O, for a draught of vintage! that hath been
Cool'd a long age in the deep-delved earth,
Tasting of Flora and the country green,
Dance, and Provençal song, and sunburnt mirth!
(from “Ode to a Nightingale” by John Keats)
The above excerpt uses Metonymy.
Metonymy is the figure of speech which uses one word to explain and denote about a larger concept or idea related to it.
The western wave was all a-flame
The day was well nigh done!
Almost upon the western wave
Rested the broad bright Sun;
When that strange shape drove suddenly
Betwixt us and the Sun.
(from “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge)
The above excerpt uses synecdoche.
Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part represents the whole or a whole represent a part of it.
Thank Heaven! the crisis—
The danger is past,
And the lingering illness
Is over at last—
And the fever called "Living"
Is conquered at last.
(from “For Annie” by Edgar Allan Poe)
The above excerpt uses symbols.
In literary works, symbols are the other meanings which can be inferred by the related things. The material objects which represent the abstract ideas are also known as symbols.
Ah, sunflower, weary of time,
Who countest the steps of the sun;
Seeking after that sweet golden clime
Where the traveller’s journey is done;
(from “Ah! Sun-flower” by William Blake)
The above excerpt uses irony.
The irony is the statement which has the meaning opposite to what is said literally. It creates humor.
