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Difficulty: HardLiterary Devices, Diction, and Style in Prose

Read the following prose extract:

"The exiled king walked through the silent halls of his former palace. Though surrounded by a throng of cheering subjects during his brief clandestine visit, he felt utterly alone in the crowded courtyard, contemplating how he must lose his crown to truly gain his soul."

Which literary device is employed in the underlined expression "lose his crown to truly gain his soul"?

  1. A
    Metaphor
  2. B
    Oxymoron
  3. ParadoxAnswer
  4. D
    Tone

Answer

Paradox
The expression 'lose his crown to truly gain his soul' is a paradox because it presents two seemingly contradictory actions—losing and gaining—within a full statement that ultimately reveals a deeper moral and thematic truth regarding spiritual fulfillment versus worldly power.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the structure of the phrase "lose his crown to truly gain his soul".
Identified two contradictory propositions: 'losing' something in order to 'gain' something.
Evaluating the relationship between the opposing elements in the text fragment.
2
Distinguish between side-by-side word contradiction and full-clause thematic contradiction.
The contradiction spans a complete clause expressing a moral/philosophical concept rather than adjacent contradictory words.
This differentiates a paradox from an oxymoron.
3
Determine the deeper meaning of the contradictory statement.
The statement reveals a deeper truth: forfeiting worldly power (the crown) leads to spiritual liberation (gaining the soul).
A self-contradictory statement that delivers a coherent, deeper truth is the exact definition of a paradox.

Key Concept

Paradox in Prose
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Topics

Literary Devices, Diction, and Style in Prose

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