Oxymoron definition. Oxymoron, examples from fiction

Allowing you to create an unexpected and striking effect in fiction or journalism. This is meant as an oxymoron. Definition and examples of this interesting phenomenon, where and how it is used in different languages- you will learn all this further.

Definition

Oxymoron (another spelling “oxymoron”) comes from an ancient Greek phrase that can be translated into Russian as “witty stupidity.” This name itself is an oxymoron. It can be assumed that this was precisely the example that gave the name to the whole phenomenon.

Probably, the first oxymorons were the result of inattention or poor knowledge of the language and, accordingly, were stylistic errors. But then this phenomenon was picked up by writers and quickly turned into an artistic device. Its essence is to combine together incompatible concepts, actions or characteristics. This is done in order to attract attention, emphasize certain qualities of the depicted, create an effect of surprise, etc. Often, an oxymoron is used to create a comic or satirical atmosphere. Examples from fiction eloquently prove how great the expressive potential of this stylistic device is.

Correct word stress

Before further studying this phenomenon, it is necessary to clarify an important point. If you use this term in oral speech, then how do you put emphasis in the word?

Unfortunately, most of our compatriots do not know this and therefore make a speech error. In the word "oxymoron" the stress falls on the second syllable, that is, on the letter "yu". This is exactly how it should be pronounced in Russian, regardless of number and case.

It is noteworthy that in English and German the word oxymoron has a double accent. On the peculiarities of the use of oxymorons in literature different nations This will be discussed later in the article.

Use as a means of expression

If you carefully read the various examples, the oxymoron appears as an expression of internal contradiction, which the author does not try to hide, but, on the contrary, emphasizes. For example, let’s take lines from the poem “Tsarskoe Selo Statue”, written by A. Akhmatova:

Look, she has fun being sad

So elegantly naked.

Here you can see not one, but two examples of the artistic technique we are considering: “happily sad” and “elegantly naked.” The author's goal is to try to look into the depths of things and see them from an unusual side.

This stylistic device can be seen in the works of a huge number of authors - both poets and prose writers. For this reason, it is impossible to identify literary genres or styles in which the oxymoron is most often used.

Examples from fiction

Russian literature is replete with similar combinations of words. They look especially impressive in the titles of works, for example:

“Optimistic tragedy” (V. Vishnevsky);
« Hot Snow"(Yu. Bondarev);
“Running on the Waves” (A. Green);
“The Living Corpse” (L. Tolstoy);
“Dead Souls” (N. Gogol);
“Tomorrow there was war” (B. Vasiliev);
“The End of Eternity” (A. Azimov).

The oxymoron is no less popular in prose works. As an illustration, here is a quote from George Orwell’s famous novel “1984”: “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength." Here, each part of the slogan of a dystopian state is a combination of incompatible things, which allows the writer to reveal his idea in the most accurate and memorable way. Also, an example of such an artistic technique can be the famous Latin proverb: “If you want peace, prepare for war.”

In all the above literary quotes, one can trace the similarities, namely the author’s intention to connect opposing concepts. This is an oxymoron.

Examples in Russian

Usually we don’t even think about it when we hear or pronounce phrases that are typical oxymorons. “Scorching cold”, “living dead”, “honest thief”, “silent scream”, “ringing silence”, “ordinary miracle”, “smart nonsense”, “speaking silence”, “cold fire”, “new tradition” - These are all typical examples. An oxymoron can make you think, open up new facets of a particular phenomenon, and make you laugh.

If you are writing a text and want to use this stylistic device in it, then be careful. There should not be too many oxymorons, otherwise they will lose their artistic value and will look like speech errors. When using incompatible concepts in oral speech, you should also not get carried away: make sure that your listeners correctly perceive your thought.

In foreign languages

No less popular is the oxymoron in English language. Examples of this phenomenon can be found in poetry and prose. The quote from J. Orwell already cited in this article is just a drop in the ocean. Other illustrations include the following:

It was an open secret. - “It was not a secret” (literally: “It was a known secret”).

Lightless light - “dark light”.

Good Bad Boys- "good bad guys."

A young middle-aged woman - "middle-aged young woman."

Love-hate - “hateful love”.

Bloody good - “damn good”.

Peace force - "peaceful force".

Alone together - “loneliness together” (literally “lonely together”).

Only choice - "the only choice".

Just like in Russian, oxymorons are widely used in English titles. Take a closer look, for example, at familiar names Hollywood films: Back to Future - “Back to the Future”, True Lies - “True Lies” and the like.

