Prologue Quiz Answer: Synecdoche
“Civil blood makes civil hands unclean” is an example of synecdoche. Synecdoche is a figure of speech where the part stands for the whole or the whole stands for the part. In this case both “blood” and “hands” are the parts that stand for the whole person.
Other acceptable answers would include pun, since “civil” has two meanings–citizen or peaceful; metaphor, since unclean hands is replacing someone who has committed a crime.
Go back to the Romeo and Juliet Prologue Literary Terms Quiz
Last Updated on March 7, 2014 by ELAAdmin
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