Paradox is a statement of apparent contradiction. On a literal level the idea seems impossible, but there is truth in the contradiction.
"The Sounds of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkel
- Paradox is typed in red.
- Can you also identify the poetic devices typed in blue?
The answers are below the video of the song.
Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence
In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence
And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence
"Fools", said I, "You do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you"
But my words, like silent raindrops fell
And echoed
In the wells of silence
And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls"
And whispered in the sounds of silence.
Hello darkness, my old friend apostrophe
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping personification
Left its seeds while I was sleeping metaphor
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence
In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp metaphor
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light personification
That split the night hyperbole
And touched the sound of silence personification
And in the naked light I saw metaphor
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence
"Fools", said I, "You do not know
Silence like a cancer grows simile
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you"
But my words, like silent raindrops fell simile
And echoed
In the wells of silence metaphor
And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made metaphor / metonymy
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls"
And whispered in the sounds of silence