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Paradox
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a statement that seems self-contradictory yet truthful; from the Greek para 'past, contrary to' and doxa 'opinion'
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Oxymoron
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a paradox compressed into adjacent words or phrases; from the Greek oxy 'sharp' and moros 'dull'
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Aphorism
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a short and memorable observation that expresses wit or philosophical reasoning; from the Greek aphorismos 'definition, pithy sentence'
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Examples
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Paradoxes
Expect the unexpected.
Good winners know how to lose badly. Prepare to fight war if you want to live peacefully. Paul Newman The past is the prologue. William Wordsworth The child is father of the man. Shakespeare I must be cruel only to be kind. Pablo Picasso Art is a form of lying to tell the truth. J. Robert Oppenheimer We know too much for one to know much. |
Oxymora
dry ice
civil war pretty ugly fast asleep act natural a wise fool jumbo shrimp exact estimate thunderous silence a cheerful pessimist conspicuous by their absence John Milton darkness visible Jonathan Swift I do here make humbly bold to present them with a short account of themselves and their art. |
P.G. Wodehouse
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He was offensively sober.
Perhaps the greatest hardship in being an invalid is the fact that people come and see you and keep your spirits up.
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St Rocque is proud of the Hotel des Etrangers, and justly. It has all the latest improvements, including a garden for the convenience of guests wishing to commit suicide.
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Purpose & Usage
G.K. Chesterton
Paradox - Truth standing on her head to get attention
Paradox - Truth standing on her head to get attention
We use paradox and oxymora to show our wit and wisdom. Paradox elegantly presents something complex in a simple phrase or sentence that belies the truthfulness of its observation. Oxymora are witty mini-paradoxes found in literature and everyday speech.
Dolly Parton
You wouldn't believe how much it costs to look this cheap.
You wouldn't believe how much it costs to look this cheap.
Paradox types and definitions differ. Logicians classify them more than rhetoricians do. In rhetoric a paradox is generally anything that creates an apparently contradictory but still truthful and witty observation.
Paradoxes may be expressed with other figures that reflect on the comedy and tragedy of life, for example, wordplay, irony and anything that wittily or humorously reveals contraries or life's absurdities.
Paradoxes may be expressed with other figures that reflect on the comedy and tragedy of life, for example, wordplay, irony and anything that wittily or humorously reveals contraries or life's absurdities.
Alexander Pope
The bookful blockhead ignorantly read,
With loads of learned lumber in his head,
With his own tongue still edifies his ears,
And always list'ning to himself appears.
The bookful blockhead ignorantly read,
With loads of learned lumber in his head,
With his own tongue still edifies his ears,
And always list'ning to himself appears.
Alexander Pope uses oxymora to paradoxically observe that some who read earnestly nevertheless remain 'blockheads'; and perhaps to tragically reflect that some read only to feel better or boast about their self-perceived 'learnedness.'
Wit, Aphorism & Epigram
Friedrich Nietzsche
In heaven, all the intereting people are missing.
In heaven, all the intereting people are missing.
Aphorism is a highly esteemed and compact witty statement than may reveal real or paradoxical truths. Good aphorism combines four qualities.
- It is brief.
- It is isolated.
- It is witty.
- It is 'philosophical'.
Aphorism requires wise or educated audiences who hold the background knowledge necessary for understanding the philosophy the aphorism expresses. Litotes, irony and, especially, parody make similar demands on audiences.
One of the fathers of aphorism was Lichtenberg (1742 – 1799). But he is, paradoxically, little read today. We know aphorism is highly esteemed because aphoristic speakers are remembered and their aphorisms fill books.
Epigram is like aphorism. But while aphorisms express more philosophical observations and truths, epigrams generally express more witty or humourous observations. The terms are otherwise synonymous.
The ideas below express witty and memorable apparent truths often involving contradictions.
One of the fathers of aphorism was Lichtenberg (1742 – 1799). But he is, paradoxically, little read today. We know aphorism is highly esteemed because aphoristic speakers are remembered and their aphorisms fill books.
Epigram is like aphorism. But while aphorisms express more philosophical observations and truths, epigrams generally express more witty or humourous observations. The terms are otherwise synonymous.
The ideas below express witty and memorable apparent truths often involving contradictions.
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Georg C. Lichtenberg
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Oscar Wilde
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Is our conception of God anything more than personified incomprehensibility?
We say that someone occupies an official position whereas it is the official position that occupies him. It is a bad thing that truth has nowadays to have its cause pleaded by fiction, novels and fables. He was always smoothing and polishing himself, and in the end he became blunt before he was sharp. We are obliged to regard many of our original minds as crazy at least until we have become as clever as they are. |
Divorces are made in heaven.
I am not young enough to know everything. A friend is someone who stabs you in the front. We live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities. Prayer must never be answered: if it is, it ceases to be prayer and becomes correspondence. In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it. |
Paradoxes in Politics & Advertising
The wit and freshness of paradoxes makes them effective in advertising. The examples below promote products not through commonplace product-promotion but with paradoxes using wordplay and irony.
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The Conservative Party portrayed the British Labour Government's failing economic policies with the following punning poster in 1979.
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Volvo has promoted its brand with paradoxical car wreck posters and videos and ironic slogans like the following.
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Stale Wit
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Keep your paradoxes and oxymora fresh or they smell like stale wit. Some tired oxymora are clichés.
Clichéd Oxymora
open secret
airline food
business ethics
same difference
irregular pattern
controlled chaos
lead from behind
free with purchase
passive-aggressive
military intelligence
accidentally on purpose
open secret
airline food
business ethics
same difference
irregular pattern
controlled chaos
lead from behind
free with purchase
passive-aggressive
military intelligence
accidentally on purpose
Oxymora are fresher when they reveal under-appreciated or surprising contradictions. Artful communicators avoid all clichés - oxymora, dead metaphors, everyday similes, etc. Always try to express contradictions with freshness and maximum incongruity.