There are two common kinds of :
the phrase and the sentence. An oxymoron combines words that are
contradictory to each other in order to express an idea, whether humorous
or tragic, that seems too profound, too big, to express in normal language, such as the idea of
hurtful love, deep love that gives emotional or psychological pain. An
oxymoron (pluralized correctly as "oxymora" but popularly as "oxymorons") is
similar to but different from a in that a paradox is longer in
construction (constructed as one or more sentences versus a phrase or one sentence), and a
paradox seems to contradict its own idea while actually supporting a truth: e.g., Overtime pay
may kill your enthusiasm while vacationing may increase your rewards.
Oxymoron phrases are often constructed with an adjective and a noun, such as
princely fool, painful jest, tearful laughter, although not always,
sincesays in III.ii "serpent heart" to mean false heart or
false love. These, like price fool are noun phrases,
with a noun modifying a second noun. Sentences containing an oxymoron have contradictory words
within different parts of the same sentence, for example (this example actually presents two
oxymoroa, one associated with night and one with
fire): e.g., The pitch night became glaring brightness in the shadow of the
dancing fire.
the phrase and the sentence. An oxymoron combines words that are
contradictory to each other in order to express an idea, whether humorous
or tragic, that seems too profound, too big, to express in normal language, such as the idea of
hurtful love, deep love that gives emotional or psychological pain. An
oxymoron (pluralized correctly as "oxymora" but popularly as "oxymorons") is
similar to but different from a in that a paradox is longer in
construction (constructed as one or more sentences versus a phrase or one sentence), and a
paradox seems to contradict its own idea while actually supporting a truth: e.g., Overtime pay
may kill your enthusiasm while vacationing may increase your rewards.
Oxymoron phrases are often constructed with an adjective and a noun, such as
princely fool, painful jest, tearful laughter, although not always,
sincesays in III.ii "serpent heart" to mean false heart or
false love. These, like price fool are noun phrases,
with a noun modifying a second noun. Sentences containing an oxymoron have contradictory words
within different parts of the same sentence, for example (this example actually presents two
oxymoroa, one associated with night and one with
fire): e.g., The pitch night became glaring brightness in the shadow of the
dancing fire.
In III.ii, Juliet's full line
about the "serpent heart" presents a sentence oxymoron along with two phrase oxymora:
"O serpent heart, hid with a flowering face!" The key contradictory words in the
sentence oxymoron are heart and face, and each is part
of its own noun phrase oxymoron: (1) "serpent heart" (2) "flowering face." A
useful paraphrase of Juliet's sentence oxymoron, which will illuminate her meaning, is: O cruel
heart, hid with a happy face! Her emotion is horror, and the
oxymoron expresses the meaning thatdeceived her but showed his true
self when he slew .
about the "serpent heart" presents a sentence oxymoron along with two phrase oxymora:
"O serpent heart, hid with a flowering face!" The key contradictory words in the
sentence oxymoron are heart and face, and each is part
of its own noun phrase oxymoron: (1) "serpent heart" (2) "flowering face." A
useful paraphrase of Juliet's sentence oxymoron, which will illuminate her meaning, is: O cruel
heart, hid with a happy face! Her emotion is horror, and the
oxymoron expresses the meaning thatdeceived her but showed his true
self when he slew .
Other oxymoroa in this same
speech by Juliet are a bit more obvious, although the sentence oxymoroa are still rather subtle,
like "Did ever dragon keep so fair a cave." Look for contradictory words like
fiend and angel, dove and
raven:
speech by Juliet are a bit more obvious, although the sentence oxymoroa are still rather subtle,
like "Did ever dragon keep so fair a cave." Look for contradictory words like
fiend and angel, dove and
raven:
Beautiful
tyrant! fiend angelical!
Dove-feather'd raven! wolvish-ravening lamb!
Despised substance of divinest show!
Just opposite to what thou justly
seem'st,
A damned saint, an honourable villain!
Shakespeare uses the literary technique of oxymoron for a
number of different purposes. In , Act III, it is often to evince (clearly
show) unbearable grief, shock, remorse, horror, in other words, to evince strong negative
emotional responses, although in some places and in some woks Shakespeare may opt to use the
oxymoron for different purposes, such as for humor. In Act III, some of the characters most
notable for the use of the oxymoron are , Juliet and . Romeo and the Nurse also have dialogue
that employs the technique of the oxymoron. Examining some of these will reveal the
emotion evinced and the meaning
revealed by the oxymoron spoken.
III.i
Prince: "Mercy but murders, pardoning those that
kill."The Prince is lamenting the fate of Romeo after Romeo has
slain Tybalt. The Prince has decreed that any who engage in street "bandying" (verbal
quarreling or physical quarreling, including sword fighting) will be executed, but after
learning fromthat Tybalt slew , while Romeo tried to subdue the quarrel, and that only after
Tybalt returned to the scene of his crime did Romeo slay Tybalt, the Prince shows mercy to Romeo
and exiles, or banishes, him instead of demanding his life: "the prince will doom thee
death...." The Prince speaks a sentence oxymoron to evince an
emotion of deep lament and strong remorse. The
meaning revealed in the contradictory phrases (mercy/pardon,
murder/kill) is that the Prince knows that exile, although an act of mercy, is a cruelty because
the exiled person is all but dead: their loves and lives are left behind and their new place
will be one of estrangement and deprivation. So the mercy of exile will surely be like a living
death to Romeo (living death is also an oxymoron; it seems some ideas are
bound to be expressed in an oxymoron).
III.iii
FRIAR LAURENCE
Romeo, come forth; come forth, thou fearful
man:
Affliction is enamour'd of thy parts,
And thou art wedded to
calamity. [...]
There on the ground, with his own tears made drunk
In these oxymoron-laced lines, Friar Laurence is
evincing the emotion of dismay; his
meaning is in his intent to show Romeo (who is listening to
Laurence talk with Nurse) a true picture of himself in the hope of bringing him to a state of
sensible thought; he wants Romeo to stop seeing the horrible side of events and instead see the
happy side (in fact, Laurence virtually quotes what Juliet says to herself to change her focus
from Tybalt's death to Romeo's life). Laurence says that "affliction" (pain and
suffering) is in love with Romeo. This oxymoron employs the contradictory ideas of
pain and love to describe Romeo's state. He then says
that Romeo is married to "calamity" (a terrible and damaging
event) to further identify Romeo's condition by employing the ironic and contradictory ideas of
marriage (as he has just married Juliet) and disaster.
Laurence then describes Romeo's physical state by using the contradictory ideas of
tearful sorrow and drunkenness to say that Romeo is
lying on the floor, as he would be if passed out drunk, crying unrelentlingly over his sorrows;
of course tears cannot make drunk, a contradiction that adds significantly to the
oxymoron.
III.iii
Nurse replies to Friar Laurence by exclaiming "O woful
sympathy!" The emotions evinced are strong pity and
mournfulness. The contradictory ideas in the oxymoron are enormous sadness
and deep pitying compassion. These are contradictory ideas because one is
self-oriented (woe), but one is other-oriented (compassion). Nurse's oxymoron
means that, even though she is torn by sorrow for her beloved
Juliet and for "Tybalt, the best friend I had!" (which are feelings in opposition to
feelings of compassion for the killer of Tybalt), she nonetheless has a deep sympathy for Romeo,
the husband of her Juliet.
These are some of the
examples of the literary technique of oxymoron in Act III of Romeo and
Juliet. As you look for more, be sure to keep in mind (1) contradicting words and
ideas, (2) two-word phrases and (3) full sentences, each of which are important elements of the
oxymoron.]]>
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