Paradox v. Oxymoron, Allegory v. Parable v. Allusion?

<p>Can someone help differentiate these two sets of terms? AP lang has been tough in terms of the mc questions that ask “All of the following are used…blah blah… except” and many questions contain both oxymoron and paradox which irks me to the point where I almost throw my desk across the room. Any help? (And while we’re at it, can you guys provide examples of parallelism and periodic sentences…)</p>

<p>So in short…</p>

<p>Paradox v. Oxymoron?</p>

<p>Allegory v. Parable v. Allusion?</p>

<p>Parallelism?</p>

<p>Periodic Sentences?</p>

<p>Just trying to fill in some gaps which should have been filled some time ago…</p>

<p>Usually an oxymoron is just two words- civil war, jumbo shrimp, wise fool. A paradox is the same concept (seeming contradictions) but it’s a sentence or group of sentences. “I know that I know nothing” would be one.</p>

<p>An allegory is an extended metaphor. It’s not just one reference, it’s usually a bigger meaning to the book as a whole. Ex. Animal Farm is an allegory of the Russian Revolution. We never learned parables so I can’t offer definite info on that but an allusion is generally just a single reference to something else, like another book or piece of art.</p>

<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>

<p>What about metonymy vs synecdoche?</p>

<p>Thanks for the help!
Metonymy is where one thing represents the other, i.e. in Roman lit, bacchus (god of wine) is metonymy for wine. (Aeneid: They poured more of Bacchus = They poured more wine)</p>

<p>Synechdoche is a more specific metonymy where the part represents the whole… ex: all hands on deck (means all sailors/crew on deck, not their cut off hands)</p>

<p>Parallelism is using the same structure repeatedly: “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times…,” “I came, I saw, I conquered,” etc.</p>

<p>Periodic sentences are sentences in which lots of prepositional phrases/subordinate clauses precede the meat (subject & predicate) of the sentence. The point is to make the reader/listener anxious and suspenseful. The Preamble to the Constitution is one long periodic sentence (the prepositional phrases use parallelism too).</p>