The oxymoron can be found in German (angstgeruch - “the smell of fear”, der fremde freund - “stranger’s friend”) and in many others. Such a vivid means of artistic expression is used in the speech of many peoples.

Oxymorons in everyday life

It's surprising how often we say phrases containing oxymorons without even realizing it. Here are some examples where almost no one notices the oxymoron:

"more than half";
"terribly beautiful";
"drink to your health";
"a virtual reality";
"afterlife", etc.

All these expressions have become so firmly established in everyday use that we don’t even think about how contradictory they are in their meaning. Studying oxymorons can encourage you to take a different look at familiar words, expressions, and language in general.

Instead of an afterword

However, it is worth noting that not all combinations of words with opposite meanings can illustrate the phenomenon described in this article as examples of it. An oxymoron is, first of all, a deliberate combination of contradictory images. For this reason set expressions(“white crow”, “bottomless barrel”) and stylistic combinations (“sweet tears”, “poisonous honey”), researchers refer to a phenomenon called catachresis, and not an oxymoron. However, the similarity between both stylistic devices is quite strong.

In addition, many researchers compare the oxymoron with a paradox. Indeed, there is much in common between these phenomena.

Paradox, oxymoron, catachresis - these phenomena can be used as artistic techniques and demonstrate new, unusual, original aspects of our reality.

Hello, dear readers of the blog site. An oxymoron is type of figure of speech(a phrase usually consisting of two words), which is “all so contradictory” (just like a woman) that it really gets under your skin. No, really. In an oxymoron (such a spelling is acceptable in Russian along with oxymoron - emphasis on the letter Y) seemingly incompatible qualities and essences are combined. This is what makes these figures remarkable.

This term has Greek roots and is a composite of two again contradictory words - sharp (in the sense of smart, i.e. funny) and stupid (in the sense of stupid). That is, we get some kind of witty stupidity, and if we use something worse, then it is nothing more than nonsense or absurdity (the latter is probably best suited).

So what is an oxymoron (sometimes misspelled in queries as an axemoron) if you try to define it? And this, in essence, connection of two contrasting words(often opposite in meaning such as “cold as fire”). Want examples? Yes please, as much as you like.

Below you will find dozens of them, but for now, for starters: “virtual reality”, “true lies” (remember that film with Schwartz?), “awesome fall” (and this is from an advertisement), “deafening silence”, “loud silence” , “terribly beautiful” (as an option - “terribly beautiful”), “hot ice” (hockey fans will understand), “living dead”, “silent scream”, etc. All these are examples of oxymorons, but more and more of them are appearing, because they are very catchy and attract attention. Why? Let's figure it out.

What is an oxymoron or why combine incompatible things?

First of all oxymoron is a way to attract attention, interest, make a person surprised, stop, think... For example, the phrase “long moment” or “complex simplicity” is somewhat disconcerting, stunning (how is this even possible?), causes unusual and unexpected associations, it can even make someone smile (here they wrapped it up!).

Where is the best place to use this? Well, of course, where you need to attract attention with just a few words. That's why oxymorons are very common in book titles(examples - “living corpse”, “hot ice”, “honest thief”, “eloquent silence”, “optimistic tragedy”, “end of eternity”), movie titles(vivid examples are “true lies”, “ordinary miracle”, “old New Year", "back to the future", "tomorrow there was war"), in advertising slogans, poems.

Our brain stumbles over these expressions, begins to process them, actively tries to imagine, awakens right hemisphere responsible for creativity... Literally two words excite the imagination, begin to excite the imagination... But this is exactly what the author of the book and the director of the film (and even the author of the advertising slogan and video) need - they need to awaken your interest in their work.

I'm not even talking about poets - similar figures of speech add charm to poetry and make them unique.

By citing an oxymoron (two opposite and mutually exclusive concepts) in the title of a work (or poetry), they ensure that both words lose their original meaning, but in the end something new, unprecedented is formed in my head, which means it’s alluring and makes you want to read this book, watch the movie, and read the poems and read them endlessly. A wonderful thing, isn't it?

Oxymorons are also often used to create some kind of drama, such as “cruel kindness” or “deafening silence.” It is not without reason that they say that brevity is the sister of talent. And here it turns out very briefly (only two words) and at the same time so succinctly... But when placed side by side, they often give the work an artistic quality brightness, because they have a strong surprise effect and present their readers with a logical paradox, which everyone places for themselves in their own way. And that's the beauty of it...

