Is this phrase grammatically contradictory?

LegacyUser

"a benign affliction" I would really appreciate some help here.. I want to use it in a piece of slam poetry. Many thanks

EileenG

There isn't enough of it to be correct or not. It's how you use the phrase that makes it correct or not.

im invisible

yo momma's a benign affliction

nervous_twitch

Nope, it might depend on context, but a benign affliction is definitely possible. What are you referring to?

Agent Weebley

I have a small wart that is a benign affliction.

However, I found "gramatically contradictory" quite humourous, so that phrase is a keeper.

"Is this phrase an oxymoron" may have been a better title, as your title sounded like an oxymoron itself. I clicked it because I thought you were having me on.

pickarooney

I think it's a paradox. An affliction, by definition, is painful and compromising.

Arlecchina

It's a bit of an oxymoron, but how successful it is depends on the context you're using it in. Think of that famous example from Romeo & Juliet:

O heavy lightness! Serious vanity!
Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms!
Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health!

What's the poem about? Would the contradiction work for what you're trying to say?

alfa beta

grammar schmammer

it's poetry for crying out loud

if it sounds good use it...!

P. Breathnach

pickarooney wrote: »

I think it's a paradox.

Yes. One that is usable.

alfa beta wrote: »

grammar schmammer

it's poetry for crying out loud

if it sounds good use it...!

There is more to poetry than sound.