| Abstract: |
This study interrogates the use of oxymoron as a satirical device in selected dramatic texts, with particular
focus on Look Back in Anger, Hamlet, and Death and the King?s Horseman. While oxymoron is
conventionally treated as a stylistic figure that juxtaposes contradictory terms, this research
reconceptualizes it as a rhetorical and ideological mechanism for satirical critique. The study is motivated
by the relative neglect of oxymoron in satire studies despite its prevalence in literary discourse. Specifically,
it aims to identify oxymoronic expressions in the selected texts, analyse their satirical functions, and
evaluate their role in reflecting socio-political, psychological, and cultural contradictions across African
and European contexts. This study adopts a qualitative descriptive research design, using purposive
sampling through close reading of the selected texts. The study employs the content analysis method which
involves the systematic identification and interpretation of oxymoronic expressions in the selected texts,
adopting multidimensional literary theoretical approaches. Findings reveal that oxymoron used in the
literary texts portray deep contradictions within characters and societies, serving as powerful tools for
expressing emotional ambivalence, class tension, political resistance, and governance contradictions; they
do not only enrich the linguistic texture of the texts but also function as satirical devices that critique societal
norms, expose hypocrisy, and stimulate critical reflection on cultural and political realities. The study
concludes that oxymoron functions as a satirical device by embedding contradictions in language to reveal
societal flaws, expose hypocrisy, and critique political and cultural systems, thereby deepening the force of
literary commentary. |
EBONYI JOURNAL OF LANGUAGE
