6. Tropes Flashcards
(16-20)
What are tropes?
Expressive means, figurative us of language.
What do the tropes do?
- Deal with concrete idea/thing: “Thirsty mind”;
- Embrace the whole book: “War and Peace”;
- Create visual images: “the cloudy life age of the sky”;
- Create aural images by sounds: “<…> murmuring of innumerable bees.”
What do the tropes do stylistically?
- Brings out a message: “Farewell to Arms”;
- Symbol: “the roaring sea” (anxiety);
- Expresses the philosophical concept: “All the King’s men”
- Emotive/evaluative attitude: “The Peacelike Mongoose”;
- Describing characters: “The machine sitting at the desk was no longer a man, it was a N.Y. broker”
The forms of tropes (3).
Metaphor, simile, metonymy.
What is metaphor?
Dictionary meaning > affinity, similarity of certain properties < contextual/logical meaning.
Metaphor can appear as (1)___, (2)___, and (3)___.
(1) a noun
(2) an adjective
(3) a verb
Bring examples of verbal, adjectival metaphor.
Verb: “Some books are to be tasted” (vivid, symbolic meaning)
Adjectives: “Sleepless nights”, “dying flower”, “blue dream” (symbolic. The latter (blue) means sadness).
What are the components of metaphor? Describe them. Bring examples.
There are three components of metaphor: tenor (the thing being described), vehicle (the image/idea you’re comparing the tenor to) and tertium comparationis (the quality they share).
Ex.: “Time is a thief”.
Time - tenor, thief - vehicle, tertium comparationis - time stealing moments, opportunities, youth just like a thief.
What are the differences between metaphor and simile?
Metaphor uses/implies “is” and never uses words like “as”, “than”, “resembles”, “like. Only simile uses them.
Metaphor compares two unlike subjects with a common feature they have, while simile uses two similar subjects to compare.
What is explicit or embedded metaphor? Bring at least 1 example.
Explicit directly states that something/someone is something: “You are my sunshine”.
Embedded is less predictable: “The cash machine ate my card” (compared to an animal).
What is extended metaphor? Bring at least 1 example.
Which extends, develops throughout the whole poem or a few lines: “The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes/The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes/<…>” (compared to a cat)
What’s anthromorphic metaphor? Bring at least 1 example.
It’s literally the same as personification: “O Moon, though climb’st the skies”
What’s mixed metaphor? Bring at least 1 example.
When we compare smth/someone and use more than one metaphors, it’s called a mixed one: “this is the virgin field, pregnant with the future possibilities”
What’s implied metaphor? Bring at least 1 example.
When it’s not directly mentioned that something/someone is something, but implied: “The city sleeps peacefully” (comp. to a sleeping human).
What’s trite/dead metaphor? Bring at least 1 example.
It implies the metaphors which got absorbed into everyday language, became neutralized. It’s time-worn an rubbed into the language: “floods of tears”, “a shadow of a smile”.
What’s genuine metaphor? Where is it often used?
It’s unexpected. It often appears in poetry and emotive prose.
What’s compositional metaphor? Where is it often used?
It’s frequently seen in Modern Literature and can be stretched throughout the whole text.
According to Tarasova: A person is the theme of comp. met., mythological hero is its image which conveys the meaning of the met.: real and mythological. There must be features peculiar to both characters which serve as a basis for the image.
What’s conceptual metaphor? How often is it used?
Understanding one idea in terms of another: “Argument is war”, “He won the argument”, etc. It shapes our communication, the way we think/act, and is seen in everyday life.
What’s novel metaphor? What is it divided into and by whom?
Novel metaphor is divided (by Lakoff and Turner) into: 1. Extension of conventional metaphors, 2. Image metaphors.
Image metaphor: 1. Highly abstract, 2. Often found in poetry, 3. Creates mental images, 4. Also called “one-shot metaphor” (by Lakoff and Turner). Example: “My wife whose hair is brush fire”.
What’s synaesthetic metaphor?
It’s a trope in which we see sensors cross: “sweet smells” (taste + olfactory).
What’s allegory? What is it similar to?
It’s a narrative/artwork/piece of writing which uses symbolic characters, events, setting to convey a deeper meaning (political, philosophical, spiritual, etc.). It’s similar to extended metaphor. Example: “Animal Farm” written by Orwell which represents political issues, critique.
