PARADOX

Paradox- a statement whose two parts seem contradictory but make sense with more thought.

Example:

What more miraculous thing may be told, That fire, which all things melts, should harden ice, And ice, which is congeal'd with senseless cold, Should kindle fire by wonderful device?

-Edmund Spencer

Clearly, this verse is paradoxical in that in accordance with their very nature, fire does not harden ice, nor does ice kindle fire. However, as per some message the poet wishes to impart to the reader, the laws of nature are bent in the context of the poem.