![]() ![]() Juxtaposition and OxymoronĪn oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two contradictory terms or ideas are paired together in order to reveal a deeper truth. These effects, which amount to a feeling of awe and loneliness, come from the choice to place Armstrong and the universe next to one another-it comes from their juxtaposition. The white of the suit contrasts with the darkness of space in a clear contrast of opposites, but the sentence also contains a comparison between Armstrong's small size and the overwhelming magnitude of the universe, between the human and the non-human, even between the temporary and the eternal. This description involves juxtaposition rather than antithesis, for two reasons: it does not contain parallel grammatical structure, and the comparison goes beyond opposition. The tiny figure of Armstrong in his pristine white suit stood out against the expansive darkness of the universe beyond him. In contrast, now imagine a description of Neal Armstrong's figure foregrounded against the night sky: This is a clear pairing of opposites, expressed in a parallel grammatical structure. "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." Juxtaposition is a literary device that simply refers to a contrast set up between two things in some way, but it does not necessarily have to involve a defined grammatical structure.Īn example of antithesis is Neal Armstrong's first words when he reached on the surface of the moon: Antithesis involves a specific grammatical structure: Antithesis is a figure of speech that involves a very specific parallel sentence structure.Juxtaposition can involve such oppositional things, but also can involve the contrast of more complicated things, like two characters or themes. Antithesis involves opposites: The things that are contrasted in antithesis are always pretty strong and clear opposites.Antithesis is a narrower term than juxtaposition in two key ways: Juxtaposition and AntithesisĪntithesis is also a specific type of juxtaposition. "Juxtaposition" describes the writer's action of placing these two characters next to one another for the purposes of comparing them, while foil is a word that describes the characters themselves (the hare is a foil to the tortoise, and vice-versa). The tortoise and the hare, from the famous folk tale, are examples of foils. Such characters are foils of one another. When a writer creates two characters that possess opposite characteristics, it's often with the intention of highlighting some specific about one or both of the characters by juxtaposing their qualities. Juxtaposition and FoilsĪ foil is one specific form of juxtaposition having to do with contrasts between characters. Three of the most common of these terms are foil, antithesis, and oxymoron. Here's how to pronounce juxtaposition: juck-stuh-puh- zish-uhn Juxtaposition and Related Termsīecause juxtaposition is such a broad concept, covering the contrast created between all sorts of different things when placed in close proximity, there are a number of terms that overlap with it or fall under its broader umbrella. The word juxtaposition comes from the Latin juxta meaning "next" and the French poser meaning "to place." This combination suggests juxtaposition's meaning: "to place next to.".The verb form of juxtaposition is juxtapose, as in "the author juxtaposed the protagonist's dirty, ragged clothes with the spotless interior of the wealthy villain's mansion.".Some additional key details about juxtaposition: The differences between the characters, as well as their close relation to one another, serve to highlight the main character's good qualities. ![]() For example, it's a common plot device in fairy tales such as Cinderella to juxtapose the good-natured main character with a cruel step-sibling. Ideas, images, characters, and actions are all things that can be juxtaposed with one another. Juxtaposition occurs when an author places two things side by side as a way of highlighting their differences. What is juxtaposition? Here’s a quick and simple definition: ![]()
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