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Difficulty: MediumPoetic Imagery and Figurative Language

Read the line of poetry below and complete the analysis statement by identifying the correct figure of speech.

Answer:In the poetic line, "Fifty sails swept across the roaring ocean," the device where a part ("sails") is used to represent the whole ("ships") is called 【synecdoche】.

Answer

synecdoche
Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part of something is used to signify the whole, such as using 'sails' to refer to entire ships sailing on the sea.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Examine the relationship between the highlighted word 'sails' and its broader contextual meaning.
'Sails' refers specifically to a part of a sailing vessel, but in this context, it represents the complete ships.
Understanding whether a part represents a whole or an attribute represents an entity helps determine the figure of speech.
2
Identify the literary trope based on part-to-whole representation.
The figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole (or vice versa) is synecdoche.
This fulfills the precise definition of synecdoche.

Key Concept

Synecdoche in Poetic Imagery
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Poetic Imagery and Figurative Language

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