<p>Yeah, just to elaborate</p>
<p>Oxymoron: Two directly contradictory words, next to each other, e.g. “jumbo shrimp”, “deafening silence”, “awful relief”</p>
<p>Paradox: A contradictory phrase or sentence that has potential to be resolved, e.g. “That I may rise and stand, o’erthrow me” or “The least will be the greatest and the greatest will be the least”.</p>
<p>Allegory: Very long comparison that draws parallels between two people, events, etc. It’s essentially two stories within one, a superficial story immediately apparent and a deeper, hidden story. Many are criticisms. For example, Animal Farm, at its surface, is a story about farm animals taking over a farm and establishing a government there, but beneath the surface it is a criticism of communist Russia, with each animal representing a famous figure in Russian history. Side note: Christ-like allegories are particularly common, in which a character is symbolic of Jesus, e.g. Billy Budd</p>
<p>Parable: Not entirely sure if this is right, but it’s generally just a story with a lesson, very similar to a fable, except fables are children’s stories, more or less, while parables are about humans. The most obvious source of parables would be the Bible (sorry to get involved with religion on here), such as the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The moral of the story, in which a wastrel son leaves home and screws up his life but is welcomed back by his father, is to always be forgiving and welcoming.</p>
<p>Allusion: While parables and allegories are almost always entire stories, allusions are just single-word references. “Achilles heel” is an allusion to the story of Achilles, who as a baby was dipped into the River Styx, which held mythical powers of invincibility. His mother held him by the heel, however, so his heel wasn’t washed in water and became the only “un-invincible” part of his body. Much later in life, he died from a poisoned arrow to the heel. Today, it is common to refer to someone’s major, crippling trait as their “Achilles heel”, in allusion to the myth.</p>