bodice ripper
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: A type of popular romantic novel, typically set in a historical period, characterized by melodramatic plots and scenes of passionate, often forceful, sexual encounter, frequently involving the heroine.
Usage
This term is used to describe a specific, often formulaic, subgenre of romance fiction. It is sometimes used humorously or pejoratively to highlight the genre's stereotypical elements of dramatic passion and historical setting.
Examples
- Noun:
- She spent her vacation reading a bodice ripper set in Victorian England.
- The bookstore has a whole section dedicated to bodice rippers.
Advanced Usage
- The term itself can be used metaphorically to describe any overly melodramatic narrative with elements of forced passion.
- Their political scandal was described by the press as a real-life bodice ripper.
Variants and Related Words
- Historical romance (n): A more neutral term for a romance novel set in the past, which may or may not contain the stereotypical "bodice ripper" elements.
Synonyms
- Historical romance novel
- Melodramatic romance
Related Idioms/Phrases
- While not a phrasal verb, the term "rip the bodice" is the implied action central to the genre's cliché.
- The plot inevitably leads to a scene where the hero rips the bodice of the heroine's gown.
Noun
- a romantic novel containing scenes in which the heroine is sexually violated