Paradox (literature)
Paradox, however, is essential to the structure and being of the poem. In "The Well Wrought Urn" Brooks shows that paradox was so essential to poetic meaning that paradox was almost identical to poetry. According to literary theorist Leroy Searle, Brooks' use of paradox emphasized the indeterminate lines between form and content. "The form of the poem uniquely embodies its meaning," and the language of the poem "affects the reconciliation of opposites or contraries." While irony functions within the poem, paradox often refers to the meaning and structure of the poem and is thus inclusive of irony. This existence of opposites or contraries and the reconciliation thereof is poetry and the meaning of the poem.
Paradox (literature)
Literary or rhetorical paradoxes abound in the works of Oscar Wilde and G. K. Chesterton. Most literature deals with paradox of situation; Rabelais, Cervantes, Sterne, Borges, and Chesterton are recognized as masters of situation as well as verbal paradox. Statements such as Wilde's "I can resist anything except temptation" and Chesterton's "spies do not look like spies" are examples of rhetorical paradox. Further back, Polonius' observation that "though this be madness, yet there is method in't" is a memorable third. Also, statements that are illogical and metaphoric may be called paradoxes, for example: "The pike flew to the tree to sing." The literal meaning is illogical, but there are many interpretations for this metaphor.