Antithesis: literary term |figure of speech |origin,definition,examples literature,notes | in hindi
26 هزار بار بازدید -
3 سال پیش
-
Link of oxymoron :
Link of oxymoron : Oxymoron - a figure of speech || expl...
Facebook page :Facebook: Swarnshikha28
#antithesis #oxymoron_difference #parallelism
What Is Antithesis?
Antithesis (Greek for “setting opposite”) means “a contrast or opposite.” For example, when something or someone is the opposite of another thing or person. For example, "love is the antithesis of selfishness."
As a rhetorical device, antithesis pairs exact opposite or contrasting ideas in a parallel grammatical structure. Consider William Shakespeare’s famous line in Hamlet: “Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice.” This is a great example of antithesis because it pairs two contrasting ideas—listening and speaking—in the same parallel structure.
Examples of Antithesis
Neil Armstrong (1969): “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Alexander Pope, An Essay on Criticism (1711): “To err is human; to forgive divine.”
John Milton, Paradise Lost (1667): “Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heav’n.”
The opposing clauses, phrases, or sentences are roughly equal in length and balanced in contiguous grammatical structures.
(Contiguous- next or near in time or sequence )
Antithesis and Parallelism
In parallelism, two components of a sentence (or pair of sentences) mirror one another by repeating grammatical elements. The following is a good example of both antithesis and parallelism:
To err is human, to forgive divine.
The two clauses of the sentence are parallel because each starts off with an infinitive verb and ends with an adjective ("human" and "divine"). The mirroring of these elements then works to emphasize the contrast in their content, particularly in the very strong opposite contrast between "human" and "divine."
Antithesis Without Parallelism
In most cases, antitheses involve parallel elements of the sentence—whether a pair of nouns, verbs, adjectives, or other grammar elements. However, it is also possible to have antithesis without such clear cut parallelism. In the Temptations Song "My Girl," the singer uses antithesis when he says:
"When it's cold outside, I've got the month of May."
Here the sentence is clearly cut into two clauses on either side of the comma, and the contrasting elements are clear enough. However, strictly speaking there isn't true parallelism here because "cold outside" and "month of May" are different types of grammatical structures.
Why Do Writers Use Antithesis?
Fundamentally, writers of all types use antithesis for its ability to create a clear contrast. This contrast can serve a number of purposes, as shown in the examples above. It can:
Present a stark( impossible to avoid) choice between two alternatives.
Convey magnitude or range (i.e. "in brightest day, in darkest night" or "from the highest mountain, to the deepest valley").
Express strong emotions.
Create a relationship of opposition between two separate ideas.
Accentuate ( to emphasize something or make something easier to notice)the qualities and characteristics of one thing by placing it in opposition to another.
3 Tips on Using Antithesis in Your Writing
Antithesis is a great way to add contrast to your writing. To use antithesis to the greatest effect, follow these tips:
Focus on contrast. Think of places in your writing that would benefit from comparing two contrasting ideas. Is there a character who is battling two conflicting emotions? Is there a setting that embodies opposing attributes? The two concepts don’t need to be exact opposites—like light and dark—but should be different and distinct, like, say, like excitement and frustration.
Read it out loud. When working with a parallel structure, you want the rhythm of each piece to be as similar as possible. If you’re stuck, try reading the line aloud and hearing where the syllables don’t match up. The parallel structure of antithesis doesn’t need to be exact, but the closer the two are in structure, the more rhythmic the antithesis will sound.
Use it sparingly. As with most other rhetorical devices, antithesis is best used in short bursts—overuse it, and the impact will become dull and you run the risk of making your writing sound trite or forced.
Antithesis vs. Oxymoron
In an oxymoron, two seemingly contradictory words are placed together because their unlikely combination reveals a deeper truth. Some examples of oxymorons include:
Sweet sorrow
Cruel kindness
Living dead
The focus of antithesis is opposites rather than contradictions. While the words involved in oxymorons seem like they don't belong together (until you give them deeper thought), the words or ideas of antithesis do feel like they belong together even as they contrast as opposites. Further, antitheses seldom function by placing the two words or ideas right next to one another, so antitheses are usually made up of more than two words (as in, "I'd rather be among the living than among the dead").
