| rdfs:comment | - The Ur Example is the oldest known example of a given trope. Some people will tell you it's named for the ancient Sumerian city of Ur, but "ur-" is just a German prefix meaning "proto-, primitive, or original." Typically, an Ur Example doubles as the Trope Maker -- but not always, and far less often with ancient tropes, which often evolved over a long period of time rather than suddenly burst forth from someone's head, fully formed. When they're distinct, a Trope Maker differs from an Ur Example in that the latter becomes an example of that trope only in retrospect.
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| abstract | - The Ur Example is the oldest known example of a given trope. Some people will tell you it's named for the ancient Sumerian city of Ur, but "ur-" is just a German prefix meaning "proto-, primitive, or original." Typically, an Ur Example doubles as the Trope Maker -- but not always, and far less often with ancient tropes, which often evolved over a long period of time rather than suddenly burst forth from someone's head, fully formed. When they're distinct, a Trope Maker differs from an Ur Example in that the latter becomes an example of that trope only in retrospect. For instance, one of the pivotal Trope Makers of the Detective Story is Edgar Allan Poe's collection of Dupin stories; before Dupin, there is no story genre of fictional detectives going about the business of solving crimes. Nevertheless, while you may or may not know Poe's Dupin stories, you've probably encountered a certain Danish Prince named Hamlet, who not only sets about to ensnare his uncle King Claudius, but even incorporates into his plans a play-within-a-play he dubs "The Mousetrap." And half a millennium earlier still, "The Tale of the Three Apples" is a proto-Detective Story from The Book of One Thousand and One Nights -- which makes "The Tale of the Three Apples" the Ur Example of the Detective Story, or at least a possible candidate. However, Oedipus Rex, first performed on 429 BCE, depicts Oedipus investigating the cause of the plague that has struck his realm. Wherever a trope has evolved gradually, determining the Ur Example can be a complicated and contentious business. In many cases a trope has more than one Ur Example, because determining the "earliest use of the trope" depends on subjective choices as to which aspects of the trope are its defining qualities. Regardless of these issues, an Ur Example should not be confused with the cat that's in ur fridge, eatin ur logic.
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