Can you please help me find examples of paradox in the first part of Lord Henry's panegyric on beauty? Thank you!!
(A paradox is a statement that seems impossible because it contains two opposig ideas that are both true.)
1) "And beauty is a form of genius... is higher, indeed, than genius, as it needs no explanation. It is of the great facts of the world, like sunlight, or spring-time, or the reflection in dark waters of that silver shell we call the moon. It cannot be questioned. It has its divine right of sovereignty. It makes princes of those who have it.
2) "You smile? Ah! when you have lost it you won't smile... People say sometimes that beauty is only superficial. That may be so, but at least it is not so superficial as thought is. To me, beauty is the wonder of wonders. It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances. The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible...
Sure! Here are examples of paradox in the first part of Lord Henry's panegyric on beauty:
1) "And beauty is a form of genius... is higher, indeed, than genius, as it needs no explanation."
- This statement presents beauty as a form of genius, which suggests that beauty possesses a level of intellectual depth that is even greater than traditional forms of genius. This paradox lies in the contradiction between beauty being considered both a form of genius and something that transcends the need for explanation.
2) "It cannot be questioned. It has its divine right of sovereignty. It makes princes of those who have it."
- Here, beauty is portrayed as unquestionable and possessing a divine right of sovereignty, as if it has a supreme authority. The paradox lies in the fact that an inherently subjective concept like beauty cannot typically be considered unquestionable or possess sovereignty. It highlights the conflicting notion of beauty having an authoritative power.
I hope these examples help to illustrate the paradoxes in Lord Henry's panegyric on beauty!
Certainly! Here are the examples of paradox in the first part of Lord Henry's panegyric on beauty:
1) "And beauty is a form of genius... is higher, indeed, than genius, as it needs no explanation." This statement is a paradox because it combines two opposite ideas. On one hand, beauty is described as a form of genius, suggesting that it possesses extraordinary intelligence or creative ability. On the other hand, it is also stated that beauty is higher than genius and needs no explanation. This implies that beauty transcends rational understanding, which seems impossible because genius is often associated with intellectual prowess and deep understanding.
2) "People say sometimes that beauty is only superficial. That may be so, but at least it is not so superficial as thought is." This statement is paradoxical because it presents two contrasting ideas about beauty and thought. On one hand, it acknowledges the common perception that beauty is superficial, meaning it is only skin-deep and lacks depth or substance. However, it then suggests that thought is even more superficial than beauty. This contradicts the conventional notion that thought is a profound and intellectual process, while implying that beauty holds a greater significance.
In both examples, Lord Henry uses paradox to highlight the complex and enigmatic nature of beauty. The paradoxical statements challenge our conventional understanding and provoke us to think deeper about the concept of beauty.