A Trope

HA! The dictionary really has a great definition of what a trope is! It says, "A figure of speech using words in nonliteral ways, such as a metaphor." Real to the point, right!? I don't think so. Looks like I'm going to have to dig a little deeper to figure out exactly what types of tropes there are out there. So I fly around the net, finding these little facts:

• Trope comes from the Greek word τρόπος - tropos, which means turn, it is relate to the root of the verb τρέπω (trepō), "to turn, to direct, to alter, to change".
• That linguistically, trope means a rhetorical figure of speech that consists of a play on words.
• That literally, a trope is a common pattern, theme, or motif in literature often used to denote figures of speech in which words are used in a sense different from their literal meaning.

I found some types of tropes:

• Metonomy - a trope through proximity or correspondence, for example referring to actions of the U.S. President as "actions of the White House."
• Irony - creating a trope through implying the opposite of the standard meaning, such as describing poverty as "good times."
• Metaphor - an explanation of an object or idea through juxtaposition of disparate things with a similar characteristic, such as describing a courageous person as having a "heart of a lion."
• Synechdoche - related to metonymy and metaphor, creates a play on words by referring to something with a related concept: for example, referring to the whole with the name of a part, such as "hired hands" for workers; a part with the name of the whole, such as "the law" for police officers; the general with the specific, such as "bread" for food; the specific with the general, such as "cat" for a lion; or an object with the material it is made from, such as "bricks and mortar" for a building.
• antanaclasis - is the stylistic trope of repeating a single word, but with a different meaning each time. Antanaclasis is a common type of pun, and like other kinds of pun, it is often found in slogans.
• allegory - A sustained metaphor continued through whole sentences or even through a whole discourse. For example "The ship of state has sailed through rougher storms than the tempest of these lobbyists."
• oxymoron
  
• hyperbole
• litotes
  
• periphrasis
• antithesis

I also found a lot of talk about how the foundation of human consciousness (our experiences within and outside of ourselves) could be formed by these things called tropes. This is all very interesting and I plan to continue working this out through further research and blogs, but right now I have to run to class. Will update on more trope goodies soon. Good Luck to Vico!