A literary contradiction first defies comprehension, but only temporarily. The phrase "at first" in the last clause sets that sentence apart from logical paradoxes.
Explanation
A logical contradiction has no possible resolution. It goes against all logic.
Literary paradoxes do have a resolution, which is frequently attained by reason and only necessitates a small amount of further contemplation (exactly what the author intended).
The message of a literary paradox is frequently not found in its literal interpretation, which is another significant distinction. In actuality, its literal meaning is frequently irrelevant.
Example
There is a moment where the March Hare instructs Alice to drink more tea in Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Paradise (a wonderland of paradoxes, if you want to delve down that rabbit hole).
It's very obvious what Alice meant, but Carroll does not want the reader to consider whether or not Alice should drink additional tea. Instead, she says, "I've had nothing yet, therefore I can't take more." "You mean you can't have less," the Hatter said, "it's extremely simple to take more than nothing."
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