Pjaee, 17 (7) (2020) a pragmatic Study of Synecdoche in Shakespeare's Hamlet

3.1.2 The Plural Stands for the Singular 
In English some expressions are plural in form, but they function as a 
singular. One of the figures of speech that takes such form is synecdoche. In 
this regard, Arthur (1994)stated that “a synecdoche can also be a plural for a 
singular” (p.84). To expatiate, in ‘Hamlet’, Claudiusreferred to himself using 
the plural forms, which is not a sign that there ismore than one ruler in 
Denmark. 
To elaborate, “us”and“we” are used pragmatically to refer to one 
person, while the literal meaning of the three terms is that they refer to a 
person when talking about himself/herself if there is at least one person with 
him/her (Soanes & Stevenson, 2006). In addition, the pragmatic meaning is an 
extension of this literal meaning as it refers to ‘majestic plural’ or ‘royal we’. 
According to Geisler and Howe (2008), the speaker who uses such figure, 
always a person with authority, refers to himself or herself in such a manner 
as to indicate that he/she is a full of power and dignity and depending on the 

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PJAEE, 17 (7) (2020) 
A Pragmatic Study of Synecdoche in Shakespeare's Hamlet
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whole- part relation. This indicates that the type of this synecdoche is 
generalizing and the subtype is the plural which stands for singular. 
3- “King: O heavy deed! It had been so with us had we been there/ His liberty 
is full of threats to all; /To you yourself, to us, to everyone”. (Shakespeare, 
2011, 4. 1. 15).
The pragmatic use of ‘majestic plural’ by Claudius is to show his proud 
character. Shakespeare shows us that by this figure, even when there was 
nobody around but only his wife, he referred to himself as a royal thrice.
The plural which stands for singular type was also represented in the 
following quotation by using the word ‘givers’.