Examples of paradoxes in poetry

Examples of paradoxes in poetry are as follows:

1. Unknown celebrity: This paradox describes a well-known but little-known figure. For example, Emily Dickinson's poem "After I die, please forget me in the crowd, no one knows, as if I never existed; But let me stay among the stars and be their secret joy. Here, the poet wants to be forgotten, but at the same time he wants to be a secret joy among the stars. These two ideas are contradictory.

2. Bright darkness: This paradox describes a scene or emotion that contains both light and darkness. For example, in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the night gave me black eyes, but I used them to find light. Darkness and light are opposite concepts here, but the poet combined them and formed a unique expression.

3. Heavy and light: This paradox describes an object or emotion that is seemingly light but actually heavy. For example, in T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land, April is the cruelest month. Lilacs grow from the dead land, mixed with memories and desires, and the slow roots are stirred by the spring rain. The lilacs here seem light, but the poet associates them with heavy topics such as death and desire, expressing his deep thinking about life and death.

The characteristics of paradox:

1, exception

Paradoxes are often abnormal and will go against people's intuition and common sense. For example, in the omnipotent paradox, it is assumed that an omnipotent entity can accomplish anything, but this in itself constitutes a paradox, because if it can accomplish anything, then it should be able to accomplish its creator, but this constitutes a new contradiction. This paradox is contrary to common sense, because common sense tells us that an all-powerful entity should be able to accomplish anything, but this paradox points out an insoluble contradiction.

2. contradiction

Paradoxes are contradictory in nature, and they contain contradictory viewpoints or conclusions. For example, in Russell Paradox, Russell asked a seemingly contradictory question: Is this sentence self-contradictory? This paradox points out that in the process of understanding the world, human beings often encounter the limitations of their own cognitive ability. This paradox contains an insoluble contradiction, because if this sentence is right, then it is wrong, and vice versa.

3. Exploratory

Paradoxes often lead people to explore and think. For example, the paradox of time travel involves the concept of time travel and the irreversibility of the real world, which causes people to think about the feasibility and significance of time travel. This paradox stimulates people's thinking and discussion about time travel, and promotes people's in-depth study and understanding of time travel. Therefore, paradox is an important tool to stimulate people to explore and think.