Trope
noun
A theme, pattern, or common idea in movies, TV shows, books, or other forms of storytelling.
The 'rescue the princess' is a well-known trope in fairy tales.
Often appears as...
- literary trope
- common trope
Usage tips
Literary
noun
A figure of speech, such as a metaphor, where a word or phrase is used in a way different from its usual meaning.
In the phrase 'time is a thief', 'thief' is a trope used to represent time's ability to take away.
Often appears as...
- rhetorical trope
- linguistic trope
Usage tips
Literary
noun
A theme, pattern, or common idea in movies, TV shows, books, or other forms of storytelling.
The 'rescue the princess' is a well-known trope in fairy tales.
Often appears as...
- literary trope
- common trope
Usage tips
Literary
noun
A figure of speech, such as a metaphor, where a word or phrase is used in a way different from its usual meaning.
In the phrase 'time is a thief', 'thief' is a trope used to represent time's ability to take away.
Often appears as...
- rhetorical trope
- linguistic trope
Usage tips
Literary
Definition 1 of 2
Pro Tip 1/3Cultural Significance
Tropes can reveal cultural values or attitudes within a society, often through repeated themes.
The 'rags to riches' trope showcases the value of hard work in many cultures.
Pro Tip 2/3Avoid Overuse
Using too many tropes can make storytelling feel unoriginal or predictable.
The movie was criticized for its overreliance on superhero tropes.
Pro Tip 3/3Subvert Expectations
Tropes can be subverted to surprise the audience and keep stories fresh.
The film cleverly subverts the 'chosen one' trope, questioning the concept of destiny.
Pro Tip 1/3Cultural Significance
Tropes can reveal cultural values or attitudes within a society, often through repeated themes.
The 'rags to riches' trope showcases the value of hard work in many cultures.
Pro Tip 2/3Avoid Overuse
Using too many tropes can make storytelling feel unoriginal or predictable.
The movie was criticized for its overreliance on superhero tropes.
Pro Tip 3/3Subvert Expectations
Tropes can be subverted to surprise the audience and keep stories fresh.
The film cleverly subverts the 'chosen one' trope, questioning the concept of destiny.
Pro Tip 1/3Cultural Significance
Tropes can reveal cultural values or attitudes within a society, often through repeated themes.
The 'rags to riches' trope showcases the value of hard work in many cultures.
Pro Tip 2/3Avoid Overuse
Using too many tropes can make storytelling feel unoriginal or predictable.
The movie was criticized for its overreliance on superhero tropes.
Pro Tip 3/3Subvert Expectations
Tropes can be subverted to surprise the audience and keep stories fresh.
The film cleverly subverts the 'chosen one' trope, questioning the concept of destiny.
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Video examples
Inside the bizarre world...
one of a few elites who is secretly manipulating all of global affairs. Now, just to pause if this idea sounds familiar to you, that there are a few elites who control the world and a lot of them happen to be rich Jews, that's because it is one of the most anti-Semitic tropes in existence.
Video examples
The 4 a.m. mystery PIPE...
an awful lot of bad press -- across a lot of different media from a lot of big names. And it made me suspicious. I figured, surely some of the most creative artistic minds in the world, really, aren't all defaulting back to this one easy trope like they invented it, right?
Video examples
"Good" and "bad" are...
You have heard this ableist trope the boy with Down syndrome who's one of God's special children, or the girl with the walker and the communication device who is a precious little angel. This story rears its head in my daughter's life around Christmastime,
Video examples
Ed Yong: Suicidal wasps,...
and our independence that the prospect of losing those qualities to forces unseen informs many of our deepest societal fears. Orwellian dystopias and shadowy cabals and mind-controlling supervillains -- these are tropes that fill our darkest fiction,
Video examples
Andrew Fitzgerald:...
actually, is the very absurdist Crimer Show. Crimer Show tells the story of a supercriminal and a hapless detective that face off in this exceptionally strange lingo, with all of the tropes of a television show. Crimer Show's creator has said that
Video examples
How to lead in a crisis...
