A Comparative Study of Metonymy and Synecdoche

Among the modern rhetorical devices,metonymy and synecdoche are two important figures of speech,which are analogous to each other for both use the name of one thing for that of something else.That is to say,both of the rhetorical devices involve substitution.Thus the two concepts are confusing.Metonymy emphasizes on using the name of one thing for that of something else with which it is associated.Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part is used for a whole,an individual for a class,a material for a thing,or the reverse of any of these.By making a comparative study of these two through the connotation and category,the author summarizes that:they are two independent figures of speech.