literary trope
Recurring story device
A literary trope is a recurring device, motif, or convention in storytelling—a recognizable pattern that appears across many works.
The hero's journey, the love triangle, the unreliable narrator, the chosen one: these are tropes.
The term is neutral; tropes aren't inherently good or bad, though overused ones become clichés.
The show subverts the damsel-in-distress trope by having her rescue herself.
- clichéOverused, unoriginal expression
- motifRecurring thematic element
- archetypeOriginal model for copies
- hero's journeyUniversal story pattern
- conventionAgreed standard of behavior
device · narrative · metaphor · foreshadowing · irony · fourth wall break · allegory · symbolism · subplot · twist · dark secret · redemption · quest · rags to riches · antihero · fish out of water · doppelganger · evil twin
- figurative languagemetaphor, simile, figure of speech, analogy, personification
- personificationpersonification, anthropomorphism, talking animals, talking trees, talking toys
- King MidasKing Midas, golden touch, donkey ears
- pastoralshepherds, shepherd, shepherdess, flocks, meadows
literary tropespecific case
literary, literature, literal, literally, literate, literacy, illiterate, illiteracy, literati