tropes

Tropes (Substitutions of meaning or concepts to create a special effect):

1. Allusion: A reference to another work, person, or event outside of the text.

   • Example: “Bree’s obsession with perfection is like the modern-day Martha Stewart.”

2. Anthimeria: The substitution of one part of speech for another, often turning a noun into a verb.

   • Example: “Gaby's going to fashion the dinner table to match the new decor.”

3. Hyperbole: Exaggeration for emphasis or dramatic effect.

   • Example: “Susan's love life is a never-ending soap opera!”

4. Irony: A contrast between expectation and reality, where the outcome is opposite of what is expected.

   • Example: Bree, who is obsessed with controlling everything, can’t control her own family’s secrets.

5. Metaphor: Directly comparing two things by stating one thing is another.

   • Example: “Wisteria Lane is a battlefield where every woman is fighting her own war.”

6. Metonymy: Substituting the name of one thing with the name of something closely associated.

   • Example: “The Applewhites moved into the neighborhood and shook things up.”
     (Here, "Applewhites" stands for the entire family and their impact.)

7. Oxymoron: Two contradictory terms placed together to create a paradoxical effect.

   • Example: “The quiet chaos of Wisteria Lane.”

8. Paradox: A statement that seems self-contradictory but may reveal a deeper truth.

   • Example: “The more we try to hide, the more we reveal.”

9. Personification: Giving human characteristics to non-human things.

   • Example: “The neighborhood itself seemed to gossip, whispering about every new arrival.”

10. Pun: A play on words where two words with different meanings sound the same or similar.

    • Example: “Bree was on a roll after her dinner party.”

11. Simile: Comparing two things using "like" or "as."

    • Example: “Lynette’s house is as chaotic as a circus during dinner time.”

12. Synecdoche: A part of something represents the whole, or the whole represents a part.

    • Example: “Lynette’s kids are running wild again.”
      (Here, "kids" represents her entire family.)

13. Understatement (litotes): Deliberately minimizing something to emphasize its opposite.

    • Example: “That dinner party was a little tense.”
      (Referring to an event where chaos and drama ensued.)