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Metonymy

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A rhetorical device substituting a related term for its referent (e.g., "crown" for monarchy) to evoke associative meaning.

Explore this topic in depth (1)

Figurative Language in Poetry — Figurative language is not ornamental extra language: it is one of poetry’s ways of making connections and testing meanings. This guide introduces metaphor, simile, personification, apostrophe and related figures, with practical steps for reading how they develop across a poem.

Detailed Definition
Metonymy is a figurative device where a thing is represented by something closely associated with it (e.g., “the crown” for monarchy or “Hollywood” for film industry); unlike metaphor, it relies on contiguity rather than similarity, enabling concise, culturally resonant references in poetic diction.
Example
Example in poetry:
Shakespeare’s “Friends, Romans, countrymen” uses “ears” for audience (metonymy); Emily Dickinson’s “The pen is mightier than the sword” uses pen for writing; Contemporary poet Ocean Vuong uses “boat” for refugee journey; Sylvia Plath’s “Mirror” uses “lake” for self-reflection; Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” uses “road” for life choices; W.H. Auden’s “Musée des Beaux Arts” uses “disaster” for Icarus’ fall.
Additional Notes
Metonymy: A figure of speech where a thing is referred to by something closely associated with it (e.g., “the crown” for monarchy); differs from synecdoche (part for whole) but often overlaps.
Other Meanings of “Metonymy”
Also Known As
Substitution figure Associated term Contiguous replacement Related-word figure synecdochic phrase name substitution
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