History Literature / ASongOfIceAndFire

* OffWithHisHead: Happens quite a few times, most notably to [[spoiler:Eddard Stark]] at the end of book one.

* LineOfSightName: In ''A Storm of Swords'', Jaime questions Ser Osmund Kettleblack on who knighted him, and Osmund responds "Ser Robert... Stone". Jaime wonders to himself if this was a real person (presumably a bastard sellsword made good) or whether Osmund made him up, combining the name of the deceased king with a glance at the castle wall.

* KnightTemplar: Stannis Baratheon is a rigid and merciless man who never compromises on anything. He has an even ''bigger'' KnightTemplar advisor, the priestess/sorceress Melisandre, who wants to burn all false gods in preparation for the last battle against evil. The rise of the ChurchMilitant of the Swords and the Stars provides even more opportunities for the trope.

* LaxativePrank: Done seriously. Tyrion is too busy trying to save the city to struggle with Cersi's schemes so he uses a mild poison to get her out of his hair for one day.

** The flux, also figuratively called "the pale mare," is an acute and virulent disease that is virtually identical to dysentery, going so far as to sharing its medieval name, "the flux."
** Greyscale is a chronic, disfiguring disease that causes numb grey lesions to spread across the body, making the victim appear to be turning to stone. Victims in an advanced state are called "stone men" and live together in isolated colonies. Its symptoms share similarities with leprosy and smallpox.

** "As useless as nipples on a breastplate" is quipped by multiple people throughout the series.

* IdiotBall: Janos Slynt grabs it hard when he refuses to take up command of an outpost given to him by Jon Snow (admittedly, it's a fairly transparent ploy to keep Slynt away from Alliser Thorne and his other friends), even after multiple warnings, sprinkling his refusals with multiple insults directed at Jon's bastard parentage, his father's forced confession of treason, and his brother's murder. When Janos refuses to leave on the day he's scheduled to ship out, Jon responds by calmly [[spoiler: having him dragged out into the courtyard and having him summarily executed]].

** [[spoiler:Janos Slynt played a part in the betrayal and beheading of Eddard Stark. He winds up beheaded as well. By Jon Snow, Lord Commander of the Night's Watch.]]

* FakeDefector: When Theon took over Winterfell, Osha pretended to join him, and then took the opportunity to kill some of his men and smuggle Bran and Rickon to safety. Jon Snow fakes a switch over to the Wildlings to save his life, and even thinks of becoming a real defector. The turning point is when the Wildling chieftain tries to make Jon execute an innocent civilian. Quentyn Martell also uses this tactic to [[spoiler:get in to Meereen under the guise of a spy for a sellsword company]], which ends up being almost an inversion of this trope.

* FlowerMotifs: The winter rose symbolising doomed and forbidden love for the Starks. Also, the Tyrells have the rose as their heraldric symbol and therefore use flowers to symbolize all kinds of things

** Notably averted with [[spoiler: Quentyn Martell]] in "A Dance With Dragons," a viewpoint character who has been confirmed as being very dead. [[spoiler: Dragonfire has a tendency to do that]]

** A weird example occurs in "A Dance With Dragons" with Stannis' snowbound army, whose R'hllor-worshipping commanding officers execute four soldiers found eating a dead man...by burning them alive in a sacrifice to the Lord of Light

* {{Expy}}: The Brotherhood Without Banners is, to some extent, an {{Expy}} of Robin Hood's Merry Men. Though they're not an exact match-up, there are a few analogues like an archer (Robin/Anguy), a jolly priest (Friar Tuck/Thoros of Myr), a singer (Alan-a-Dale/Tom Sevenstrings), a feisty noblewoman (Maid Marian/[[spoiler: Catelyn Stark]]), and a guy named for his colorful cloak (Will Scarlet/Lem Lemoncloak). They are an extremely cynical interpretation, however, as it becomes increasingly evident by "A Feast For Crows" that they have gone from protectors of the smallfolk to just plain old bandits and the ones that haven't have become [[KnightTemplar Knight Templars out for revenge against the Lannisters]]

* TheGrotesque: Tyrion Lannister, Sandor Clegane, and [[spoiler:undead Catelyn]]. Possibly [[spoiler:Loras Tyrell]] if he lives. Brienne is noted to look somewhat strange in Jaime's sole chapter in "A Dance With Dragons." [[spoiler:Theon Greyjoy]], after his torture and abuse.

** Roose Bolton, already shown to be a backstabbing untrustworthy bastard (with a creepy thing about leeches) clearly feels disgust for the acts of his bastard son Ramsay. [[CompleteMonster Think about that for a second]]

* HesBack: ''Dance'' has a few. [[spoiler: near the beginning, Drogon flies off rather than let Dany's men capture him. When they re-open the fighting pits, he returns, and has grown to twice the size of his brothers.]] There is also [[spoiler: Varys, in the epilogue after two books MIA.]] We also get to see [[spoiler: Arya]] again, and [[spoiler: Brienne]] turns up in Jaime's sole chapter.

