive to metonymic principles. Furthermore, metonymic processes play a crucial role in semantic change and in grammaticalization.

Metonymy, Synecdoche and Metaphor

Metonymy is often confused with another figure of speech called synecdoche. They resemble each other but are not the same. Synecdoche refers to a thing by the name of one of its parts. For example, calling a car “a wheel” is a synecdoche. A part of a car i.e. “a wheel” stands for the whole car. In a metonymy, on the other hand, the word we use to describe another thing is closely linked to that particular thing, but is not a part of it. For example, “Crown” which means power or authority is a metonymy.

Metonymy is different from a metaphor. A metaphor draws resemblance between two different things as in “You are sunlight and I moon” – Sun And Moon from Miss Saigon. Sunlight (and moon) and human are two different things without any association but it attempts to describe one thing in terms of another based on a supposed similarity. Metonymy, however, develops relation on the grounds of close associations as in “The White House is concerned about terrorism.” The White House here represents the people who work in it.

Examples of Metonymy

=> England decides to keep check on immigration. (England refers to the government)
=> The pen is mightier than the sword. (Pen refers to written words and sword to military force)
=> The Oval Office was busy in work. (“The Oval Office” is a metonymy as it stands for people at work in the office)
=> Let me give you a hand. (Hand means help)

Metonymy Examples in Literature

 

Example 1 :

The given lines are from Shakespeare’s “Julies Caesar” Act I.

“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.”

Mark Anthony uses “ears” to say that he wants the people present there to listen to him attentively. It is a metonymy because the word “ears” replaces the concept of attention.

Example 2 :

This line is from Margaret Mitchell’s novel “Gone with the Wind”.

“I’m mighty glad Georgia waited till after Christmas before it secedes or it would have ruined the Christmas parties.”

Scarlett uses “Georgia” to point out everything that makes up the state: citizens, politician, government etc. It is a metonymy extremely common in the modern world, where a name of a country or state refers to a whole nation and its government. Thus, it renders brevity to the ideas.

Example 3 :
These lines are taken from “Out, Out” by Robert Frost.

“As he swung toward them holding up the hand
Half in appeal, but half as if to keep
The life from spilling”

In these lines, the expression “The life from spilling” is a metonymy that refers to spilling of blood. It develops a link between life and blood. The loss of too much blood means loss of life.

Function of Metonymy

Generally, metonymy is used in developing literary symbolism i.e. it gives more profound meanings to otherwise common ideas and objects. By using metonymy, texts exhibit deeper or hidden meanings and thus drawing readers’ attention.  In addition, the use of metonymy helps achieve conciseness. For instance, “Rifles were guarding the gate” is more concise than “The guards with rifles in their hands were guarding the gate.”

Furthermore, metonymy, is employed to add a poetic color to words to make them come to life. The simple ordinary things are described in a creative way to insert this “life” factor to the literary works.

B.  HYPERBOLE

Hyperbole is the use of obvious and deliberate exaggeration. Hyperbolic statements are often extravagant and not meant to be taken literally. These statements are used to create a strong impression and add emphasis. We use hyperbole frequently in everyday language, saying things like “I’m so hungry I could eat a cow,” or “We had to wait forever for the bus.” Hyperbole sometimes makes usesimile or metaphor to create the effect of exaggeration, such as “He’s as strong as an ox.”

Here are some more common examples of hyperbole :

=>The suitcase weighed a ton.
=>I’m so angry, I could kill him!
=>I’ve asked you not to do that a thousand times.
=>If he doesn’t call by tonight, I will absolutely die.
=>She’s as skinny as a toothpick.

Examples :

Below are a few more common examples of hyperbole often used in everyday conversation.

1)   A girl wants to point out the embarrassment her friend will feel :

     She’s going to die of embarrassment!
=>This does not mean that the girl will be sick or her heart will stop due to embarrassment. Instead, hyperbole is used to emphasize how embarrassing the situation is.

2) A student is eagerly waiting for spring break :

     Spring break will never come.

=>This example, like “I haven’t seen you in a million years!” serves to emphasize a length of time. When looking forward to vacation, sometimes it seems as if time has slowed down or as if the final ring of the bell will never come. We know that this is not true, but we use hyperbole to point out how slow time seems to move.

The Benefit if we learn Hyperbole

Hyperbole is often used in day-to-day speech to show emotion. For example, upon seeing your friend after a long absence, you may say, “I haven’t seen you in a million years!” This is not the case in reality. But, hyperbole is used to describe how long it felt since the last time you saw your friend. It shows different emotions such as happiness or excitement. Meanwhile, a situation with carrying a heavy suitcase like in section 1, shows emotions of annoyance or even pain!

Examples in Literature

American poet W.H. Auden writes in “As I Walked Out One Evening,”

I’ll love you, dear, I’ll love you

Till China and Africa meet,

And the river jumps over the mountain

And the salmon sing in the street.

When will China and Africa meet? How can a river jump over a mountain? And when will salmon be intelligent enough to sing or evolved enough to walk the streets? Of course, none of these are literal projections for our future. W.H. Auden is using hyperbole to emphasize how long his love will last for his beloved.

References :

http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199738632.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199738632-e-10

http://literarydevices.net/metonymy/

http://literaryterms.net/hyperbole/

http://www.literarydevices.com/hyperbole/