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Glite Dictionary
topos

topos

9.9
A common idea used in stories, poems, and speeches
  • noun
  • /ˈtoʊpəs/
  • Literature
translation icon : topos
  • Pasakis is structured along the topoi of errors, becoming and beginnings.

Examples

  • "The Severed Breast: A Topos in the Legends of Female Virgin Martyr Saints"

    Academic text (1997)

  • I read the Verge when it first came out, but the Topos Lumia 900 review was when I deleted the link from my daily read.

    Blog text (14)

  • In her analysis, she discussed the use of the topos of the tragic hero in several classic novels.

  • Many poets rely on familiar topoi to convey universal themes in their work.

  • The film cleverly subverts common topoi that viewers expect from romantic comedies.

Synonyms

trope
vstopos
33 5.8

A common idea or pattern found in stories and films

is more rooted in formal rhetorical tradition than simple widespread use
motif
vstopos
  • Literature
20 5.9

A theme or idea that appears again and again in stories, paintings and music

is used as a traditional convention across works and rhetorical contexts

Surface Forms

topos singular
topoi plural

Etymology

The word topos comes from the Greek topos meaning 'place', and a helpful way to remember it is to think of the common word topic, which shares the same root. In stories and literature a topos is like a familiar 'place' for ideas — a theme or scene writers return to again and again.