metalepsis
Noun: A figure of speech involving the substitution of one metonymy for another, creating a complex or layered figurative expression. It is a specific type of metonymy where a word or phrase is replaced by another word or phrase that is itself a metonym.
This is a technical term from rhetoric and literary analysis. It is used to describe a particular, often subtle, stylistic device in writing or speech. * The author's use of metalepsis in that passage creates a rich, multi-layered meaning. * Analyzing the metalepsis reveals how the poet connects two distinct ideas through figurative substitution.
In narratology, the term metalepsis has been adopted to describe a breach of narrative levels, such as when a narrator or character from one diegetic level interacts with another. This is a distinct, modern application of the term. * The film employs narrative metalepsis when the author appears in his own story to argue with the protagonist.
- Metaleptic (adjective): Pertaining to or characterized by metalepsis.
- The critic discussed the metaleptic structure of the novel.
- Rhetorical/Literary: The primary meaning, as defined above—a substitution of one metonym for another.
- Narratological: A transgression of the boundaries between distinct narrative worlds or levels (e.g., story within a story).
- Transferred epithet (in some specific, overlapping cases)
- Double metonymy
- Metonymy: The broader, foundational figure of speech where a thing is referred to by the name of something closely associated with it (e.g., "the crown" for the monarchy).
- Synecdoche: A type of metonymy where a part represents the whole or vice versa (e.g., "all hands on deck").
- Metaphor: A direct comparison stating one thing another, different from the substitutive logic of metalepsis.
-
substituting metonymy of one figurative sense for another
