Tropes
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Created by:
samclements on April 17, 2012
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40 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Simile | a comparison using like or as |
| Metaphor | a comparison without using like or as |
| Allegory | a story when basically everything is symbolic, representing abstract meanings through concrete forms |
| Parable | a short story used to teach a moral or spiritual lesson (think Jesus) |
| Personification | giving an nonhuman object or thing human-like characteristics |
| Apostrophe | the calling out to an object or person or thing not present |
| Synecdoche | a whole represented by naming one of its parts or vice versa |
| Metonymy | reference to something or someone by naming one of its attributes (White House issue a statement today...) |
| Antanaclasis | repetition of a word or phrase whose meaning changes in the second instance |
| Paranomasia | using words that sound alike but different in meaning (fancy for pun) |
| Syllepsis | when a single word that governs or modifies two or more others must be understood differently with respect to each word (both grammatically and idiomatically sound) |
| Zeugma | when a part of speech governs two or more other parts of a sentence (not idiomatically sound but grammatically) |
| Anthimeria | substitution of one part of speech for another |
| Periphrasis | subbing of a descriptive word of phrase for a proper noun or vice versa |
| Euphemism | subbing of an inoffensive term for an offensive one (passing away for dying) |
| Innuendo | subtle or indirect observation about a person or thing usually of salacious, critical, or disparaging nature, hinting at something without actually saying it |
| Malapropism | absurd or humorous misuse of a word (think Bush) |
| Conceit | an extended metaphor |
| Hyperbole | rhetorical exaggeration, done by using comparisons mainly |
| Litotes | deliberate understatement, especially expressing a thought by denying the opposite |
| Meiosis | reference to something with a name disproportionately lesser than its nature |
| Rhetorical question | question asked for a purpose other than for getting information |
| Hypophora | reasoning out loud, asking and then answering one's questions |
| Aporia | placing a claim in doubt by developing arguments on both sides of an issue |
| Apophasis | rejection of several reasons why a thing should or should not be done in order to affirm a single one |
| Sarcasm | use of mockery, verbal taunts, bitter irony |
| Onomatopoeia | using/inventing a word whose sounds imitate that which it names (buzz) |
| Paradox | a statement that is self-contradictory on the surface yet still evokes truth |
| Oxymoron | two worded paradox |
| Antiphrasis/Parallipsis | irony of one word, when a word is used contrary to its meaning |
| Allusion | a reference to something in a work |
| Anachronism | an error in chronology or placing something in the wrong time period |
| Anecdote | short narrative to explain or expand on a point |
| Aphorism | a short, memorable, laconic statement that gives specific meaning |
| Caricature | descriptive writing that exaggerates a specific feature of a person's appearance or personality |
| Epigraph | a phrase, quotation, or poem that's set at the beginning of a work to give a theme or foreshadow |
| Cliche | a phrase that's used so often that it loses its meaning |
| Epithet | a word or phrase that is used to describe a person, often used throughout a book |
| Invective | harsh denunciation |
| Juxtaposition | putting two things side by side in order to compare/contrast |
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