What Is An Example Of Paradox In Literature?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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I can’t live with or without you

” (With or Without You, lyrics by U2) “Whatever you do in life will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it” (Ghandi) “Men work together… Whether they work together or apart” (Robert Frost)

What is a paradox in literature?

The word “paradox” derives from the Greek word “paradoxons,” meaning contrary to expectation. In literature, a paradox is

a literary device that contradicts itself but contains a plausible kernel of truth

. … Paradox shares similar elements with two other literary terms: antithesis and oxymoron.

What is an example of a paradox?

An example of a paradox is

“Waking is dreaming”

. A paradox is a figure of speech in which a statement appears to contradict itself. This type of statement can be described as paradoxical. A compressed paradox comprised of just a few words is called an oxymoron.

What is paradox in literature and its examples?

Paradox, apparently self-contradictory statement, the underlying meaning of which is revealed only by careful scrutiny. The purpose of a paradox is to arrest attention and provoke fresh thought. The

statement “Less is more”

is an example.

What is a famous paradox?


Russell’s paradox

is the most famous of the logical or set-theoretical paradoxes. Also known as the Russell-Zermelo paradox, the paradox arises within naïve set theory by considering the set of all sets that are not members of themselves.

What are some paradoxes in life?

  • The Pursuit of Happiness makes you unhappy. …
  • Social media disconnects us from each other. …
  • Solitude makes you more sociable. …
  • The only constant is change. …
  • The only certainty is uncertainty.

What is a good sentence for paradox?

(1) The facts pose something of a paradox. (2) It’s a paradox that in such a rich country there can be so much poverty. (3) It is a curious paradox that professional comedians often have unhappy personal lives. (4)

The paradox is that the region’s most dynamic economies have the most primitive financial systems.

How do you explain a paradox?

A paradox is a

logically self-contradictory statement

or a statement that runs contrary to one’s expectation. It is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictory or a logically unacceptable conclusion.

How do you identify a paradox in literature?

Paradox is dependent upon two elements: 1)

a statement or situation which initially appears contradictory

; 2) the statement or situation that appears contradictory must, after consideration, be a logical or well-founded premise.

What is the difference between oxymoron and paradox with examples?

An Oxymoron is the integration of words that are opposite to each other to structure a unique word or phrase. For example:

dark light

. A paradox is a seemingly self-contradictory phrase, a sentence or group of sentences that isn’t true but likewise isn’t false either.

What is a paradox easy definition?

paradox • PAIR-uh-dahks • noun. 1 a :

a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is perhaps true

b : a self-contradictory statement that at first seems true 2 : one (as a person, situation, or action) having seemingly contradictory qualities or phases.

What is oxymoron in figure of speech?

An oxymoron is a figure of speech:

a creative approach to language that plays with meaning and the use of words in a non-literal sense

. This literary device combines words with contradictory definitions to coin a new word or phrase.

How do you write a paradox?

To write a literary paradox, you need

a character or situation that combines disparate elements

. This is hard to do in the abstract! So it’s usually better to try to observe paradoxes first. Find people or situations in history, in literature, or in real life to act as inspiration for your original literary paradox.

What is an example of russels’s paradox?

Russell’s paradox is based on examples like this:

Consider a group of barbers who shave only those men who do not shave themselves

. Suppose there is a barber in this collection who does not shave himself; then by the definition of the collection, he must shave himself. But no barber in the collection can shave himself.

How do you use the word paradox?

  1. In a strange paradox, the medicine made Heather sick before it made her better.
  2. The idea of being cruel to be kind is a paradox because cruelty is not normally associated with kindness.
  3. By definition a paradox is two contrasting situations put together to create a provoking idea.

Is love a paradox?

Yes,

love is a paradox

. It’s both simple and complicated. It makes us feel happier, and more connected than any other feeling. But it can also be the catalyst that pushes us into a hole of depth and despair that’s almost indescribable when we feel disconnected from it.

Leah Jackson
Author
Leah Jackson
Leah is a relationship coach with over 10 years of experience working with couples and individuals to improve their relationships. She holds a degree in psychology and has trained with leading relationship experts such as John Gottman and Esther Perel. Leah is passionate about helping people build strong, healthy relationships and providing practical advice to overcome common relationship challenges.