But this is not the only place where you can find examples. Look, there’s one word that contradicts itself: tragicomedy. Or also from the field of creativity: “a novel in verse.” In general, such phrases are mainly invented by creative people, and therefore they also find their way into their everyday life (for example, painters, stylists and even cooks have the principle of “combining the incongruous,” and this is nothing more than an oxymoron).

Advertisers use oxymorons (clever nonsense, if we translate this word from Greek literally) also because These kinds of phrases are very memorable(literally eat into consciousness). And this applies not only to advertising. You've probably heard the expression "dry water", which, in contrast to the official name of this chemical compound with a six-story formula (fluoroketone), is easy to wrap your head around. Or “liquid nails” - bright and most importantly understandable.

Would you like more examples from the great and mighty Russian language? There will be a lot of them below, but I’ll still highlight them in a separate line historical examples, which, due to their literal perception, have become a kind of dogma, although in essence they are representatives of the family of oxymorons.

In the not very distant socialist past, we considered the expression “public property” quite common, but, in fact, this phrase is made up of contradictory concepts (public means indivisible, and property means separation, isolation). Another example from the same place is “an honorable duty” (in relation to military service) or a little later (in the dashing nineties) the phrase “unpaid salary” was in use, although the word “payment” already means a completed action. In general, there are a lot of examples.

Examples of oxymorons in Russian

As I mentioned above, there are many examples of the use of this vivid figure of speech in titles works of art . I have already cited some of them, but I will try to expand this list:

Poets in poems very often they use contradictory and paradoxical phrases to enhance the artistic brightness of their works:

And finally, I just want to point out examples of oxymorons, which I like to one degree or another:

more half
scary beautiful
living Dead
sad joy
eloquent silence
liquid Nails
dry water
old New Year
sad laughter
sweet bitterness
heat cold
sweet tears
afterlife
a virtual reality
deafening silence
ringing silence
powerful impotence
dull shine
long moment
original copies
eyes wide shut
true lies
loud silence
summer fur coat
possessed angel
sincere liar
brazen modesty
voluntary violence
drink to your health
unanimous disagreement
benevolent enemy
infinite limit
well-mannered boor
little giant
clever bungler
married bachelor
fiery ice
silent scream
falling up
it's fun to be sad
chilling fervor
screaming silence
long moment
complex simplicity
sworn friend
wavy surface
clumsy grace
powerful impotence
public secret
affectionate bastard
stubborn agreement
happy pessimist
soft hardness
amorphous activist
cloudy clarity
bitter happiness
unbearable beauty
unstoppable quiet man
low skyscraper
Swiss refugee
frank politics
honest politician

Do you have anything to add? Sometimes very striking examples do not come to mind until someone suggests them. I'm waiting for your examples of illogical, but such charming phrases ala oxymoron...

Good luck to you! See you soon on the pages of the blog site

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Mutually exclusive concepts

The combination of mutually exclusive independent concepts forms an oxymoron. Examples from fiction confirm this: “the unobvious obvious” (Goethe), “elegantly naked” (A. Akhmatova), “the joy of suffering” (A. Fet), “the unbearable lightness of being” (M. Kundera).

An oxymoron represents two concepts juxtaposed, where one of them defines the other. They repel each other, contradict and logically exclude each other: “low skyscraper”, “unbearable beauty”, “irrepressible quiet one”, “queue to hell”. An oxymoron in Russian was first perceived as “an incorrect combination of ideas into one whole” (N. Ostolopov, 1821). But it was independently present in literature, although its interpretations in dictionaries appeared only at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Vivid artistic expression

By placing two events that deny each other side by side, which is not easy to do due to psychological inertia, we can create an oxymoron. A text containing only 2 words reveals internal contradictions between phenomena, uniting the incompatible.

An oxymoron is a beautiful and thoughtful artistic expression. The titles of classic works often use an oxymoron. Examples from fiction: “Endless Dead End”, “Hot Snow”, “The End of Eternity”. For poets, it sounds unusual and bright: “the pleasure was bitter for me” (A. Akhmatova), “sad joy” (S. Yesenin). The deliberate combination of concepts that are opposite in meaning is obvious, but a new semantic unity is also revealed. In this case, the effect of the phrase is significantly enhanced.

