Tropes are situations where words are played with, including metaphor, allegory, irony, metonymy, synecdoche, and antanaclasis. These can be culturally specific and have deeper meanings.
There are six common types of trope including irony, allegory and metaphor. There are also countless other kinds of tropes used in rhetoric from the allusion to the zeugma. A trope is any situation where a speaker, writer, or poet plays with words. More specifically, it’s where words are replaced with other words, but the meanings remain the same. Tropes are also words that are kept unchanged with the meaning changing.
Metaphor is a common trope used in poetry, fiction, and speech. It is the direct substitution of one term, idea or object for another. While the surface detail of the metaphor changes, the inner meaning remains consistent. Metaphorical tropes are often specific to cultures and may not be fully understood by outsiders.
Allegory is an extended metaphor, encompassing an entire poem, story, or work of art. Surface detail tells a story, but a deeper meaning can be gleaned if studied closely. A great example of the allegorical trope is George Orwell’s Animal Farm. On the surface, it’s a story about a farm where the animals riot and then trouble ensues. The allegory is that the farm is a direct replacement for Tsarist Russia and the animals are the Bolsheviks overthrowing it.
Irony is similar to sarcasm in that the superficial detail says one thing, but a different meaning is implied. The trope of irony is different from a “sense of irony” in which a person appreciates ironic events. There are three main types of irony: dramatic irony, spoken irony, and situational irony.
Metonymy occurs when something is described using the name of something distinct, but related. For example, using the word “drink” to mean alcohol, or “Westminster” to mean the government of the United Kingdom, and “the White House” to mean the administration of the President of the United States are types of metonymy. As with metaphors, metonymy tropes are often culturally specific and may not be understood by others.
Synecdoche is related to metonymy and is when the whole is represented by a part of it. For example, the “Oval Office” is used to mean the White House. Other examples include the use of “wheels” to mean car and “engine” to mean “train.”
Antanaclase tropes occur when a word is repeated multiple times, but the meaning of the word subtly changes each time. William Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ provides such an example with the line: ‘Have more affection for yourself…or…you will make me a fool’. Antanaclasis tropes are types of puns often used in slogans and headlines.
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