Question

Comment on the usage of metonymy in the poem with the help of example?
Poem: The Heart of the tree

Answer 1

Answer:

In the first stanza of this poem, there are two metonyms.

He plants a home to heaven anigh; (near the heaven).

Here, ‘heaven’ represents the sky, as we normally think that the heaven is situated somewhere up in the sky. The poet actually means that the man who plants a tree also plants a home for bird high in the sky.

The treble of heaven’s harmony —

Here, ‘treble’ (the pitch range of highest female voice) is used to mean the song or simply the sound which birds make.

The joy that unborn eyes shall see —

‘Eyes’ here means the child, a part of body representing the whole. Thus it can also be classified as a synecdoche, a class of metonymy.

He plants in sap and leaf and wood,

This is another instance of metonymy (and synecdoche) where ‘sap and leaf and wood’ refers to a tree. Parts refer to the whole once again.

I hope it helps you....