MSND Term paper

Matt S

Mrs. Zurkowski

English 9 Aquas

5 February 2013

Oxymoron in A Midsummer Night’s Dream

            The term oxymoron is a term used to describe a contradictory statement. The term oxymoron as described by The Dictionary is “a figure of speech that produces a seemingly self-contradictory effect, as in “cruel kindness” or “to make haste slowly”. Wikipedia explains the definition in a very similar way. As a figure of speech, a writer can use oxymora’s to describe an act or other with more depth by proclaiming something along the lines of “Hot ice” or “hard water”. William Shakespeare used oxymora’s throughout his comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream, If the reader is able to understand self-contradictory then they will have a fun and interesting experience reading the romantic comedy.

            During William Shakespeare’s childhood, he studied Grammar, Latin, the bible, and the Greek and Roman classics.  Shakespeare obviously favored the Greek and Roman classics. A Midsummer Night’s Dream proves this because it is an Athenian play and also has Greek mythology tied deep into the play. Another thing Shakespeare was known for was using oxymora’s. He also used other parts of writing such as, Rhyme and Rhythm, Symbolism, and allusions. William used oxymora’s in many ways, such as “A tedious brief scene of young Pyramus and his love Thisby”, “O brawling love! O loving hate!”

            William was able to show his audiences of the 16^th century the possibilities of oxymora’s and he excelled in doing so. Many of Shakespeare’s stories included the use of oxymora’s and they became fairly famous in his career.