Facebook page :Facebook: Swarnshikha28
#antithesis #oxymoron_difference #parallelism
What Is Antithesis?
Antithesis (Greek for “setting opposite”) means “a contrast or opposite.” For example, when something or someone is the opposite of another thing or person. For example, "love is the antithesis of selfishness."
As a rhetorical device, antithesis pairs exact opposite or contrasting ideas in a parallel grammatical structure. Consider William Shakespeare’s famous line in Hamlet: “Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice.” This is a great example of antithesis because it pairs two contrasting ideas—listening and speaking—in the same parallel structure.
Examples of Antithesis
Neil Armstrong (1969): “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Alexander Pope, An Essay on Criticism (1711): “To err is human; to forgive divine.”
John Milton, Paradise Lost (1667): “Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heav’n.”
The opposing clauses, phrases, or sentences are roughly equal in length and balanced in contiguous grammatical structures.
(Contiguous- next or near in time or sequence )
Antithesis and Parallelism
In parallelism, two components of a sentence (or pair of sentences) mirror one another by repeating grammatical elements. The following is a good example of both antithesis and parallelism:
To err is human, to forgive divine.
The two clauses of the sentence are parallel because each starts off with an infinitive verb and ends with an adjective ("human" and "divine"). The mirroring of these elements then works to emphasize the contrast in their content, particularly in the very strong opposite contrast between "human" and "divine."
Antithesis Without Parallelism
In most cases, antitheses involve parallel elements of the sentence—whether a pair of nouns, verbs, adjectives, or other grammar elements. However, it is also possible to have antithesis without such clear cut parallelism. In the Temptations Song "My Girl," the singer uses antithesis when he says:
"When it's cold outside, I've got the month of May."
Here the sentence is clearly cut into two clauses on either side of the comma, and the contrasting elements are clear enough. However, strictly speaking there isn't true parallelism here because "cold outside" and "month of May" are different types of grammatical structures.
Why Do Writers Use Antithesis?
Fundamentally, writers of all types use antithesis for its ability to create a clear contrast. This contrast can serve a number of purposes, as shown in the examples above. It can:
Present a stark( impossible to avoid) choice between two alternatives.
Convey magnitude or range (i.e. "in brightest day, in darkest night" or "from the highest mountain, to the deepest valley").
Express strong emotions.
Create a relationship of opposition between two separate ideas.
Accentuate ( to emphasize something or make something easier to notice)the qualities and characteristics of one thing by placing it in opposition to another.
3 Tips on Using Antithesis in Your Writing
Antithesis is a great way to add contrast to your writing. To use antithesis to the greatest effect, follow these tips:
Focus on contrast. Think of places in your writing that would benefit from comparing two contrasting ideas. Is there a character who is battling two conflicting emotions? Is there a setting that embodies opposing attributes? The two concepts don’t need to be exact opposites—like light and dark—but should be different and distinct, like, say, like excitement and frustration.
Read it out loud. When working with a parallel structure, you want the rhythm of each piece to be as similar as possible. If you’re stuck, try reading the line aloud and hearing where the syllables don’t match up. The parallel structure of antithesis doesn’t need to be exact, but the closer the two are in structure, the more rhythmic the antithesis will sound.
Use it sparingly. As with most other rhetorical devices, antithesis is best used in short bursts—overuse it, and the impact will become dull and you run the risk of making your writing sound trite or forced.
Antithesis vs. Oxymoron
In an oxymoron, two seemingly contradictory words are placed together because their unlikely combination reveals a deeper truth. Some examples of oxymorons include:
Sweet sorrow
Cruel kindness
Living dead
The focus of antithesis is opposites rather than contradictions. While the words involved in oxymorons seem like they don't belong together (until you give them deeper thought), the words or ideas of antithesis do feel like they belong together even as they contrast as opposites. Further, antitheses seldom function by placing the two words or ideas right next to one another, so antitheses are usually made up of more than two words (as in, "I'd rather be among the living than among the dead").
3 سال پیش
در تاریخ 1400/04/27 منتشر شده
است.
26,024
بـار بازدید شده