A(n) _____ is made up . In each example, the oxymoron is underlined. Like other kinds of figurative language, oxymorons (or oxymora) are often found in literature. When did organ music become associated with baseball? Active 6 years, 11 months ago. Words that are antonyms have opposite meanings from one another. However, oxymorons aren't always so serious. A paradox is a concept that is simultaneously counterintuitive and truthful or revealing. He’s a strange, sleepy, silent person. Difference between Paradox and Oxymoron. An oxymoron is a figure of speech combining terms that are usually contradictory of one another. Tags: Question 15 . So, if you seem to be getting a little thin on top, you are not alone! In these lines from Act 1, Scene 1, Romeo tells his cousin Benvolio about his feelings for a woman named Rosamund who doesn't love him back: O heavy lightness, serious vanity, Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms! Some people mistake pairs of antonyms for oxymorons, but they are not the same. Get this guide to Oxymoron as an easy-to-print PDF. Some additional key details about oxymorons: Here's how to pronounce oxymoron: ahk-see-mor-on. If you feel that the modifier is unnecessary perhaps one of the following suggestions is what you're looking for. But oxymorons can also occur over the course of a clause or sentence, as in "That silence after your joke was deafening." Ano ang mga kasabihan sa sa aking kababata? Viewed 2k times 0. Line-by-line modern translations of every Shakespeare play and poem. answer choices . The conservative political writer William Buckley, for instance, became famous for quotes like, "An intelligent liberal is an oxymoron." The material on this site can not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with prior written permission of Multiply. An oxymoron is a figurative language that joins together two opposing elements to form a sensible idea. Here's one more example from Romeo and Juliet. Did You Know? Here is a comprehensive list of 64 examples of oxymorons in sentences. This love feel I, that feel no love in this. some examples are: jumbo shrimp / colossal shrimp /extremely … Oxymorons are extremely useful in written English because they can make effective titles, add dramatic effect, add flavor to speech, and can sometimes be used to achieve a comedic effect. All Rights Reserved. Oxymoron is often confused with other related terms, such as "contradiction in terms," "paradox," and "antonym." How to use oxymoron in a sentence. icy hot, a good example of an oxymoron because the two words are complete opposite, icy, an oxymoron is a figure of speech combining terms that are usually contradictory of one another. This example is similar to the lines above from Romeo and Juliet, in that both use the contradictory terms of an oxymoron to reflect the characters' experience of thwarted love. Because there are so many oxymorons, the paired words take on a clichéd tone that reflects on the quality of Romeo's "love" for Rosamund, which (we know from the title, "Romeo and Juliet") is fleeting and hasn't anything to do with the love affair that drives the rest of the play. Both have to do with using contradiction to reveal deeper truths, but they differ in an important way: an oxymoron is a device, while a paradox is an idea. The following oxymoron occurs repeatedly throughout Macbeth. This first example is from the play's opening scene and it is part of a charm chanted by witches: Fair is foul, and foul is fair: Hover through the fog and filthy air. The "nakedly dressed" oxymoron immediately follows the description of Ada's drawings, in which she combines together unlikely species: just as oxymorons conjoin unlikely words and ideas. ‘This might sound oxymoronic, but the fact is relaxation has turned into an aggressive sport.’ ‘It is that tension between safety and satire that has traditionally rendered oxymoronic the very notion of corporate comedy.’ Read on to find out how oxymoron is distinct from each of these terms. On top of establishing the witches' cruelty, the line is also a signal to the audience to be on guard throughout the play—a warning that characters who seem fair may be foul, and vice versa. I wouldn’t recommend that you watch his show, not for a million bucks! LitCharts uses cookies to personalize our services. Does Jerry Seinfeld have Parkinson's disease? The most recognizable oxymorons are adjective-noun pairs, as in the phrase "proud humility." This cascade of oxymorons, placed one after the other, heightens the contrast between Romeo's idea of love and what he's actually experiencing. If something is not an Oxymoron, what is it? Why don't libraries smell like bookstores? The oxymorons are underlined and there is a brief explanation of why the underlined is considered an oxymoron. How long will the footprints on the moon last? Who is the longest reigning WWE Champion of all time? Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. These types of statements are self-contradictory, and. answer choices . LitCharts Teacher Editions. However, an oxymoron is more specific than a contradiction in terms: it must be crafted intentionally in order to suggest that two contradictory ideas go together because their unlikely combination reveals a deeper truth. For instance, a true oxymoron occurs when Juliet says to Romeo in Romeo and Juliet that "Parting is such sweet sorrow."