Outstanding Writing

Many languages not only allow for double negatives, but even require them. In English we are taught to avoid them, like the plague. Unwittingly, many teachers insist there are no double negatives in English. While, according to the spirit of things, they may be right, technically it just is not quite so cut and dry.

What is a double negative? Well, traditionally, it is illustrated with the kind of usage: I don’t want to not go to the dance. Double negatives, however, are the usage of a negative twice in the same sentence. Sometimes it is justified and sometimes it is not. We will see cases of both. Continue reading →

At first glance, the words ‘Tropes and Schemes’ probably seem rather sneaky sounding and even distrustful. So what does it mean? Is it a way of saying that you are misleading the reader through your writing? Perhaps a way of writing mystery novels? Is it when the character is being diabolical? Maybe you are playing a prank as the author.

Actually, it is none of these, and the words are not nearly as sneaky as they sound. In fact, both ‘tropes’ and ‘schemes’ have the same basic meaning: they both denote change.

That’s right, each is just a fancy way of saying that something in the sentence, paragraph of literary section is about to be altered in some way that is perhaps unexpected. But this being said, they do not both have the exact same definition.

What Are Tropes?

The basic definition of a trope is using a phrase, word or visual description in a way that is not strictly expected or usual. A trope will change the context of any situation by altering the way it is interpreted.

A simile is an example of a trope. With this form of rhetoric you take two objects not connected by anything but vague similarities.

“Looking into her eyes, I couldn’t help but think they were green like forests untouched by the hand of man.”

Notice that this use of a simile changes words and phrases to give them a meaning other than what might be expected in its more direct form.

An oxymoron and metaphor are two other examples of how tropes are used.

What Are Schemes?

No, they aren’t plans by a megalomaniac to take over the world. They are a rhetoric device that changes the regular order or pattern of a piece of writing.

Unlike tropes that work to shift the meaning of something, the scheme will just change the format. This is usually seen in creative writing, where it is more forgivable to break with tradition and use imaginative methods of conveying any point to the reader.

Anaphora is a good example of of a scheme. This is when you repeat the first part of a sentence over and over again to help push a point or convince the person reading or listening.

“I did not back out of my campaign promises. I did not fail to increase the education budget. I did not stop putting pressure on insurance companies to lower premiums. I did not fail to bring down the national unemployment percentage. I did not step back from any of the challenges I swore to you I would tackle in my first term.”

Another scheme is antithesis. 

Why Use Tropes and Schemes?

These two forms of rhetorical figures of speech are usually done for one specific purpose: to evoke a response. Specifically an emotional response or one that will help to pull the reader or listener into a place where they are more receptive.

You most commonly see examples of this in every day life with politicians or advertisers, both of which use tropes and schemes to appeal to their demographic.

Pretty nifty, huh?

There has been a slightly unusual question asked as of late about the use of ‘although’ (or, in some cases, just ‘though’). The basis of the confusion seems to be on what kind of word it is, as far as part of speech goes. Many people don’t seem to realize that it is a conjunction, and so is specifically used to link words in the same was as ‘but’, ‘or’, ‘and’ or ‘however’.

When they learn this, it tends to bring up another issue, one that we have spoken about several times on this blog: can you use it to start a sentence?

As we all know by now, the use of conjunctions as anything but a later link in a sentence is very controversial. In most English classes it is deemed completely unacceptable, and will lead to points being taken off of the final grade of your paper. Even other classes where essays are written might be a stickler for this point, which can be frustrating for the student.

So, we will reiterate the point about conjunctions themselves.

Past Versus Present English Rules

Prior to the 1800′s, it was perfectly acceptable to use a word like ‘although’ at the beginning of a sentence. In fact, no one would even blink an eye at you if you did. It was as ordinary as any other kind of word, as long as the context was proper. It was also generally understood that too many sentences beginning with such words was in bad form, but that was a guideline more than a rule.

When the era moved into the Victorian period, the way people wrote began to change. Form was shifted and the descriptive nature of most texts was very different. For example, the way the story of Gulliver’s Travels was told by Jonathan Swift was significantly unique to the way that Wuthering Heights was told by Emily Bronte.

Basic rules about what was accepted in structure was also very different. Conjunctions at the beginning of a sentence were seen as incomplete, and given the language common at the time, this is understandable. But it became less relevant as English began to shift again. By the 1920′s, the change was so marked that the rule was no longer as applicable as it was before.

Now, language has become much less formal and slang is accepted more freely as proper vocabulary. Sentences no longer look incomplete when you use a conjunction.

‘Although’ As A Conjunction

Apart from it being a conjunction, ‘although’ doesn’t look like it’s brethren. It is also harder to start a sentence using it than using a word like ‘however’. Because out of all of the conjunctions, it does have a way of making a sentence seem incomplete. Because of this you have to make sure you are applying it to a sentence that explains itself, such as below:

“Although it is not technically considered improper in the modern age, using this word to begin a sentence can be a bit tricky.”