Question

read the passage from act 3, scene 1 of the tragedy of macbeth.
macbeth. upon my head they placd a fruitless crown,
and put a barren sceptre in my gripe,
thence to be wrenchd with an unlineal hand,
no son of mine succeeding. if t be so,
for banquos issue have i filld my mind;
for them the gracious duncan have i murderd;
put rancours in the vessel of my peace
only for them; and mine eternal jewel
given to the common enemy of man,
to make them kings, the seed of banquo kings!
how is the use of metonymy in the underlined text appropriate to macbeths purpose?
it uses items associated with macbeths newly acquired title to convey his frustration.
it uses items associated with being king to indicate that macbeth will never have power.
it uses items associated with wealth and status to describe macbeths accomplishments.
it uses items associated with having strength to illustrate macbeths prowess as a warrior.

Explanation:

Metonymy is a figure of speech where a word or phrase is replaced by another word or phrase that is closely associated with it. In this case, "fruitless crown" and "barren sceptre" are items associated with being king. Macbeth has become king (newly acquired title), but he is frustrated because he has no heir (fruitless, barren) and Banquo's descendants will take the throne. The other options are incorrect:

• Option 2: Macbeth does have power (he is king), so "will never have power" is wrong.
• Option 3: The words "fruitless" and "barren" do not describe accomplishments.
• Option 4: The items (crown, sceptre) are not associated with strength as a warrior.

Answer:

It uses items associated with Macbeth's newly acquired title to convey his frustration.