The chiasmus is a rhetorical element consisting of repeating a phrase, but placing its components in an inverted order. The repeated phrase is placed right next to the original and generates an impact on the reader, which leads to rethinking and reflecting on what the author wanted to convey.
Speaking simply about chiasmus, it allows to present an "AB" phrase in the "BA" form. A simple example would be: "Humanity must end war or war will end humanity." There you can clearly see an exchange or cross position of ideas, and they maintain the sense of what you want to express.
Example of chiasmus. Source: lifeder.com.
The etymological origin of chiasmus is found in the Greek word chiasmos, which translates as “disposition to cross”. It should be borne in mind that when exchanging the components of a sentence, reference is also made to another rhetorical element of duplication called a "pun".
characteristics
Chiasm is characterized by the following aspects:
- It is a rhetorical figure of repetition commonly used in prose, although it has also been cultivated in poetry.
- It exposes in a cross way the order of the components of two syntactic structures.
- Modifying the order of the words that are repeated should not alter the meaning of the sentence.
- The chiasm has the purpose of emphasizing an idea to produce reflection and also presents the possibility of observing an event from two different points of view.
- It is common for it to appear in the following way in poetry: "noun adjective, adjective noun". Example: "Beautiful Maria, beautiful Maria."
Examples of chiasmus
Short examples
- Some interfere without wanting to, others interfere because they want to.
- Is the room messy or am I the mess in the room?
- Do not expect life to bear fruit, be the fruit that life awaits.
- Do not wonder what will happen tomorrow, tomorrow will pass so do not ask yourself.
- The night usually transforms me and I usually transform at night.
- The day hurts and I hurt the day.
- Sometimes I eat vegetables, I eat vegetables sometimes.
- Does Pepe have freckles, or do freckles have Pepe?
- Sometimes I laugh so as not to cry, and sometimes I cry so as not to laugh.
- Banana trees loaded, yellow pastures.
- Leave, what for? I would miss you. I would miss you, why leave?
- Rich and juicy sausages, soft and warm breads.
- Marine waters, gold fish.
- Red apples, leafy tree.
- Do not feed him, teach him to get food.
- Stylized legs, short skirts.
- Red roses, sharp thorns.
- Tasty food, happy lunch.
- Death awaits everyone, but not everyone awaits death.
- Love, you smell like roses. You smell like roses, love.
- Do not take from others what you do not want others to take from you.
- The last will be the first and the first will be the last.
- You eat to live, don't live to eat.
- Don't forget that I wait for you, don't expect me to forget you
- He walked in the bright morning, in the bright morning he walked.
- I don't come to see if I can, but because I can.
- I sing to smile, but I don't have to smile to sing.
- I do not intend to laugh more to cry less, but to cry less and thus laugh more.
- It is important to want what you believe and even more important to believe what you want.
- Walking the beautiful, the beautiful walking.
- I give you my everything, my everything I give you.
- Life smiles at me, I smile at life.
- I have not yet reached all the good things, and all the good things have not yet come.
- Everyone seeks to benefit, but no one seeks to benefit everyone.
Examples with authorship
- “We have seen how a man can be a slave; now we will see how a slave can be made man ”. Frederick Douglass.
- "When I want to cry I don't cry and sometimes I cry without wanting to." Pablo Neruda.
- "Loaded fruit trees, golden wheat fields". Manuel Machado.
- “That we never negotiate because we fear. But let us never fear to negotiate ”. John F. Kennedy.
- "And he asked the oleander and he asked the juco." Emilio Prados.
- "It gives good fortune that are not written: when flutes whistle, when flutes whistle." Gongora.
Other examples
- "Put beauties in my understanding and not my understanding in beauties."
- The piety of man can be questioned, but piety of man cannot be denied.
- “Being kissed by a cheater is stupid; being fooled by a kiss is worse ”.
- War has tried to erase men, even so, man does not try to erase war.
- "And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awaken, some to eternal life and others to shame and eternal damnation."
- The homeland lives within one, even if one does not live within the homeland.
- Life expects a lot from me, but I don't expect much from life.
- The dog barked and bit the drunk and the drunk bit and barked at the dog.
- Some stop time, and time stops some.
- The sea was the excuse to make poetry, and poetry became an excuse to go to the sea.
- I had company when I wanted to be alone, now that I am alone I want company.
- Give your life and all the rest, not be a remainder of everything that life gives.
- You forget what you want to remember and remember what you want to forget.
- When I try to remember I can't, but when I remember I have done it without trying.
- When I had a girlfriend I didn't have money, now that I have money I don't have a girlfriend.
- The night was the reason to talk about the light of your eyes, and your eyes and their light motivated me at dusk.
- She knew that my love was eternal, and my love was eternal because I knew her.
- Walking at night I sought to hide my darkness, my darkness was hidden for the night to walk.
- Tomorrow I will go to the beach to live, and I live to go to the beach every morning.
- Sunflowers do not follow the sun, the sun follows sunflowers.
- The stars do not shine at night, it is the night that lets you see the brightness of the stars.
- As a child I dreamed that I was an adult, and now as an adult I dream of being a child.
- Water itself can turn into soda, but soda cannot turn into water itself.
References
- Example of chiasmus. (2015). (N / A): Example From. Retrieved from: examplede.com.
- (2019). Spain: Wikipedia. Recovered from: es.wikipedia.org.
- Pérez, J. and Gardey, A. (2013). Definition of chiasmus. (N / A): Definition. From. Recovered from: definicion.de.
- (2020). (N / A): Academic. Recovered from: esacademic.com.
- Examples of chiasmus. (S. f.). (N / A): Examples. Recovered from: examples.cc.