It is a stronger version of an oxymoron in that it prompts the reader to see both sides of a truth at the same time. Oxymorons are simpler versions of paradoxes.Ī paradox is a statement containing two seemingly contradictory ideas, but is true nonetheless. She cries, “Beautiful tyrant! Fiend angelical! / Dove-feathered raven, wolvish-ravening lamb! / Despised substance of divinest show / Just opposite to what thou justly seem’st.” Some of his most famous oxymorons from the play occur when Juliet initially believes that Romeo is a cold-blooded murderer, but also can’t believe that someone so beautiful could commit such an ugly deed. Shakespeare was well-known for such contradictions, especially in his play The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. In poetry, oxymorons are used for more of an artistic effect, to create powerful contradictory images in the mind of the reader. This my hand will rather / The multitudinous seas incarnadine, marking the green one red.” In this scene, not even the oceans can wash Macbeth’s hands of King Duncan’s blood.Īn oxymoron combines two contradictory words or ideas into one phrase to highlight an idea or a problematic connection for the reader. Macbeth laments, “Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand? No. Macbeth also feels he will never be cleansed of his murderous deed of killing King Duncan in William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth. While the actual gunshot was not heard around the world, the implications of that gunshot changed world history. For example, “The shot heard round the world” is a phrase used to describe the first shot fired by the British soldiers on unarmed Colonial citizens which began the Revolutionary War. Hyperbolic expressions move away from the literal sense of statements and incorporate more abstract ideas and language. Hyperboles occur most often in poetry, but they also appear in common clichés or sayings. It is not meant to be taken seriously, and usually when explored, reveals a deeper meaning. The literal meaning of hyperbole is, "An obvious exaggeration or overstatement to make a point". Extended metaphors are sometimes also called allegories, although allegories tend to be used with larger works and novellas, such as Animal Farm by George Orwell. Emily Dickinson is famous for using extended metaphors, such as in her poem “ Because I Could Not Stop for Death”, which uses a journey with Death personified to mirror the typical journey of life from childhood to inevitable death. For example, in Fish in a Tree, the author uses the metaphor or a pawn becoming a queen in Chess, when telling readers not to give up and that anyone can be a leader.Īn extended metaphor is more complex than a simple metaphor, in that it is typically expressed throughout the entirety of a work. Metaphors are often used in novels for younger readers as well. A simple metaphor can be found in Edgar Allan Poe’s “ The Raven”, when the narrator observes, “And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor”, referring to the dying embers of the fire as turning into ghosts, much like the ghost of the memory Lenore, which will be visiting him soon. The purpose of a metaphor is to establish a deeper connection and another layer of meaning to a character, the plot, or the theme. Unlike similes, metaphors compare two unlike things or ideas without the use of “like” or “as” the connection between the two is more implied than explicitly expressed by the author.
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