An oxymoron is a literary figure.
The oxymoron is a literary figure that consists of combining two expressions of opposite meaning in the same structure , with the aim of generating a third concept with a new meaning. The study of its etymology shows that it is a word composed of two Greek terms, whose approximate meanings are " sharp " and " foolish ", two terms as opposite as an oxymoron in itself.
The oxymoron works in a metaphorical sense since its literal meaning is absurd or incoherent. For example: “His work is covered in a luminous darkness” is an oxymoron that could refer to a revealing artistic style. The phrase “The drug offers painful pleasure,” on the other hand, expresses both the momentary pleasant sensation and the serious long-term problems caused by certain types of chemicals, also known as narcotics.
This rhetorical figure allows a sarcastic intention to be hidden under an expression that, apparently, is absurd: “A thunderous silence descended from the galleries to the stage and disconcerted the actors.”
The oxymoron and other figures
In contrast to the oxymoron, which expects an effort on the part of the recipient to find its meaning, pleonasm is an expressive resource that uses redundancy of varying extent to reinforce the meaning of an idea. Its presence, unlike the oxymoron, is very common in everyday speech, as can be seen in the following cases: " You must go up ", " I will not repeat it to you again ", " He saw it with his own eyes ". Pleonasm also appears in various literary works, an environment in which it enjoys a depth that distances it from a mere repetition of concepts .
A figure of thought that is often confused with the oxymoron is the antithesis , which is constructed with the contrast of phrases or words that have an opposite meaning. The poem titled " Love is so short, and oblivion is so long " is a clear example of this resource, which does not express a contradictory idea, but rather reinforces the weight of one by making use of another, which has an opposite meaning. Outside of the literary field, it is common to talk about antithesis when you want to compare two people or two situations, generally focusing on the negative characteristics of one of them.
Paradox , on the other hand, is used to affirm a contradiction in itself, something that in a certain culture seems meaningless. This is seen very frequently in mystical language, which suggests the existence of a plane that has not been explored or accepted by science. In a sonnet by Pablo Neruda we find a stanza that begins by saying " I love you to begin to love you " and ends with the verse " that's why I don't love you yet ." In a poem by Machado, on the other hand, advice is given to never follow his advice .
The operation of the oxymoron occurs through a metaphorical sense.
A subjective judgment
Sometimes, certain expressions are said to be oxymorons as a matter of subjective judgment. That is the case of phrases like “military intelligence” or “smart weapons” ; There are those who believe that intelligence should not be talked about in the military field since the techniques or disciplines that seek the destruction of other living beings are not rational.
Some oxymorons are part of everyday language such as “almost always” , “safe bet” , “lucky accident” or “global village” . The imprecision of these expressions may go unnoticed by many people, but it is partly responsible for the poverty with which we express ourselves, for how unprotected we find ourselves in the face of formal situations and technical definitions.
It should be noted that, according to the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) , the term oxymoron must remain unchanged in the plural, although it is also valid to use the word oxymorons .