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In rhetoric, chiasmus (from the Greek: χιάζω, chiázō, "to shape like the letter Χ") is the figure of speech in which two or more clauses are related to each other through a reversal of structures in order to make a larger point; that is, the clauses display inverted parallelism. Chiasmus was particularly popular both in Greek and in Latin literature, where it was used to articulate balance or order within a text. As a popular example, the Greek and Hebrew texts of the Bible also contain many long and complex chiasmi. Its usage was largely promoted by English scholar, Rhodri Jones. Today, chiasmus is applied fairly broadly to any "criss-cross" structure, although in classical rhetoric it was distinguished from other similar devices, such as the antimetabole. In its classical application, chiasmus would have been used for structures that do not repeat the same words and phrases, but invert a sentence's grammatical structure or ideas. The concept of chiasmus on a higher level, applied to motifs, turns of phrase, or whole passages, is called chiastic structure. The elements of a simple chiasmus are often labelled in the form A B B A, where the letters correspond to grammar, words, or meaning.
[edit] In inverted meaningBut O, what damned minutes tells he o'er "Dotes" and "strongly loves" share the same meaning and bracket "doubts" and "suspects."
[edit] In inverted grammarA reversed order of the grammar in two or more clauses in a sentence will yield a chiasmus. Consider the example of a parallel sentence:
Inverting into chiasmus:
Other examples:
The clause above follows the form of adjective, simile, participle, participle, simile, adjective (A B C C B A). In parallel form:
[edit] In ScriptureThe ancient Hebrew and Greek texts of the Old and New Testaments are rich in chiasmus, as is the Book of Mormon. Many of these have become lost in translation, but hundreds of others remain. The following examples are indented to show the parallel structure of the text. [edit] In LatinChiasmus is often used in Latin poetry as an alternative form of the golden line, but it can be found in prose as well.
visceribus atras pascit effossis aves (10) “He feeds the black birds with his gutted wounds” AbVaB (A and B denote nouns; a and b denote adjectives and the nouns they modify; V is the verb.)
Adest vir summa auctoritate et religione et fide, M. Lucullus, qui se non opinari sed scire, non audisse sed vidisse, non interfuisse sed egisse dicit. (8) "There is a man present of the highest authority, duty, and faith, M. Lucullus who (will testify) that he himself does not believe but knows, did not hear but saw, was not only present but did it himself." The grammar of the Latin follows the form of Verb, Subject, ablative, ablative, ablative, Subject, (relative clause in indirect statement), infinitive verb phrase, infinitive verb phrase, infinitive verb phrase, Verb. The ablatives of quality are bracketed by the subjects they modify and form a chiasmus within a chiasmus. A B b b b B a a a A
For example, in his letter about the death of Pliny the Elder, he described his uncle sailing into danger to save others: festinat illuc unde alii fugiunt "He hurried to the place from where others were fleeing." Here, he places the verbs festinat (hurried) and fugiunt (were fleeing) on the outside of the chiasmus and the adverbs illuc (to the place) and unde (where from) in the middle to form the cross. This contrasts his uncle's two actions (hurrying and fleeing), and emphasizes his bravery. [edit] Chi as a figure of ChristIn Christian poetry, chiasmus takes on added meaning since Chi is the first element of Chi Rho, the first letters of "Christ" in Greek, and since the "X" that characterizes chiasmus stands for the cross on which Christ was crucified. Thus, Christian poets have utilized chiasmus in very specific places to direct attention to an added layer of meaning. A good example is found early on in John Milton's Paradise Lost, in a passage where the Son of God tells his father that untempered justice without mercy is an unlikely course of action in his predicted punishment for Man's fall: "That be from thee farr, / That farr be from thee" (Bk.3, 153-54).[1]
The Son of God's future role as Christ is prefigured as it were by the utilization of the cruciform chiasmus (be—far/far—be); Christ's crucifixion will be the beginning of God's mercy tempering his justice. Earlier in the same passage chiasmus was already used in the description of the Son of God's appearance: "In his face / Divine compassion visibly appeerd, / Love without end, and without measure Grace" (140-42).[1][2]
[edit] As a synonym for antimetabole
These examples are often quoted by modern commentators to demonstrate chiasmus, although they are defined as antimetabole in the classical sense.
Chiasmus does not need to be lexical; it can also be aural, as the classic quote,
An informal term for chiasmus introduced by Calvin Trillin and used particularly among political speechwriters is reversible raincoat sentences.[citation needed] [edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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