Struggle of definitions

In oxymorons, the semantic content is suppressed by the emotional one. For example, in the combinations “charming freak”, “poor luxury”, the importance of the second concept decreases at the expense of the first. The word “poor” has a weak subject-logical meaning, and to a greater extent is a subjective assessment of luxury. But the assessment can have a purely emotional connotation, for example, in the expression “Terribly glad!” And in combination “small great person"The epithet completely changes the meaning of the compound word following it to the opposite. Without this emotional assessment, the phrase will not sound so impressive. The combination of opposites creates a certain stylistic effect. Emotional definition often used as a metaphor, for example in the expression "it's fun to be sad."

Deliberately creating internal contradiction

In oxymorons, concepts exclude each other, but at the same time they are in harmony and highlight internal semantic contradictions. If in the combination of two components there are not two different types of meanings at the same time: emotional and subject-logical, then this turns out to be a logical error, and not the realization of an artistic goal. Their inappropriate use also cannot create an oxymoron. Its main function is to express an attitude towards an event. It is impossible to explain the essence of the interpretation if the author does not understand what he is talking about.

The deliberate creation of internal contradiction creates an oxymoron. The combination “white crow” is a catachresis - a stylistic error, since there is no contradiction in it. Most likely, this is an incorrect combination of incompatible concepts. The word “shoot” previously meant that a bow or crossbow was used as a weapon. Nobody says: “Fire a bullet from a gun,” although that would be more correct. The expression “colored underwear” has become familiar, but at first it was only white.

Not every pair of incompatible concepts forms an oxymoron. Examples from fiction show that even great classics, like L. Tolstoy, can make mistakes: “... leaning his head on his hand...”. There is a common stylistic error here.

In russian language

Unlike catachresis, the oxymoron is paradoxical. Through it they try to find a solution by combining “smart with stupid”, creating “intentional randomness” or moving “back to the future”. In a psychological sense, this is the only way to resolve the situation when “water and fire must exist together.”

An oxymoron contains a whole set of speech: irony, metaphor, paradox, allusion. The most common medium for his “habitat” is poetry. Oxymoron occurs there most of all to create a comic effect. This is natural, since paradoxical information causes a reaction in the form of laughter.

At the first perception, due to the emphasized illogicality, the significance that the oxymoron has is especially high. Examples from fiction: “full of wild, menacing affection” (E. Baratynsky), “innocent passion” (F. Tyutchev). Once they come into use, oxymorons lose their sharpness and turn into ordinary metaphors. Some of them are dynamic over time and can be reborn again, overcoming stereotyping in new forms. Others remain firmly in the role of metaphors: “the blue snowstorms have burned out,” “the blue sea is boiling” (S. Yesenin).

Thus, the means of expression in the Russian language can change roles.

Where is the oxymoron hidden?

Oxymorons can appear in the most unexpected cases, for example, in genre designations: “tragicomedy”, “novel in verse”. “Unpaid wages” sounds paradoxical. Artists often use the technique of combining incompatible things. For this, other means are used: size ratios, sharp silhouettes, intensity of colors and lines, caricatures.

Conclusion

An oxymoron is based on a dual opposition, creating a single holistic phenomenon from the relationship of opposites. It can be a simple method of word usage, as well as one of the ways to understand and display reality.

Oxymoron

OXYMORON (Greek - “sharp stupidity”) is a term of ancient stylistics denoting a deliberate combination of contradictory concepts. Example: “Look, it’s fun for her to be sad / So elegantly naked” (Akhmatova). A special case of O. is formed by the figure contradictio in adjecto, - the combination of a noun with an adjective that has a contrasting meaning: “poor luxury” (Nekrasov).
The figure of O. is characterized by the emphasized inconsistency of the meanings merged into one: in this O. differs both from catachresis (q.v.), where there is no opposition between the contradictory words being connected, and from antithesis (q.v.), where there is no merging of opposing concepts together.
The possibility of realizing the figure of O. and its stylistic significance are based on the traditional nature of the language, on its inherent ability to “denote only the general.” The fusion of contrasting meanings is therefore perceived as the revelation of the contradiction between the name of an object and its essence, between the traditional assessment of the object and its true significance, as the discovery of the contradictions present in the phenomenon, as the transfer of the dynamics of thinking and being. Therefore, some researchers (for example, R. Meyer) not without reason point to O.’s closeness to paradox (see).
The presence of O. as a stylistic figure in itself, of course, does not characterize either the style or the creative method of the writer. True, attempts were made to see in the abundance of O. a typical feature of the romantic and rhetorical styles - styles of eras of special aggravation of social contradictions (R. Meyer). But these attempts can hardly be considered evidence-based. Determining the significance of an image for any stylistic whole is possible, of course, only by analyzing its content and its orientation; only then are significant differences revealed between even verbally close O. - like the above-mentioned O. Nekrasova (“poor luxury”) and Akhmatova (“elegantly naked”). Stylistics.

