Tropes are figures of speech that distort the meaning of words or phrases, such as metaphors, irony, metonymy, synecdoche, and antanaclasis. They are common in literature, film, and advertising, but can be difficult to translate across cultures. Tropes add richness to language and are useful for evaluating spoken or written material.
A trope is a figure of speech in which words are used in a way that changes their meaning. Their use is common in a range of forms, including fiction, film, and poetry. One of the best known examples is a metaphor; for example, a beautiful woman in a novel might be described as having hair that is the golden sheen of the sun. There are many other types of tropes, and when used well, they can be powerful tools. They are also used extensively in advertising and propaganda, and many are based on cultural or social norms which can make their translation into other languages or cultures very difficult.
The word “tropo” comes from the Greek word tropos, meaning “to turn or twist,” and these figures of speech actually distort the meaning of words or phrases. They are so common that many have become clichés, and these overused terms are a major thing for writers to avoid.
Some other examples include irony, metonymy, antanaclasis and synecdoche. Many people already know what irony means: it refers to a statement where words are used to express the opposite of their conventional meaning. For example, someone might say that she “enjoyed” getting a filling at the dentist ironically, when she really means that she was having a terrible time.
Metonymy refers to the substitution of a word or phrase in a statement for a closely related concept. For example, pens are associated with writers and when Thomas Paine wrote that “The pen is mightier than the sword,” he really meant that the power of words and writers was greater than that of military power. Many examples of metonymy are based on an expectation that people will understand the reference, which is why foreign examples of metonymy sometimes seem downright mysterious or even ridiculous.
Synecdoche is related to metonymy. It is about referring to a whole from one of its parts. For example, in love poetry a woman’s eyes might be used to evoke her whole body. The synecdoche can also work the other way around; for example, someone might say “France recently enacted a new law” when they really mean “The French government has enacted a new law.”
In antanaclasis, a word is repeated several times with different meanings. This trope is often used in advertising or to create puns. A classic example is the quote from Benjamin Franklin: “We must stick together, or surely we will all hang ourselves separately.” In this quote, the word “hang” is used in two different ways for rhetorical effect.
Tropes add much to the natural richness of language by playing with words and meanings, sometimes in new ways. They are invaluable tools for both writers and speakers, and learning to recognize them can be useful for people who want to evaluate spoken or written material.
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