Juxtaposition and oxymorons are both literary devices that involve contrasting elements; however, they differ in scope and function.
- In juxtaposition, a writer places two or more ideas, characters, or images side by side to highlight the differences and similarities between them. The interpretation of this relationship is up to the audience. A juxtaposition can span one line or an entire story, depending on the contrasted elements.
- An oxymoron, on the other hand, involves combining two words or ideas with opposing meanings. Unlike juxtaposition, an oxymoron always involves a degree of contradiction within the combination of terms.
In other words, juxtaposition is about placing elements so as to compare them, while an oxymoron involves the deliberate combination of contradictory terms.
Continue reading: What is the difference between juxtaposition and an oxymoron?
While an oxymoron is typically deliberate, in some cases it can be unintentional. These unintentional oxymorons often arise in everyday language.
For example, when someone says “act natural” without realizing that “natural” implies an unforced state. Although not created for rhetorical effect, unintentional oxymorons can still convey meaning in a way that captures attention or adds humor.
Continue reading: Can an oxymoron be unintentional?
A parachronism is when something is shown in a later time period than one would expect. It may be an unlikely or unusual inconsistency rather than an impossible one. For example, a character using a quill today is not entirely unlikely, but it would look peculiar.
Parachronism is a type of anachronism.
Continue reading: What is a parachronism?
An example of anachronism in literature is in William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar.
In Act 2, Scene 1, Brutus says, “Peace! Count the clock.” Cassius responds, “The clock hath stricken three.” In 44 BC, when Julius Caesar was alive, mechanical clocks were not yet invented, so mentioning a clock in the play is an anachronism because it didn’t exist at that time.
Continue reading: What is an example of anachronism in literature?
Near rhyme describes words with similar (but not identical) sounds. This type of rhyme is also known as half rhyme or slant rhyme. Examples of near rhyme include “hand/lend” and “fate/save.”
Continue reading: What is near rhyme?
Although the word “orange” is generally regarded as having no perfect rhyme, there are words that nearly rhyme with orange, such as hinge, syringe, and four inch (two words).
QuillBot’s free Paraphraser can help you find creative word options for all your writing!
Continue reading: Which words rhyme with orange?
Words that rhyme with “love” are dove, glove, shove, and above.
Use QuillBot’s free Paraphraser to find creative word choices for all of your writing.
Continue reading: Which words rhyme with love?
Words that rhyme with “me” are bee, degree, debris, flea, ghee, glee, sea, spree, key, tea, plea, and pea.
Use QuillBot’s free Paraphraser to find creative word choices for all of your writing.
Continue reading: Which words rhyme with me?
Words that rhyme with “you” are accrue, blue, clue, construe, dew, grew, hue, queue, shoe, shrew, true, and zoo.
Use QuillBot’s free Paraphraser to find creative word choices for all of your writing.
Continue reading: Which words rhyme with you?
Both alliteration and assonance are literary devices that involve repeating sounds. However, they differ in the type and placement of the sounds.
Alliteration involves the repetition of consonant sounds, usually at the beginning of words, as in “the sun sank below the serene sea.”
On the other hand, assonance involves the repetition of vowel sounds in neighboring words and can occur anywhere in the word. For example, the repetition of the “e” sound in the sentence “Hear the mellow wedding bells” showcases assonance.
Continue reading: What is the difference between assonance and alliteration?