Literary encyclopedia. - At 11 t.; M.: Publishing House of the Communist Academy, Soviet encyclopedia, Fiction. Edited by V. M. Fritsche, A. V. Lunacharsky. 1929-1939 .

Oxymoron

Oxymoron (Greek ox?mo-ron - witty-stupid), a stylistic device consisting in the selection of a phrase, the direct meanings of the words of which are logically opposed, but at the same time one of the words is metaphor and its indirect meaning does not contradict the meaning of another word.

Look, she it's fun to be sad,
Such elegantly naked.
(A. A. Akhmatova, “Tsarskoe Selo statue”)

Here epithets“fun” and “elegant” are used in a metaphorical sense.
An oxymoron, not only in literature, but also in everyday speech, is perceived as an exquisite figurative device and therefore is often used by authors in the titles of works (“Living Corpse” by L.N. Tolstoy, “Hot Snow” by Yu.V. Bondareva).

Literature and language. Modern illustrated encyclopedia. - M.: Rosman. Edited by prof. Gorkina A.P. 2006 .

Synonyms:

See what “Oxymoron” is in other dictionaries:

oxymoron- (incorrect oxymoron and oxymoron) ... Dictionary of difficulties of pronunciation and stress in modern Russian language

- [gr. oxymoron lit. witty stupid] philol. a figure of speech consisting of a combination of two antonymic concepts, two words that contradict each other in meaning (for example, “old boy”, “white crow”, “eloquent silence”). Wed. CATACHRESES... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

See Oxymoron... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Noun, number of synonyms: 3 puns (6) oxymoron (7) humor (32) ASIS Dictionary of Synonyms ... Synonym dictionary

Oxymoron, oxymoron (ancient Greek οξύμωρον “smart stupidity”) a stylistic figure or stylistic error, a combination of words with the opposite meaning (that is, a combination of incompatible things). An oxymoron is characterized by intentional... ... Wikipedia

oxymoron- I. OXYMORONE, OXYMORON a, m. oxymorone m. gr. oxymoron wittily stupid. A stylistic turn in which semantically contrasting words are combined to create an unexpected semantic unity, for example: a living corpse, wretched luxury. SIS 1985. From... Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

See Oxymoron. * * * Oxymoron, see Oxymoron. * * * OXYMORON OXYMORON, see Oxymoron (see OXYMORON) ... encyclopedic Dictionary

oxymoron- (from the Greek oxymoron letters: wittily stupid) stylistic figure, a combination of words with opposite meanings. Category: language. Finely means of expression Synonym: oxymoron Gender: antithesis Other associative connections: antonyms ... Terminological dictionary-thesaurus on literary criticism

Oxymoron, oxymorons, oxymoron, oxymorons, oxymoron, oxymorons, oxymoron, oxymorons, oxymoron, oxymorons, oxymoron, oxymorons (

0 After in the previous article, I talked about such a funny word as Axemora, the meaning and origin of the term, it is time to talk in more detail about the ancestor of this jargon. On our website you can find many answers to your questions on such topics, like street slang, English slang, prison slang and much more. So don't forget to bookmark us. Well, today, as I said above, we will talk about the “founder” of Axemore, the word Oxymoron, which means you can read it a little later.
However, before I continue, I would like to recommend you a couple more interesting publications on science and education. For example, what does Morpheus mean, what is Prerogative, how to understand the word Leviathan, who are the Illuminati, etc.
So let's continue What does Oxymoron mean?? This term came into the Russian language from German " Oxymoron", which was borrowed from the ancient Greek "ὀξύ-μωρον", and is literally translated as "acute stupidity".

Oxymoron- the word denotes an extremely absurd expression consisting of contradictory concepts

Oxymoron- this is a combination of two words, often opposite in meaning, for example “hot as ice”

Sometimes some not particularly literate users write this term as " axemoron", which is fundamentally wrong. Some people wonder what an Oxymoron is, and why was it invented in the first place?

Usually an oxymoron is used when they want to draw the reader’s attention to some detail. For example, the expression “living corpse” or “cold rage” makes some people fall into a stupor. They wonder if this is even possible? For others, such a statement may evoke unexpected and strange associations, and for some it may make them smile.

