1. a traditional theme or formula in literature
Usage: literary criticism
2. a commonplace or stock argument used in rhetoric
Usage: rhetoric; formal

Examples

• The journey of the hero is a familiar topos in epic literature.
• Medieval poets frequently employed the topos of the world turned upside down.
• The speaker relied on the tired topos that hard work always leads to success.
• Shakespeare transformed the conventional topos of star-crossed lovers in Romeo and Juliet.
• The pastoral topos appears throughout Renaissance poetry.
• Critics identified several classical topoi in the modern novel.