The Daily Trope

Topographia (top-o-graf’-i-a): Description of a place. A kind of enargia [: {en-ar’-gi-a} generic name for a group of figures aiming at vivid, lively description].

It had one smeared window overlooking a crowded parking lot. It smelled like stale cigarette smoke. The carpet was shaggy brown–I’m sure it absorbed and hid the dirt. The bed was small–a single about as wide as a tight kitchen countertop. The green bedspread looked like a wilted spinach salad–all rumpled up like the last occupant had just jumped out of it as I came through the door. The walls were light yellow–smoke stained. There was a small plastic plant on the dresser and the TV was small–not much larger than a cereal box.

This was the “free room” that I earned by winning the contest where I had to write a vivid description of my ideal motel room.

Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu). Bracketed text added by Gorgias.

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