Trope (literature)
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A literary trope is a common pattern, theme, motif in literature, or a figure of speech in which words are used in a sense different from their literal meaning.[citation needed] The term trope derives from the Greek τρόπος (tropos), "a turn, a change",[1];, from τρόπος - tropos "turn, direction, way"[2] related to the root of the verb τρέπω (trepō), "to turn, to direct, to alter, to change".
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
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 (in the sense of figures of speech) do not merely provide a way for us to talk about how we think, reason, and imagine, they are also constitutive of our experience.[3]
In modern usage, "trope" often means "a common or overused theme or device: cliché."[4] though it is important to differentiate between an overused theme/motif/figure of speech that has lost its meaning (Cliche) and a theme/motif/figure that is used excessively owing to its effectiveness.
[edit] References
- ^ Trope, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, at Perseus
- ^ Tropos, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, at Perseus
- ^ Gibbs, Raymond W. Jr.: Process and products in making sense of tropes from : Metaphor and Thought (Ortony, Andrew (Editor), Cambridge University Press, 1993), page 252
- ^ "trope", Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, 2009, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trope, retrieved on 2009-01-13,
[edit] See also
- Trope (linguistics)
- Figure of speech
- Fantasy tropes and conventions
- TV Tropes A wiki dedicated to tropes
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