ABSTRACT
Metaphors seldom operate alone. They more often form part of an expressive complex that includes influences both from other rhetorical devices—most importantly synecdoche and metonymy—and from features in the context in which they are used—such as narratives and ideology. Synecdoche draws on categorical links, such as part-whole relationships, and metonymy draws on associative links built up from objects sharing proximity. The chapter also considers which of the three in this trinity is central, but opts to view them as equally influential but contributing in different ways. It concludes with an overview of the contextual influences active in any particular expressive complex including the role of the physical environment, cultural narratives and political ideology.
