GATE 2026 XH2 (English) – Question 53

Literary Forms, Genres, and Modes of Expression · Aesthetic and Rhetorical Strategies: Narrative and poetic techniques, and figures of speech · 2 marks · Multiple choice

What is the literary device in which a part of something is used to represent the whole?

Synecdoche
Metonymy
Juxtaposition
Paradox

Practise this question in The GATE Grind →

Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: (A) Synecdoche

Explanation

Synecdoche uses a part for the whole, as in "all hands on deck". Metonymy replaces a thing by something closely associated with it ("the crown" for the king).