Chiasmus

Examples Help! What is the definition of Chiasmus?

How do you define Chiasmus? What is a Chiasmus? The word derives from the Greek word meaning 'crossing'. The definition of Chiasmus is as follows:

 

English Grammar & Terminology Definition of Chiasmus - a poetic device
Definition: A rhetorical device sometimes called a reverse parallelism. Inversion in the second of two parallel phrases or an inversion of the order of words or phrases, when repeated or subsequently referred to in a sentence.

Example: John said little and knew much; Marc knew nothing and spoke at length.

Definition of Chiasmus - a poetic device

 

Examples of Chiasmus

Chiasmus examples can be found as follows:

  • He labors without complaining and without bragging rests...
  • But O, what damned minutes tells he o'er / Who dotes, yet doubts; suspects, yet strong loves. from Othello 3.3 by William Shakespeare.
  • John said little and knew much; Marc knew nothing and spoke at length.
  •  "His time a moment, and a point his space." from Essay on Man by Alexander Pope
  • If e'er to bless thy sons My voice or hands deny, These hands let useful skill forsake, This voice in silence die. - Dwight.

Examples Help - Figures of Speech - Chiasmus

In Figurative Language we use words in such a way that they differ somewhat from ordinary every-day speech and convey meanings in a more vivid and impressive manner. Figures, like Chiasmus make speech more effective, they beautify and emphasize it in Rhetoric which is the art of speaking and writing effectively. Figures of speech such as Chiasmus use word association to convey emotion and mood often in a non-literal sense.

Examples Help! Using Chiasmus

Figures of speech such as Chiasmus adds adornment, beautifies, colors, elegant variation, embellishment, embroidery, emphasis, exaggeration, exclamation, flourish, floweriness, irony, lushness and luxuriance to the English language. This page providing facts and info about Figures of Speech will help with the understanding of this subject.

  • Free educational resource - Chiasmus examples
  • Poem, Poems & Poetry - Chiasmus
  • Word association to convey emotion and mood.
  • Definition, sample and example - poetic device
  • Figure of Speech in English Grammar
  • Definitions, info, samples and examples of different English Figurative Language
  • Chiasmus - figure, image, trope
  • Word association to convey emotion and mood.
  • Definition, info, sample and example - figure, image, trope - Poetic device
  • Poem, Poems & Poetry - poetic device
  • Examples Help!

Chiasmus

Definition - Define - Info - Information - Example - Examples - Sample - Samples - Use - Sentence - Description - Explanation - English Language - Mood - Emotion - Literary term - Rhetoric - Online - Web - Free - English - Figure of Speech - Figurative Language - Figure - Image - Trope - Guide - Linguistics - Reference - Grammar - Grammer - Meaning - Study - List - Poetry - Poem - Poems - 10 - Definition - Define - Example - Info - Information - Examples - Sample - Samples - Use - Description - Explanation - English Language - Mood - Emotion - Literary term - Rhetoric - Online - Web - Free - English - Figure of Speech - Figurative Language - Figure - Image - Trope - Guide - Linguistics - Reference - Grammar - Grammer - Meaning - Info - Information - Sentence - Study - List - Poetry - Poem - Poems - 10 - Written By Linda Alchin