Oxymoron In Shakespeare's Plays

Oxymoron is a kind of rhetorical device by which contradictory or incongruous terms are conjoined so as to give point to the statement or expression. Its superficial or literal meaning seems self-contradictory or absurd, but involving a point. Shakespeare was fond of and good at employing this rhetorical device in his plays. The application of it adds artistic charm to his works. The writer of this thesis systematically expounds the definition, the origin and the development of oxymoron as well as its special rhetorical functions and different structural forms in Shakespeare's plays in order to demonstrate its important values. The writer also attempts to adopt new approaches to analyze oxymoron in Shakespeare's plays by theories from philosophy, psychology and pragmatics.In the writer's opinion, although the elements in oxymora are seemingly contradictory, they are actually harmonious and unitary. This phenomenon just conforms to the law of the unity of opposites in dialectics of philosophy. Then, from psychological point of view, oxymoron makes use of readers' reverse psychology to attract them. In pragmatics, the studies on conversational implicature and context can also explain this rhetorical phenomenon. These theoretical grounds can make readers better understand the implications of the oxymora in Shakespeare's plays.The thesis consists of 6 chapters altogether. Chapter 1 is the general introduction, which gives a brief account of the application of oxymoron in Shakespeare's plays. Meanwhile, it shows the writer's reasons for choosing this research topic, the goals and the new approaches of study, as well as the questions to be addressed in later parts. Chapter 2 concerns about the origin, definition and development of oxymoron, and indicates Shakespeare's contributions. Chapter 3 inquires into the theories of philosophy, psychology and pragmatics for analyzing this special rhetoric device in Shakespeare's plays. Chapter 4 analyzes some typical examples of oxymoron to indicate its special functions and value in Shakespeare's plays. Chapter 5 sums up the structure of various kinds of oxymoron from the examples in Shakespeare's plays. The last chapter is the conclusion of my research and at the same time, offers some suggestions for future studies in this field.