a viral video, a distant tsunami, or a tiny virus can send shock waves around the world. Upheaval creates fear, and in the midst of it people crave security, which can incline leaders toward the usual tropes of strength, confidence, constancy,
Video examples
The Critical Role of...
was their own fault. That, with the mammy trope, that we didn't deserve necessarily to be compensated for work that we were doing, that we deserved to stay within domestic work and that we shouldn't necessarily be paid what that work was worth
Video examples
Why tragedies are...
resonate with the tropes Aristotle identified over 2000 years ago. So what's the point of all of this suffering? According to Aristotle, and many scholars since, a good tragedy can evoke fear and pity in the
Video examples
Chip Kidd: The art of...
I've always loved the hilariously mysterious tropes of fortune cookies that seem to mean something extremely deep but when you think about them -- if you think about them -- they really don't.
Video examples
After Decades of...
and suspects throw your window down huh the south asian comedians use humor to point out the absurdity of these tropes so uh 911.
Video examples
Inside the bizarre world...
one of a few elites who is secretly manipulating all of global affairs. Now, just to pause if this idea sounds familiar to you, that there are a few elites who control the world and a lot of them happen to be rich Jews, that's because it is one of the most anti-Semitic tropes in existence.
Video examples
The 4 a.m. mystery PIPE...
an awful lot of bad press -- across a lot of different media from a lot of big names. And it made me suspicious. I figured, surely some of the most creative artistic minds in the world, really, aren't all defaulting back to this one easy trope like they invented it, right?
Video examples
"Good" and "bad" are...
You have heard this ableist trope the boy with Down syndrome who's one of God's special children, or the girl with the walker and the communication device who is a precious little angel. This story rears its head in my daughter's life around Christmastime,
Video examples
Ed Yong: Suicidal wasps,...
and our independence that the prospect of losing those qualities to forces unseen informs many of our deepest societal fears. Orwellian dystopias and shadowy cabals and mind-controlling supervillains -- these are tropes that fill our darkest fiction,
Video examples
Andrew Fitzgerald:...
actually, is the very absurdist Crimer Show. Crimer Show tells the story of a supercriminal and a hapless detective that face off in this exceptionally strange lingo, with all of the tropes of a television show. Crimer Show's creator has said that
Video examples
How to lead in a crisis...
a viral video, a distant tsunami, or a tiny virus can send shock waves around the world. Upheaval creates fear, and in the midst of it people crave security, which can incline leaders toward the usual tropes of strength, confidence, constancy,
Video examples
The Critical Role of...
was their own fault. That, with the mammy trope, that we didn't deserve necessarily to be compensated for work that we were doing, that we deserved to stay within domestic work and that we shouldn't necessarily be paid what that work was worth
Video examples
Why tragedies are...
resonate with the tropes Aristotle identified over 2000 years ago. So what's the point of all of this suffering? According to Aristotle, and many scholars since, a good tragedy can evoke fear and pity in the
Video examples
Chip Kidd: The art of...
I've always loved the hilariously mysterious tropes of fortune cookies that seem to mean something extremely deep but when you think about them -- if you think about them -- they really don't.
Video examples
After Decades of...
and suspects throw your window down huh the south asian comedians use humor to point out the absurdity of these tropes so uh 911.
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Jason Reynolds
American Author
I try to be an active griever. I feel like we lean on time because of the trope 'Time heals all wounds.' And there is truth to that, but I don't think that it's absolute. I think that to grieve and to deal and cope, you have to be actively processing the information. Have your moments, be broken, and allow yourself to fully express pain.
Quote examples
Ted Naifeh
American Writer
When people think girl adventurers, they tend to think of a spunky, plucky tom-boy with a chip on her shoulder. I'm not saying that this makes for a dull character, but I think other types of adventurous girls exist. It's easy to fall into well-established tropes, believing that the tropes of a genre define the genre itself.
