In literature, a trope is a familiar and repeated symbol, meme, theme, motif, style, character or thing that permeates a particular type of literature. They are usually tied heavily to genre. For example, tropes in horror literature and film include the mad scientist or a dark and stormy night. Tropes can also be plots or events, such as the science fiction trope of an alien invasion that is deterred at the last minute. Many authors have twisted tropes into new forms to great success. Stephen King has been noteworthy for taking older horror tropes and reworking them into the modern world to great effect. Tropes may also serve as guides for writers trying to strengthen the overall effectiveness of their work (i.e., asking such questions as: what trope am I working with in this poem/story?). It has been suggested that Memetic engineering be merged into this article or section. ... In literature, a theme is a broads idea in a story, or a message conveyed by a work. ... In literature, a motif is a recurring element or theme that has symbolic significance in the story. ... Look up genre in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Horror fiction is, broadly, fiction in any medium intended to scare, unsettle, or horrify the reader. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author best known for his enormously popular horror novels. ...

A wiki collecting tropes used in television is available at TVTropes.org.

See also

Trope A trope is a rhetorical figure of speech that consists of a play on words, i. ...