The Zeroth Law of Trope Examples: Difference between revisions

Line 9:

* [[Badass Beard]]

{{quote|"He that hath a beard is more than a youth, and he that hath no beard is less than a man;"~~|''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]''}}~~

{{quote|"He that hath a beard is more than a youth, and he that hath no beard is less than a man;"

|''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]''}}

* [[Fatal Flaw]]

{{quote|"So, oft it chances in particular men,

Line 18:

Line 19:

As infinite as man may undergo --

Shall in the general censure take corruption

From that particular fault."~~|''[[Hamlet]]''}}~~

From that particular fault."

|''[[Hamlet]]''}}

* [[Foregone Conclusion]]: Shakespeare coined the phrase, although he used it to mean the [[Inverted Trope|inverse]] and it got [[Trope Decay|trope decayed]] ("foregone" means "averted" [[You Keep Using That Word|even today]]):

{{quote|"But this denoted a foregone conclusion: 'Tis a shrewd doubt, though it be [[All Just a Dream|but a dream]]." ~~|''[[Othello]]''}}~~

{{quote|"But this denoted a foregone conclusion: 'Tis a shrewd doubt, though it be [[All Just a Dream|but a dream]]."

|''[[Othello]]''}}

* [[Milking the Giant Cow|Hamming It Up]]:

{{quote|"Nor do not saw the air too much with your hands, but suit the action to the word, the word to the action."~~|''[[Hamlet]]''}}~~

{{quote|"Nor do not saw the air too much with your hands, but suit the action to the word, the word to the action."

|''[[Hamlet]]''}}

* [[Miles Gloriosus]]: Ancient Pistol is a character who appears in three plays (''[[Henry IV Part 2]]'', ''[[The Merry Wives of Windsor]]'', and ''[[Henry V]]'') and is a pretty straight example.

* [[Lampshade Hanging]]:

{{quote|"If this were acted upon the stage I would condemn it as an improbable fiction."~~|''[[Twelfth Night]]''}}~~

{{quote|"If this were acted upon the stage I would condemn it as an improbable fiction."

|''[[Twelfth Night]]''}}

* [[MST3K Mantra]]:

{{quote|"Do not infest your mind with beating on

The strangeness of this business"~~|''[[The Tempest]]''}}~~

The strangeness of this business"

|''[[The Tempest]]''}}

* [[Naughty Nuns]]: In ''[[Measure for Measure]]''

* [[Out, Damned Spot!]]:

* [[Out, Damned Spot!]]: Well, of course, as it's the [[Trope Namer]]:

{{quote|"Out, damned spot! out, I say!"~~|''[[Macbeth]]''}}~~

{{quote|"Out, damned spot! out, I say!"

|''[[Macbeth]]''}}

* [[Prince and Pauper]]: ''[[The Taming of the Shrew]]'' used this one almost three centuries before the [[Trope Namer]] did.

* [[Refuge in Audacity]]

Line 37:

Line 44:

''That you have but slumbered here / While these visions did appear''

''And this weak and idle theme, / no more yielding, but a dream''

''take my hand, if we be friends / and Robin shall restore amends''~~|''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]''}}~~

''take my hand, if we be friends / and Robin shall restore amends''

|''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]''}}

* [[Seen It a Million Times]]:

{{quote|"How many times shall this our lofty scene be acted o'er? In states unborn and accents yet unknown".~~|''[[Julius Caesar (theatre)|Julius Caesar]]''}}~~

{{quote|"How many times shall this our lofty scene be acted o'er? In states unborn and accents yet unknown".

|''[[Julius Caesar (theatre)|Julius Caesar]]''}}

* [[Show Within a Show]]: Many times.

* [[Sock Puppet]]: The use of multiple user ID's to pretend to be someone else or create artificial support for one side in a debate is usually associated with the Internet era, but the same trick was used in ''Julius Caesar'' Act 1 Scene 2 by creating hardcopy messages "in different hands" (ie: by forging the handwriting to appear to be multiple other people) and physically throwing them through Brutus' window.

* [[Sock Puppet]]: The use of multiple user ID's to pretend to be someone else or create artificial support for one side in a debate is usually associated with the Internet era, but the same trick was used in ''Julius Caesar'' Act 1 Scene 2 by creating hardcopy messages "in different hands" (ie: by forging the handwriting to appear to be multiple other people) and physically throwing them through Brutus' window. Yes, a character uses a [[Online Personas|made-up persona]] in a play set in ancient Rome and written in Elizabethan England. It's also an early example of [[Astroturf]]ing.

* [[Spin-Off]]: The character of Falstaff, from Henry IV parts 1 and 2, was given his own play, at Royal request.

* [[Sweet Polly Oliver]]: The Bard had ''five'' plays that made use of this plot - ''[[As You Like It]]'', ''[[Two Gentlemen of Verona]]'', ''[[Twelfth Night]]'', ''[[The Merchant of Venice]]'', and ''[[Cymbeline]]'' - long before the [[Trope Namer]] was written. Was pretty easy for a playwright to use this Trope during a time period [[Fridge Logic| where female characters were always played by men anyway.]]

Line 48:

Line 57:

'''Aaron:''' ''That which thou canst not undo.''

'''Chiron:''' ''Thou hast undone our mother.''

'''Aaron:''' ''Villain, I have ''done'' thy mother.''~~|''[[Titus Andronicus (theatre)|Titus Andronicus]]''}}~~

'''Aaron:''' ''Villain, I have ''done'' thy mother.''

|''[[Titus Andronicus (theatre)|Titus Andronicus]]''}}

{{quote|'''Painter:''' ''Y'are a dog.''

'''Apemantus:''' ''Thy mother's of my generation. What's she, if I be a dog?''~~|''[[Timon of Athens]]''}}~~

'''Apemantus:''' ''Thy mother's of my generation. What's she, if I be a dog?''

|''[[Timon of Athens]]''}}

Quite possibly the ultimate proof of the truth of this law: Shakespeare has an example of a [[Sock Puppet]] in ''[[Julius Caesar]]''. Yes, a character uses a [[Online Personas|made-up persona]] in a play set in ancient Rome and written in Elizabethan England. It's also used as an early example of [[Astroturf]]ing.