If I write, "Buckingham Palace announced today that Prince Charles intends to become a Franciscan hermit and to commune with bats in a cave for the rest of his life," what literary device does "Buckingham Palace" represent?

ing	Well, before I search further - not that trawling through linguistic terminology isn't fascinating! - is the term you are after antonomasia, or something more specific? Oct 10 05, 1:02 AM

bloomsby

It's a form of personfication. The news is presented as if the place itself, rather than a spokesperson, speaks. Oct 10 05, 2:32 AM

Flem-ish

I would put my money on "metonymy" because http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metonymy mentions a very similar example in which the "White House" stands for "the authorities behind it" just as "Buckingham Palace" does not refer to the building but to the people running the place. Oct 10 05, 3:35 AM

Flem-ish

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metonymy As to the "Franciscan hermit" this must be a contradictio in terminis because no Franciscans are supposed to live in splendid isolation, and they would definitely not be allowed to spend all of their lives in caves merely communicating with bats instead of attending Mass etc. Oct 10 05, 3:41 AM

lanfranco

Lovely, Flem-ish, metonymy it is. As for Franciscan hermits, I was trying to come up with something entertainingly ludicrous. Though there is that nice Bellini of St. Francis standing in front of a cave and communing with nature ... Oct 10 05, 6:19 AM

my_baby_love

It is possible to be a Franciscan hermit with the permission of the Friar's superior. But, to my understanding, it is not possible today for the British Monarch's eldest son to be a Roman Catholic. However, I have also heard of Episcopal Franciscans. Oct 10 05, 12:59 PM

lanfranco

The British monarch's eldest son could certainly become a Catholic. He would simply lose his place in the succession if he took that route. And of course, if Prince Charles did choose to become a hermit and hang out in a bat cave, then we would have to assume that the succession didn't much matter to him anyway. And yes, we Episcopalians can do all kinds of weird things ... Oct 10 05, 4:15 PM

my_baby_love

If Prince Charles abdicated his succesion to the throne might he not lose the title "Prince" and then be called a "Duke" or something? Oct 10 05, 6:51 PM

Flem-ish

The topic of Franciscan hermits was a hot issue at the time of Pope Celestine V who himself lived as a hermit. His successor Boniface the VIII was less favourably inclined to the idea of "Franciscan hermits" and seemed to fear heresy as in the case of the Fraticelli. Also the Clareni, an association of "Franciscan hermits" established by Angelo da Clareno, were ordered to adapt to the Observantist rule.(1568, Pope Pius IV). But the Franciscan order is indeed such a heterogeneous order that you can find some subgroups that preserved the eremitical lifestyle. Among them the Franciscan Missionary Hermits of Saint Joseph. But then there are even Franciscans who are not Catholics. See wikipedia. As to possible "ndividual exemptions", they do not change the principle that Franciscans are basically a brotherhood as the word "fratres minorum" itself suggests. Nonetheless the "Franciscan hermit" is indeed not so complete a "contradictio interminis" as I thought. Oct 12 05, 5:20 PM