Writing Help 129 | - Freelance Writer
Mar 25, 2013 | #1
Using Advanced Rhetorical Devices to Surprise and Delight
Some rhetorical devices are defined in terms of their syntactic structures, as we saw with parallelism, anaphora, and epistrophe. Others are defined based on semantic properties, as we saw in an earlier series with paradox and oxymoron. Some, however, must be defined with regard to both syntax and semantics, and antithesis is one such term. I certainly won't argue against the fact that every rhetorical device has both syntactic and semantic elements, but most rely primarily on one of the other for their definition, whereas antithesis simply cannot be explained in terms which exclude either.
As promised in the article discussing parallelism, many other devices need it as a foundation, and antithesis is a very good example of this. Let's examine the following example of antithesis, and see what we notice about its form and meaning, and their interrelations: "The grass was green, but alas the sky was dark. The ground was fertile, but the air was thick with soot. The village looked pleasant, but the people stank like dung and death." Here, we can see examples of parallelism within each sentence, as well as between all of the sentences. The essential structure of each clause consists of a noun followed by its brief description in the past tense. With such definite patterning, there can be no doubt that parallelism is at work.
This leads us to think about what this patterning is doing, and to find out we must consider the semantic aspects of the entities being paralleled. Looking at the first sentence, we can see the conjunction but dividing the items, which immediately alerts us to the presence of oppositions. The first item, the green grass, is contrasted with a dark sky. The first has definite positive associations, while the dark sky is foreboding. The next sentence pits another positive term, fertile ground, against air thick with soot which is undoubtedly negative. In the final sentence, we see the pleasant village contrasted with the people who absolutely stink. It quickly becomes evident that the parallel structure of this passage is being used to highlight terms that oppose each other, and this is the heart of antithesis. Antithesis is the presentation of opposing terms within a parallel structure, so that the first part of a given parallel stands in semantic contrast with the second part.
The effect created by antithesis in general is conveyed well by the above passage. Each sentence, and especially all three together, present an image of a place which has great apparent potential, but which is far darker and more negative than one might expect it to be. It would of course have been more efficient to merely state what the village is like in plain terms, rather than set up the parallel antithetical structure we have before us. However, it is important to remember that whenever a rhetorical device is employed, a certain effect is desired, and usually successfully created. In this case, as well as in antithesis in general, the presentation of opposing items serves as a powerful contrast to the items which describe the reality of the entity in question. A dark sky, sooty air, and stinking people sound bad, but when they are placed beside positive images, they seem far worse. In the above example specifically, the presentation of such contrasting images in parallel fashion serves to create an air of mystery around the village and its inhabitants, because although all of the descriptive elements do contrast, it is possible for all to exist simultaneously (as the passage says they do), and so we are left to wonder what this town is all about. Finally, note that the second element in each opposition ends up being the focus, and this is characteristic of antithesis in general; whichever element fills the second position will receive the emphasis, and so we get a gloomy vision of the town overall, whereas were the terms reversed, we would see the town more optimistically.
Antithesis
Some rhetorical devices are defined in terms of their syntactic structures, as we saw with parallelism, anaphora, and epistrophe. Others are defined based on semantic properties, as we saw in an earlier series with paradox and oxymoron. Some, however, must be defined with regard to both syntax and semantics, and antithesis is one such term. I certainly won't argue against the fact that every rhetorical device has both syntactic and semantic elements, but most rely primarily on one of the other for their definition, whereas antithesis simply cannot be explained in terms which exclude either.
As promised in the article discussing parallelism, many other devices need it as a foundation, and antithesis is a very good example of this. Let's examine the following example of antithesis, and see what we notice about its form and meaning, and their interrelations: "The grass was green, but alas the sky was dark. The ground was fertile, but the air was thick with soot. The village looked pleasant, but the people stank like dung and death." Here, we can see examples of parallelism within each sentence, as well as between all of the sentences. The essential structure of each clause consists of a noun followed by its brief description in the past tense. With such definite patterning, there can be no doubt that parallelism is at work.This leads us to think about what this patterning is doing, and to find out we must consider the semantic aspects of the entities being paralleled. Looking at the first sentence, we can see the conjunction but dividing the items, which immediately alerts us to the presence of oppositions. The first item, the green grass, is contrasted with a dark sky. The first has definite positive associations, while the dark sky is foreboding. The next sentence pits another positive term, fertile ground, against air thick with soot which is undoubtedly negative. In the final sentence, we see the pleasant village contrasted with the people who absolutely stink. It quickly becomes evident that the parallel structure of this passage is being used to highlight terms that oppose each other, and this is the heart of antithesis. Antithesis is the presentation of opposing terms within a parallel structure, so that the first part of a given parallel stands in semantic contrast with the second part.
The effect created by antithesis in general is conveyed well by the above passage. Each sentence, and especially all three together, present an image of a place which has great apparent potential, but which is far darker and more negative than one might expect it to be. It would of course have been more efficient to merely state what the village is like in plain terms, rather than set up the parallel antithetical structure we have before us. However, it is important to remember that whenever a rhetorical device is employed, a certain effect is desired, and usually successfully created. In this case, as well as in antithesis in general, the presentation of opposing items serves as a powerful contrast to the items which describe the reality of the entity in question. A dark sky, sooty air, and stinking people sound bad, but when they are placed beside positive images, they seem far worse. In the above example specifically, the presentation of such contrasting images in parallel fashion serves to create an air of mystery around the village and its inhabitants, because although all of the descriptive elements do contrast, it is possible for all to exist simultaneously (as the passage says they do), and so we are left to wonder what this town is all about. Finally, note that the second element in each opposition ends up being the focus, and this is characteristic of antithesis in general; whichever element fills the second position will receive the emphasis, and so we get a gloomy vision of the town overall, whereas were the terms reversed, we would see the town more optimistically.