Cleanth Brooks' The Language of Paradox

In The Language of Paradox, Cleanth Brooks requires on the language of poetry, stating that at its core poetry is the language of paradox. Brooks bases his position on the contradictions that are inherent in poetry and his emotions that if these contradictions did not exist then neither would some of the ideal poetry we have nowadays.

Employing operates from Wordsworth to Shakespeare Brooks shows how the only way some tips can be expressed is by means of paradox. His ideal instance of this idea is from Coleridge's description of imagination,

...reveals itself in the balance or reconcilement of opposite discordant qualities: of sameness, with distinction; of the common, with the concrete; the idea with the image; the person, with the representative; the sense of novelty and freshness, with old and familiar objects, a far more than usual state of emotion, with far more than usual order...(Brooks 40)

Brooks points out that even though it is an eloquently worded statement it is too a series of paradoxes. He argues that considering that poetry spends its time attempting to explains tips and feelings as intangible as the idea of imagination it as well has to use paradox to ideal convey these thoughts.
Brooks bolsters his argument on the use of paradox in poetry by means of a close reading of John Donne's "Canonization". He says that if it had been not for paradox Donne's poem would either obtain as not taking enjoy seriously or not taking religion seriously.

Considering that the poem does neither, Brooks concludes that Donne is in a position to use the discordant image of two lovers providing up the physical globe for their enjoy and by means of their sacrifice reaching sainthood only considering that of the paradox that the imagery of their enjoy and that of their religion generates.

I agree with Brooks to a point, poetry is filled with paradoxes as a way to convey feelings or sentiments that are not so simply expressed by way of a single train of thought but have to encompass a lot of contradictory tips to start to describe that emotion or sentiment.

His instance of Coleridge's response to what imagination is, is an exceptional instance of his hypothesis. Even so, the Coleridge instance as well undermines his premise in that paradox is not just the language of poetry or literature but the language of life. In every day life we obtain ourselves attempting to explain a thing, an idea, occasion, an emotion that is not simply explained by very simple, straight-forward terms but takes a series of contradictions or paradoxes, if you will, to adequately convey their which means.

There is no explanation why poetry should not be any distinctive and I assume the radical tone of the chapter, this idea that he is building a new and previously un-thought of way to appear at poetry, is unfounded and hardly revolutionary.

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