Literary Device: Oxymoron
An oxymoron is a statement or phrase that contains conflicting opposites.
The word itself is an oxymoron (oxy comes from a Greek derivative of
sharp, moros means dull).
Examples: Holy War, Forward Retreat, Living Dead, Deafening Silence,
Dry Lake, Crash Landing, Numb Sensation, Stand Down, Metal
Wood (Golfing), Detailed Summary, Jumbo Shrimp, Vegetarian
Meatballs, Pretty Ugly, Work Party, Loner’s Club, Gourmet
Pizza, User Friendly, Non-working Mother, Microsoft Works,
Political Cooperation.
Re-examine the last four italicized and bolded examples.
How is each of these an example of an oxymoronic phrase containing opposites?
from A Midsummer Night’s Dream
(Act V, scene i)- William Shakespeare
Toward the end of the play, Theseus, the ruler of Athens,
reads an announcement concerning a bumbling troupe
of actors and the version of “Pyramus and Thisbe” they
are about to perform (horribly) for the court. Pay
attention to Theseus’ reaction to the contradictory
playbill.
THESEUS:
(Reads)
“A tedious brief scene of young Pyramus
And his love Thisby; very tragical mirth.”
Merry and tragical! tedious and brief!
That is hot ice and wondrous strange snow.
How shall we find the concord of this discord?
A Midsummer Night’s Dream –
Author’s Purpose
• What two oxymoronic statements are contained
within the actual play announcement?
tragical mirth
tedious brief
______________
and ________________
• What do these oxymoronic phrases suggest
simultaneously about the play of Pyramus and
Thisbe?
_________________________________________
These two examples of oxymoron within the playbill
_________________________________________
suggest that the play within the play will somehow
simultaneously be both short and long in duration and
_________________________________________
be both joyous and tragic.
_________________________________________
A Midsummer Night’s Dream –
Author’s Purpose
• Locate and list the oxymoronic phrases embedded
within Theseus’ response to the play announcement:
Merry and tragical…
…hot ice…
…tedious and brief…
…the concord of this
discord…
• What do these conflicting phrases suggest
concerning Theseus’ expectations of the play he is
about to view?
_________________________________________
After reading the play’s advertisement, Theseus is
_________________________________________
confused and wonders aloud how one drama can be
merry and tragic, tedious and brief. He compares these
_________________________________________
conflicting ideas to the impossibility of hot ice and
_________________________________________
questions if harmony can be found in conflicting forces.
_________________________________________
A Midsummer Night’s Dream –
Author’s Purpose
• How could these oxymoronic phrases be
considered a form of foreshadowing, readying
the reader for the rambling, conflicting play
within a play that is about to unfold?
Exactly
meeting Theseus’ amazed expectations, the play
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
within
a play in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
_________________________________________
is
an unholy mess full of missed cues, confused identities,
_________________________________________
and
scrambled lines. Theseus’ words prove to be prophetic.
Answer the essay question below:
• In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William
Shakespeare weaves a contradictory
web of fantasy and reality. In a wellorganized essay, complete with direct
text evidence and relevant commentary,
examine how Shakespeare uses
oxymoronic phrases as foreshadowing
agents within the first scene of the final
act.
Red – Major Writing Task
Blue – Minor Insights/Instructions