Paradox is a term associated with formalism which is often used in parallel with irony and ambivalence, but when being discussed, frequently refers to metaphysical poetry. In its simplest form a paradox is a statement which although might seem like absurd nonsense or contradictory, actually expresses truth reconciling the conflicting opposites. Much like the famous play staged by Prince Hamlet. Although paradox is essentially a form of wit and humor and Hamlet is well- renown for its tragic events. Yet there is much truth to be found in the riddle that Hamlet speaks when referring to the King, thus there is at many points a case of paradox. Even though choosing Hamlet to refer to is a slight paradox in itself there is much scope for formalist criticism (of which paradox is a part) in Hamlet, after all the theme of the plot as Shakespeare wrote is “cowards die many times before their deaths.”

Many critics however, often shape their interpretation of paradox though as being one, which is some-thing to be, associated with intellectual appreciation rather than emotional enjoyment. It falls into the category of New Criticism, which so often sunders the text from rational disc

ourse and social context. “Our prejudices force us to regard paradox as intellectual rather than emotional, clever rather than emotional, clever rather than profound, rational rather than divinely irrational” The term paradox suggests some- what of a fusion between two opposing yet complementing meanings, which so often resolve into a close unity.

There are fundamentally two kinds of paradox that may be distinguished: (a) particular or ‘local’; (b) general or ‘structural’. Examples of the first are concise statements that verge on the epigrammatic- such as Hamlet’s line: ‘I must be cruel to be kind’. The second kind is more complex. For example the ultimate of these types of paradox lies at the heart of the Christian faith: that the world will be saved by failure. A structural paradox is one that is necessary to the entirety, of a poem. The works of poets such as John Donne are famed for their paradoxical usage in their metaphysical poetry. One the sonnets which features in Good Friday, 1613. Riding Westward begins with a prime example of a usage: “If poisonous minerals, and if that tree/ Whose fruit threw death on else immortal us.” The connotations seem to be some- what inextricable. It seems to imply that the fruit was poisonous and burdened us with original sin. However what Donne is exposing is the way that the real paradox lies in mankind as a whole. After all we cannot be immortal except for one ‘brush with death’, because the very term immortal means to live forever.

Explored in conjunction the terms “langue and parole create an antinomy of the social and the shared”. A further antinomy or dichotomy is implied in the idea that langue is abstract and parole is concrete. It could be argued that purely from the format of the printed page it is possible to recognise the langue without reading the words and so therefore that must be concrete. However, the langue is really referring to what people are thinking and conceptualizing whilst reading (abstract), parole is truly concrete because it is what is used when speaking. Raman Selden evaluated Sauserre’s claims regarding the two concepts: “The proper object of linguistic study is the system which underlies any particular human signifying human practice, not the individual utterance.” That is langue is more important than parole.

Some topics in this essay:
Prince Hamlet, George Elliot, Queer Theory, Jane Austen, Roy Cohn, Riding Westward, French English, Assessed Questions-, Absurd” Brooks, Raman Selden, queer theory, gay lesbian, gays lesbians, langue parole, angels america, dominant heterosexual, metaphysical poetry, paradox lies, ‘queer theory’, sexual direction,