Poetic devices 15: Paradox

Life is complex and full of contradictions. As poets, we try to represent life in all its complexity and we can call upon an extraordinarily diverse range of devices to achieve their goals. One of the least understood, but perhaps most appropriate devices to illustrate our complex and contradictory lives is paradox. The poet can create tension that represents turmoil, confusion and even hypocrisy. Take the example of the line by William Shakespeare in Hamlet 'I must be cruel only to be kind.' It's a paradox. 

Paradox should not be confused with oxymoron. An oxymoron commonly uses just two word to create a contradiction - bitter sweet, awfully good, police intelligence (the last one is a joke, don't @ me). A paradox, by comparison can take up a full sentence or even an entire stanza. The following example by English romantic poet William Wordsworth is a great example of paradox:

my heart leaps up when I behold
a rainbow in the sky:
so was it when my life began;
so is it now I am a man;
so be it when I shall grow old,
or let me die!
the child is father of the man;
and I could wish my days to be
bound each to each by natural piety

The line 'the child is father of the man' is clearly paradoxical, but interestingly is a profound statement about how childhood shapes character in later life. It was so deep that Sigmund Freud stole the idea and used it to develop his philosophy in the development of psychotherapy. 

Paradox is not easy to achieve, but if you can do it, it's a neat yet effective way to add some depth to your poetry, so have a try!

Steve Wheeler

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Previous posts in this series

1. Simile
2. Metaphor
3. Repetition and refrains
4. Alliteration
5. Assonance
6. End Rhymes
7. Internal Rhymes
8. Rhythm and Tempo
9. Enjambment

10. Allegory

11. Metonymy

12. Cacophony

13. Calligram

14. Personification