English Tropes

a comparision-using "is" or an implied equal sign (=) -- between two things of unlike nature that yet have something in common

a comparison-using "like" or "as" -- between two tings of unlike nature that yet have something in common

a substitution of one thing for another

a substitution - using a part for the whole

a substitution - using a symbol or attribute of the thing described, but not using an actual part, limb, etc.

investing inanimate objects (or abstract concepts) with animate abilities or qualities of animals, humans, etc.

use of words whose sound echos the sense

the use of exaggerated terms for the purpse of emphasis of heightened effect

(overstatement, over exageration)

the deliberate use of understatement to enhance the impressiveness of what we say [often employs a negative]

(understatement)

use of a word in such a way as to convey a meaning oposite to the literal meaning of the word

(do not confuse with coincidence)

an outcome of events that is the opposite of what was expected (often teaching a necessary lesson to the protagonist)

a contradiction in terms (usually two)

an apparently contradictory statement that nevertheless contains a measure of truth

asking a question, not to elicit an answer, but to assert or deny something indirectly.

a play on words, often involving double meaning

using a word understood different in relation to two or more other words, which it modifies or governs

(one literal and one figurative)

a type of Syllepsis, in which the usage is grammatically or idiomatically incorrect

language that creates imaginative connections between our ideas and our senses or that reveals striking similarities between things we had never associated before

a symbol comares or puts together two things thate in some ways unlike

a few symbolic character types, plots, objects, or settings - example: trickster, the quest, the garden- have become so pervasive and have recurred in so many cultures that they are considered archetypes.

an extended symbol that encompasses a whole work.

when an entire story is allegorical or symbolic it is sometimes called a myth

myth originally meant a story of communal origin that provided an explanation or religious interpretation of man, nature, the universe, or the relation between them

the sentral idea, its thesis, its message

references to history, religion, cultural practices, and so on.

someone who acts, appears, or is referred to as playing a part in a literary work, usually fiction or drama

the art and technique of representing fictional personages-depends upon action or plot as well as narration and point of view

hero "good guy"
heroine "good girl"
villian "bad guy"

hero is often larger than life, stronger or better than most human beings, sometimes almost Godlike

in most modern fictions, the leading character is much more ordinary and more like the rest of us

the person being opposed, by the antagonist

someone who offers opposition

those characters we see over a longer period of time. more complex, we see them as more realistic characters

the figures who fill the story, they can grow and change also, they sometimes even contradict our expectations

someone who serves to contrast to call attention to another thing's good qualities

characters that change, develop, or act from conflicting motives

simple characters that behave in unchanging or unsurprising ways.

characters based on conscious or unconscious cultural assumptions about what a person's sex, age, ethnicity, nationality, occupation, marital status, and so on will tell us about that person's traits, actions, even values.

a time and place and context of the location, historical time period, what's surrounding the story.