Oxymorons

When writing free verse, I find, one of the most effective devices of poetry are oxymorons. You can find quite a few in "Undoing".

For those of you not fully sure of the meaning, an oxymoron is a pair of words or a phrase that conflict each other (ie deafening silence).

The two most effective uses of oxymoron are for extremity and for literal use to show hypocrisy, and so often are related to a extreme setting or emotion, or a failing society or method.

What oxymorons do you think particularly strike a chord? If you have any, post as many oxymorons showing extremity or hypocrisy as you can think of.

Have a go! It really gets you thinking. I find it helps to think of a setting or current event and imagine every possible sense or description, and then work my oxymoron around that.

Thanks in advance!
HopefulxRomantic.

This is my poem, which utilises a lot of oxymoron. The main idea is to display the embracing of traditions in an evil society and the rejection of radical thought. Even though the exact opposite should be thought of as the norm, this is not the case. Here's the poem:

What treacherous revelation is this?

That a boy,
Shaped of homely sorrow and squalor,
No love or family honour,
With which to call his own?

One of us,
We say, our people,
That life's benevolent steeple,
Shine down on that they've grown.

And he yet,
Despise what he is given,
Our ways he is become ridden,
Our ways of wretchedness we've shown?

Not a time,
A tale or splendour
That would see, to see him render,
This boy in filthy squalor,
Help him, find him honour
The life he calls his own?
Pray, he be left alone.

The world darkens for him,
His fanciful rejections of tradition,
That innocent bitterness that would have shaped him,
Moulded him,
Corrected him,
Into one we call our own.

That he should refuse,
The life of immaculate sin,
And bask unworthy righteousness in,
A seed of poison he is, sown.

Our enemy we bore,
Into our blissful evil,
But he embrace chaotic revelation,
We were so careful not to have shown.

'Tis dagger thoughts,
That he join the Broken Saviours,
O, God's Ungodly Saviours,
That we have overthrown?

Boy, this be your undoing,
The treason you have known,
The poison you have sown,
Now, forever left alone.

Treacherous Revelation - Existence of a free thinker.
Homely sorrow - Dysfunctional family life.
Fanciful Rejections - Casting aside shackles.
Innocent Bitterness - Prejudice.
Immaculate Sin - Crime against an "unworthy" person.
Unworthy Righteousness - A good deed, gone unnoticed.
Blissful Evil - Living happily in ignorance.
Chaotic Revelation - An unwelcome change for the better.
Broken Saviours - People who do the right thing and are discriminated.
God's Ungodly - To uphold peace and reject traditions.

Hope you have some yourselves!
HopefulxRomantic.

now, you 2, stop arguing...

wow
wat an oxymoron
arguing about not argueing
♥ hee hee

hey!! i know lotsa oxymorons:

giant shrimp
virtual reality
plastic glasses
still birth
alone together
silent scream
taped live

and my personal favorite:

Microsoft Works!

wicked awesome
exact estimate
fast turtle
jumbo shrimp
bitter sweet
freezer burn
boneless ribs
close distance
free prisoner
butthead
co-ed sorority
hopeful pessimist
history of the future
cold hotdog

although i do think oxymorons are effective, they have to be used cleverly. it's not just shoving two random opposites together and thinking, i know, this is a poetic technique. some are just plain stupid and childish, they make the writer look like they are too out of their depth, hey just my opinion, i loved the poem on this thread with oxymorons in, that was a clever example!!

Thank you for the praise! It took me a long time to form a lot of them, and even more so to make sure each one had it's own meaning.

I agree, they may be childish, but even engaging in conversation about them in that style is good for a bit of humour for a little while.

That being said I do prefer the thoughtful ones. I'm particularly fond of "Innocent Bitterness" in place of prejudice, which was a part of the that took me a long time to find the exact words I needed, and (forgive me for adopting a Romeo-esque style here) using effective ones in modern speech, I believe, shows a lot of wit and poetic intelligence.

Some oxymororns, when done with thought and care, can be effective, but childish ones drag writing down, in my opinion.

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