* HesBack: ''Dance'' has a few. [[spoiler: near the beginning, Drogon flies off rather than let Dany's men capture him. When they re-open the fighting pits, he returns, and has grown to twice the size of his brothers.]] There is also [[spoiler: Varys, in the epilogue after two books MIA.]]

* FakeDefector: When Theon took over Winterfell, Osha pretended to join him, and then took the opportunity to kill some of his men and smuggle Bran and Rickon to safety. Jon Snow fakes a switch over to the Wildlings to save his life, and even thinks of becoming a real defector. The turning point is when the Wildling chieftain tries to make Jon execute an innocent civilian. Quentyn Martell also uses this tactic to [[spoiler:get in to Meereen under the guise of a spy for a sellsword company]].

* FatalFlaw: Eddard and Robb's HonorBeforeReason. Theon Greyjoy's need for ''someone's'' approval. Lysa Arryn's need to overshadow her sister. Robert Baratheon's depression over his lost love. Tywin Lannister's obsession with the dignity of the Lannister name.

** TheHero: Quentyn sees himself as such, even though he's a deconstruction of the trope.

* FlowerMotifs: The winter rose symbolising doomed and forbidden love for the Starks.

* TheGrotesque: Tyrion Lannister, Sandor Clegane, and [[spoiler:undead Catelyn]]. Possibly [[spoiler:Loras Tyrell]] and [[spoiler:Brienne]], if they live. [[spoiler:Theon Greyjoy]], after his torture and abuse.

* {{Expy}}: The Brotherhood Without Banners is, to some extent, an {{Expy}} of Robin Hood's Merry Men. Though they're not an exact match-up, there are a few analogues like an archer (Robin/Anguy), a jolly priest (Friar Tuck/Thoros of Myr), a singer (Alan-a-Dale/Tom Sevenstrings), a feisty noblewoman (Maid Marian/[[spoiler: Catelyn Stark]]), and a guy named for his colorful cloak (Will Scarlet/Lem Lemoncloak).

** Notably averted with [[spoiler; Quentyn Martell]] in "A Dance WIth Dragons," a viewpoint character who has been confirmed as being very dead. [[spoiler: Dragonfire has a tendency to do that]]

* FlowerMotifs: the winter rose symbolising doomed and forbidden love for the Starks.

* BlackAndWhiteInsanity: Stannis demonstrates this, as does Melisandre to an even greater extent, having a (literally [[hottip:*: Literally because Manichaeanism is derived from Zoroastorianism, which is the major inspiration behind the fictional R'hllor religion]]) Manichaean worldview.
** Worshippers of R'hllor are the first (and until appointment of the fundamentalist High Septon, only) religious people who view worship of other gods as being blasphemous

** The Horn of Winter, discovered by the King-Beyond-The-Wall Mance Rayder. Prior to his assault across the Wall, he threatens to blow it unless the Night's Watch surrenders, though not even he is sure what it will do. In story, it's supposed to bring the Wall down. [[spoiler:It's said to be destroyed before it's ever tested.]]
** According to Tormund Giantbane, [[spoiler: that wasn't the real horn, which is still hidden somewhere beyond the wall]]

** Quentyn Martell, who doesn't know how to talk to girls, is [[spoiler: sent across the sea on a mission that could determine the fate of Westeros, to woo "the most beautiful woman in the world". She laughs at him. Things get worse for him from there.]] It doesn't help that he is constantly described as being less attractive than his best friend. His storyline is one gigantic ShootTheShaggyDogStory from beginning to end.

** Theon Greyjoy performs a FaceHeelTurn, betraying Robb Stark and taking Winterfell for the Greyjoys, which ends in the death of many Stark retainers. This ends in him killing Bran and Rickon [[spoiler: only not really, as he allows them to escape and kills two miller's sons instead]]. However, when he's betrayed by the Boltons and tortured into insanity, he swings over into TheWoobie territory quickly.

* DeadPersonImpersonation: Ramsay as "Reek" in ''A Clash of Kings'', allowing him to escape punishment for his crimes; Jaqen/The Alchemist masquerading as Pate in ''A Feast for Crows'', in a KillAndReplace variant.
** Later on [[spoiler: Theon]] is forced to pretend to be Reek on pain of having his fingers flayed off.

* DeadlyDecadentCourt: Oh gods, is it ever deadly.
** Danaerys' court in Mereen is significantly more decadent (although Dany herself isn't) and slightly less deadly--although only slightly.

* CallARabbitASmeerp: Lizard-lions seem to be crocodiles, and basilisks some species of large tropical lizards. Shadowcats are probably mountain lions or a similar large cat. A "zorse" is probably a zebra, though in real life the word is used to describe a horse/zebra hybrid.