Contrast (literary)

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

, an author uses contrast when they describe the difference(s) between two or more entities. According to the Oxford Dictionary, contrast is comparing two things in order to show the differences between them. It is common in many works of Literature. For example, in The Pearl by John Steinbeck, a clear contrast is drawn between the Lower Class and the Upper Class residents of the society presented in the text. The Lower Class citizens live in brush houses, their economic activity is fishing and are sociable. These ones are represented by Kino, the main character and the fishermen. On the other hand, the Upper Class citizens live in plastered buildings, they engage in reputable economic activities such as medicine and are more focused to their economic activities as opposed to social interactions. In addition, in the first four lines of

William Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Sonnet 130 William Shakespeare's Sonnet 130 mocks the conventions of the showy and flowery courtly sonnets in its realistic portrayal of his mistress. Synopsis Sonnet 130 satirizes the concept of ideal beauty that was a convention of literature and art in ...

'', Shakespeare contrasts a

mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a ...

to the sun, coral, snow, and wire. Contrast is the antonym of

simile A simile () is a figure of speech that directly ''compares'' two things. Similes differ from other metaphors by highlighting the similarities between two things using comparison words such as "like", "as", "so", or "than", while other metaphors c ...

. In poetic compositions, it is common for poets to set out an elaborate contrast or elaborate simile as the argument. For example, John Donne and the

metaphysical poets The term Metaphysical poets was coined by the critic Samuel Johnson to describe a loose group of 17th-century English poets whose work was characterised by the inventive use of conceits, and by a greater emphasis on the spoken rather than lyrica ...

developed the

conceit An extended metaphor, also known as a conceit or sustained metaphor, is the use of a single metaphor or analogy at length in a work of literature. It differs from a mere metaphor in its length, and in having more than one single point of contact bet ...

as a literary device, where an elaborate, implausible, and surprising analogy was demonstrated. In

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

poetry, and particularly in sonnets, the contrast was similarly used as a poetic argument. In such verse, the entire poem argues that two seemingly alike or identical items are, in fact, quite separate and paradoxically different. These may take the form of ''my love is unlike all other women'' or ''I am unlike her other loves''. In the early 18th century, a theory of wit developed by English writers (particularly John Locke) held that judgement sees the differences in like things, or imagination or fancy sees the likeness in different things, and wit operates properly by employing judgement and fancy to form sound propositions. In

lyric poetry Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person. It is not equivalent to song lyrics, though song lyrics are often in the lyric mode, and it is also ''not'' equi ...

, the author is often attempting to show how what seems to be solely an exercise of judgement or fancy is, in fact, wit. References 1. Oxford, (2010), Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English, International Student's Edition (8th Edition) Oxford University Press, United Kingdom 2. Steinbeck J. (2000), The Pearl, Longman, England Narratology Rhetoric {{rhetoric-stub