Rhetorical Usage
The Peacock Throne is a flexible English term. It is also a rhetorical trope. Depending on context, the Peacock Throne can be construed as a metonymy, which is a rhetorical device for an allusion relying on proximity or correspondence, as for example referring to actions of the Mughal ruler or the shah or as "actions of the throne." The throne is also understood as a synecdoche, which is related to metonymy and metaphor in suggesting a play on words by identifying a closely related conceptualization, e.g.,
- referring to a part with the name of the whole, such as "the throne" for the mystic process of transferring monarchic authority, e.g.,
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- "The bitter example of their own family history would sooner or later have driven Dara and Shuja and Aurangzeb and Murad to contend for the Peacock Throne with desperate fury."
- referring to the whole with the name of a part, such as "the throne" for the serial symbols and ceremonies of enthronement.
- referring to the general with the specific, such as "the throne" for kingship.
- referring to the specific with the general, such as "the throne" for the truncated reign of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi or equally as well for the ambit of the Mughal or Persian monarchy.
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