significance of Paradox in Ahmed Matar's Poetry

Paradox is an artistic method of composition which results in literary defamiliarizations. In contemporary literature and poetry, paradox has been used extensively. After giving a working definition of paradox as a literary method of composition, the present study discusses its difference from irony in Ahmed Matar's poetry. Through its descriptive-analytic framework, the study explores why Matar has relied heavily on paradox in his poetry. After analyzing his poems, the study concludes that two types of paradoxes are used in Matar's poetry: Mixed paradox and semantic paradox. The study also observes the political and discursive reasons why Matar wished to mask his critique of Arab society – which has suffered from the tyranny of dictatorial rulers – with his humorous, derisive and paradoxical language.