ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Tropological reading

Tropological reading is like telling a story or explaining something using symbols, metaphors, or other figures of speech. It's like when someone says "She has a heart of gold," they don't actually mean that the person's heart is made of gold, but rather that she is very kind and caring. It's using language and stories to make a point without directly saying it.

So, let's say you're reading a story about a character who is always running late. The author might use the metaphor of the character always chasing after the clock, trying to catch up with it. This is an example of tropological reading because the author is using a metaphor to show us that the character is constantly running behind and can't seem to keep up.

Sometimes, tropological reading is used to explain complex ideas or convey moral lessons in a way that is easier for us to understand. For example, you might have heard the story of "The Tortoise and the Hare," which teaches us the lesson that slow and steady wins the race. The characters in the story are animals, but they represent different qualities (the tortoise represents perseverance, while the hare represents overconfidence).

Overall, tropological reading is about using language and symbols to tell a story, convey a message, or make a point in a way that is imaginative, creative, and sometimes easier to understand.