Quote examples
Rachel Bloom
American Actress
The title 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend' is meant to be a deconstruction of a stereotype, and the whole show is about deconstructing the boxes that we're supposed to be put into. We like taking apart the tropes and the stereotypes and explore the nuances, so 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend' is a label that we go deep underneath to explore.
Quote examples
Rae Carson
American Writer
I grew up in a cloistered, conservative culture that adhered to strict gender roles. So it's easy to understand why the 'girl dressed as a boy' trope resonated so much. In a world that didn't want to give people like me adventures or significance, books with cross-dressing girls were treasures.
Quote examples
Jimmi Simpson
American Actor
I have a problem with the term 'leading man.' It's so limiting; it involves not upsetting anyone. Obviously, we have anti-heroes now, but if we're talking about the two tropes - character actor and leading man - I would so rather be a character actor. That's why I have a career.
Quote examples
Matthew Weiner
American Writer
In movies and TV, we tend to fall into tropes about how characters might get out of problems. But when you look at real life, you realize that there is a lot of drama of not being able to get out of the problems.
Quote examples
Ira Glass
American Journalist
I never realized before this the emotional power of some really simple, corny tropes: people with top hats, people with batons, confetti going off, how important it is to smile.
Quote examples
Will Self
English Author
My novels tend to come about from a fusion of two big ideas, creating a critical mass that then fissions, throwing off hundreds of other particles, riffs, tropes and characters.
Quote examples
Stephanie Beatriz
American Actress
A lot of animated movies in the past have sort of relied on these archaic tropes on what the female characters in those movies can be and who they are.
Quote examples
Rachel Brosnahan
American Actress
I'm used to one-dimensional female friendships. It's become a kind of trope.
Quote examples
Jason Reynolds
American Author
I try to be an active griever. I feel like we lean on time because of the trope 'Time heals all wounds.' And there is truth to that, but I don't think that it's absolute. I think that to grieve and to deal and cope, you have to be actively processing the information. Have your moments, be broken, and allow yourself to fully express pain.
Quote examples
Ted Naifeh
American Writer
When people think girl adventurers, they tend to think of a spunky, plucky tom-boy with a chip on her shoulder. I'm not saying that this makes for a dull character, but I think other types of adventurous girls exist. It's easy to fall into well-established tropes, believing that the tropes of a genre define the genre itself.
Quote examples
Rachel Bloom
American Actress
The title 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend' is meant to be a deconstruction of a stereotype, and the whole show is about deconstructing the boxes that we're supposed to be put into. We like taking apart the tropes and the stereotypes and explore the nuances, so 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend' is a label that we go deep underneath to explore.
Quote examples
Rae Carson
American Writer
I grew up in a cloistered, conservative culture that adhered to strict gender roles. So it's easy to understand why the 'girl dressed as a boy' trope resonated so much. In a world that didn't want to give people like me adventures or significance, books with cross-dressing girls were treasures.
Quote examples
Jimmi Simpson
American Actor
I have a problem with the term 'leading man.' It's so limiting; it involves not upsetting anyone. Obviously, we have anti-heroes now, but if we're talking about the two tropes - character actor and leading man - I would so rather be a character actor. That's why I have a career.
Quote examples
Matthew Weiner
American Writer
In movies and TV, we tend to fall into tropes about how characters might get out of problems. But when you look at real life, you realize that there is a lot of drama of not being able to get out of the problems.
Quote examples
Ira Glass
American Journalist
I never realized before this the emotional power of some really simple, corny tropes: people with top hats, people with batons, confetti going off, how important it is to smile.
Quote examples
Will Self
English Author
My novels tend to come about from a fusion of two big ideas, creating a critical mass that then fissions, throwing off hundreds of other particles, riffs, tropes and characters.
Quote examples
Stephanie Beatriz
American Actress
A lot of animated movies in the past have sort of relied on these archaic tropes on what the female characters in those movies can be and who they are.
Quote examples
Rachel Brosnahan
American Actress
I'm used to one-dimensional female friendships. It's become a kind of trope.
Example 1 of 10
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