In what situations is Oxymoron usually used? Typically, its use is justified in cases where it is necessary to draw attention to your person or work in a few words. Therefore, similar phrases can be found in the titles of various books, films and even theatrical performances.

After your consciousness comes across such dizzying turns of phrase, the brain begins to actively engage in work, trying to imagine the unimaginable, while the right hemisphere, which in humans is responsible for creativity, turns on. But this is precisely why filmmakers or writers come up with such " flashy" headlines to get you interested in their work.

In addition, such figurative thinking is inherent in poets; it is precisely such tricky phrases that give special piquancy to their creations.

Examples of Oxymoron in poetry

Poets using an oxymoron in their works try to ensure that two words lose their original meaning, and as a result create something unusual, completely new. This means that a person should have an urgent need to read this work, watch the film, and read and reread poetry endlessly. A great help for any creator, isn't it?

Sometimes the word Oxymoron is used to thicken the colors, for example " kind cruelty" or "loud silence". People have long been saying catchphrase- "brevity is the soul of wit". Namely, this feature is inherent in the Oxymoron, since it always consists of two words, in short it can’t be any shorter.
In any work, such a phrase gives a certain special prominence and has a certain effect of surprise. Sometimes readers of a poem are faced with a logical paradox, and everyone is free to draw only their own conclusions.

By the way, have you heard of such a word as " tragicomedy"? I'm sure you've heard, there is a clear trace of an oxymoron in it, since the word contradicts itself. In general, such expressions are usually created by people with a creative streak, so such words are usually used by stylists, fashionistas, intellectuals, painters and the like.

Among people who work in the field of creating advertising, oxymorons are in great demand, because they are very easy to remember, and they become so ingrained in the individual’s consciousness that he cannot “get rid of” them for weeks.
By the way, did you know that even builders use an oxymoron without even knowing it, for example “liquid nails”, there is a funny liquid that is used for tricks and jokes, the so-called “ dry water", developed in the USA in 2004.

Do you want more examples on the topic? Oxymoron? I have them, moreover, at the end of the article I will make a large selection. Now let's take a retrospective and try to find these funny expressions in the past.
There were a lot of similar phrases in the USSR, although for the most part they did not cause discomfort to anyone, for example, “public property.” Today we are all accustomed to the fact that property can be exclusively personal, but the Soviets had everything differently. After all, if we consider this expression more broadly, we will find out that the word “property” is perfectly suited to such concepts as “separation”, “separation”, and social is indivisible. There is an obvious contradiction here.

Many citizens who were born in the USSR probably remember the phrase " honorable duty", which modern teenagers simply cannot wrap their heads around. A little later, at the height of democracy, an established concept arose as “unpaid wages,” but the word payment implies an action that has already taken place.

Many books use oxymorons in their titles, I’ll give you some interesting examples:

"Honest Thief" Blik
"Blinding Darkness" Koestler
"The Unbearable Lightness of Being" by Kundera
"Old New Year" by Fanailov
"Endless Dead End" Galkovsky
"Hot Snow" Bondarev
"Living Relics" Turgenev
"Honest Thief" Dostoevsky
"The Peasant Young Lady" Pushkin
"The Rich Beggar" Martynov
"Up the Downstairs" Kaufman
"Eloquent Silence" Brown
"The End of Eternity" Asimov
"An ordinary miracle"Schwartz
"Optimistic tragedy" Vishnevsky
"The Living Corpse" Tolstoy
"Dead Souls" Gogol
"My adult childhood" Gurchenko

In some poems, poets use contradictory and even paradoxical phrases to enhance the effect.

Well, now, I want to offer you examples of Oxymorons that I really liked, and I decided to collect them in one place:

frank politics
Swiss refugee
unstoppable quiet man
bitter happiness
amorphous activist
happy pessimist
affectionate bastard
powerful impotence
wavy surface
complex simplicity
screaming silence
it's fun to be sad
silent scream
married bachelor
little giant
infinite limit
unanimous disagreement
voluntary violence
sincere liar
summer fur coat
true lies
original copies
dull shine
ringing silence
a virtual reality
sweet tears
sweet bitterness
old New Year
liquid Nails
sad joy
scary beautiful
honest politician
cloudy clarity
soft hardness
stubborn agreement
public secret
clumsy grace
sworn friend
long moment
chilling fervor
falling up
fiery ice
clever bungler
well-mannered boor
benevolent enemy
drink to your health
brazen modesty
possessed

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