“metonymy” is best defined as a figure of speech in which
human characteristics are attributed to objects or animals
one noun is substituted for another with which it is closely associated
exaggeration is used for emphasis
a part of something stands for the whole

  dante alighieri wrote the divine comedy, a description of a spititual journey. when he wrote it , he was in exile. in florence, dante's native city, there was a social strife, they had political turmoil, and some of the   florentine names included in the narrative may have been a way that dante used to criticize his fellow citizens.

you need to include the text. we have no idea what you are referring to