Monday 15 October 2012

Just Suppose You Juxtapose...

Juxtapose means to put two things side-by-side. If this was all you did with them, it wouldn't be much of a literary trick to pull off. However, it can be useful if you want to make one thing that comment on another, to highlight their similarities or differences, to question the relationship between the two objects, or to explore the effect of context. Colours change tone when you place them next to each other. The same can be true of people, who adjust their behaviour to suit different circumstances.

Juxtaposition is a tool for highlighting or offsetting something, for showing it in a different light. It can be used humorously and may introduce traces of the absurd. This van, parked in my street today, is perhaps a little exercise in juxtaposition - when is a door not door?
It made me smile, in any case.

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