Trope (literature)

Trope (literature)

A literary trope (from Greek "τρόπος" - "tropos" "turn" related to the root of "τρέπω" - "trepō" "to turn, to direct, to alter, to change") is a common pattern, theme, motif in literature, or a term often used to denote figures of speech in which words are used in a sense different from their literal meaning.

Rhetoricians have closely analyzed the bewildering array of "turns and twists" used in poetry and literature and have provided an extensive list of very precise labels for these poetic devices. Some examples include
*metaphor
*metonymy
*irony
*oxymoron
*hyperbole
*litotes
*periphrasis
*antithesis For a longer list, see Rhetorical remedies.

Various scholars throughout history, beginning with Quintilian, Ramus, and Vico, have argued that a great deal of our conceptualization of experience, even the foundation of human consciousness, is based on figurative schemes of thought which include not only metaphor, but also metonymy, synecdoche and irony. Tropes do not merely provide a way for us to talk about how we think, reason, and imagine, they are also constitutive of our experience [Gibbs, Raymond W. Jr.: "Process and products in making sense of tropes" from : " [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=QiJRvuXA_VcC&pg=PA329&dq=trope+definition&lr=&source=gbs_toc_s&cad=1&sig=yrdu-MRJvyw_b4GOvkXA46Np814#PPA252,M1 Metaphor and Thought] " (Ortony, Andrew (Editor), Cambridge University Press, 1993), page 252] .

References

ee also

* Fantasy tropes and conventions
* TV Tropes Wiki is a site listing numerous literary tropes, not only on TV.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Trope — (from Greek τρόπος tropos , turn ) may refer to: * Trope (linguistics), a rhetorical figure of speech that consists of a play on words * Trope (literature) or Literary trope , a common theme used in storytelling. * Trope (philosophy) * Trope… …   Wikipedia

  • Trope — • A collective name which, since about the close of the Middle Ages or a little later, has been applied to texts of great variety (in both poetry and prose) written for the purpose of amplifying and embellishing an independently complete… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • trope — UK [trəʊp] / US [troʊp] noun [countable] Word forms trope : singular trope plural tropes literature a use of a word or expression in an unusual way to help a writer to achieve an effect …   English dictionary

  • trope — trəʊp n. figure of speech, any rhetorical device in which words are used not in accordance with their literal meaning; phrase interpolated into a text for purposes of emphasis (Literature) …   English contemporary dictionary

  • Latin literature — Introduction       the body of writings in Latin, primarily produced during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, when Latin was a spoken language. When Rome fell, Latin remained the literary language of the Western medieval world until it was …   Universalium

  • dramatic literature — Introduction       the texts of plays that can be read, as distinct from being seen and heard in performance.       The term dramatic literature implies a contradiction in that literature originally meant something written and drama meant… …   Universalium

  • Indian English literature — (IEL) refers to the body of work by writers in India who write in the English language and whose native or co native language could be one of the numerous languages of India. It is also associated with the works of members of the Indian diaspora …   Wikipedia

  • Vampire literature — (1897). In later years, vampire stories have diversified into areas of crime, fantasy, science fiction or even chick lit. As well as the typical fanged revenants, newer representations include aliens and even plants with vampiric abilities.… …   Wikipedia

  • Foil (literature) — Don Quixote and his sidekick Sancho Panza, by Gustave Doré: their character contrasts are made manifest not only by their behavior, but also by their physical appearance. In fiction, a foil is a character who contrasts with another character… …   Wikipedia

  • Mimesis — Mimetic redirects here. For the Mimetic Muscles, see Facial muscles. For other uses of the word Mimesis, see Mimesis (disambiguation). Not to be confused with Memetics. Mimesis (Ancient Greek: μίμησις (mīmēsis), from μιμεῖσθαι (mīmeisthai), to… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”