Compare and Contrast

Juxtaposition


Juxtaposition is placing two unlike ideas or objects side-by-side for comparison (to show similarity) or contrast (to show difference). 
Juxtaposition is a key element in many poems because it surprises the reader and evokes interest in seeing two dissimilar items together.

Can you identify the element of juxtaposition in the following photos?


Oxymoron


Oxymoron places two contradictory words side-by-side (“young old soul”, “open secret”, “paid volunteer").

Consider the  oxymorons or juxtaposition in the following poems.

Juxtaposition
      Anonymous

I thoroughly hate loving you.
Your heart is a perfectly-carved stone;
Set deep into your chest, soft as granite.
I grip you gently with angels' claws; …
I can live neither with nor without you, my sweet oxymoron.
You and I;
A perfect juxtaposition.
Haiku
     Basho (1644-1694)

An old silent pond…
A frog jumps into the pond,
splash! Silence again.
Homecoming
       Donald Bruce Dawe  (1930-)

they’re bringing [dead soldiers] home, now, too late, too early
Valentine
     Carol Ann Duffy

Not a red rose or a satin heart.
I give you an onion.




Sheepdog

     Pam Houston (1962- )

In the green field stand the scattered sheep, pretending innocence, and the Shepherd standing just beyond the field—
and at the Shepherd’s feet, poised, the rough-coat collie dog, with one thought only.
It is the woolies.
Her eyes, one blue, one brown never leave them.

When the Shepherd’s whistle releases her, she’s off, like an arrow, running east, her bared teeth showing the wolf that still lives in her.
She circles wide, closing in, a black and white blur at the edge of a sheep’s bad dream. But the Shepherd whistles, twice for right and once for left,
and the dog holds back, bringing order out of her own wildness, serving the man’s need.

By sundown, the circle is complete.
The sheep are penned. The tired Shepherd, the panting dog head for home, each more than they would be alone, the ring the dog marked, running,
symbol of their union.

1. Which juxtapositions are present in the selection “Sheepdog”?

  1. experience versus innocence
  2. civilization versus wildness
  3. weakness versus strength
  4. beauty versus ugliness
  5. order versus chaos
  6. dark and light
  7. other

1. Which juxtapositions are present in the selection “Sheepdog”?

  1. experience versus innocence
  2. civilization versus wildness
  3. weakness versus strength
  4. beauty versus ugliness
  5. order versus chaos
  6. dark and light
  7. other