Previously you determined that there are two important resources that writers need in order to make their "artistic creations." One is the rhetorical figure, and the other is the trope (el tropo). A trope is defined as the "use of a word or expression in a figurative sense" or "a phrase or verse added as an embellishment or interpolation" (Webster, 1181). In other words, a trope takes the direct meaning of a word or expression (el lenguaje directo), then stretches and changes it until it means something else (el lenguaje figurado). The direction in which the word or expression is changed or stretched depends on the kind of trope being used.

Task 1. Scan.

1.			Scan the first paragraph of this section, on pages 142-143, and highlight the phrases that support the preceding definition of trope. Do you agree?

Task 2. List and Define.

2.			At the end of the same paragraph, the authors list six kinds of tropes. List them here, then write down how each kind of trope changes or stretches a word or expression.

Task 3. Practice.

3.			Do the Práctica section on pages 144-147 in the text.

Task 4. Further Practice.

4.			Go back to the word wheels you created in Task 2 of El lenguaje literario. Determine which of the words or expressions in the word wheels represent the literary language discussed so far.

Task 5. Identify.

5.			Now look again at the poems themselves and identify any examples of literary language you missed the first time. Add these examples to the word wheels.

Task 6. Test Yourself. Before you continue, make sure that you can answer the following questions without referring to your notes.

6.			What is the difference between poetry and narrative?
7.			What is el lenguaje literario and how does it differ from el lenguaje directo?
8.			Explain what is meant by una figura retórica and provide an example.
9.			What are the differences between las figuras de pensamiento and las figuras de lenguaje o de dicción? Give at least 3 examples of each.
10.			Create your own examples of the classes and categories of rhetorical figures you have studied in this section.
11.			Re-create the two graphic representations of las figuras retóricas.
12.			How would you explain un tropo to a classmate?
13.			What are the six principal tropes presented in this chapter? Make up an example of each type in both English and Spanish.
14.			Find the following figuras retóricas in the three poems you have analyzed in this chapter. Also identify any other figures that you find in the poems. A una rosa Al partir La saeta hipérbole anáfora perífasis apóstrofe prosopopeya apóstrofe antítesis epíteto anáfora hiperbatón símil metáfora personificación asíndeton sinécdoque
15.			Randomly select a poem from the text and determine what kind of figurative language it contains.