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Antithesis

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For other uses, seeAntithesis (disambiguation).

Antithesis(pl.:antitheses;Greekfor "setting opposite", fromἀντι-"against" andθέσις"placing" ) is used in writing or speech either as a proposition that contrasts with or reverses some previously mentioned proposition, or when two opposites are introduced together for contrasting effect.[1][2]

Antithesis can be defined as "afigure of speechinvolving a seeming contradiction of ideas, words, clauses, or sentences within a balanced grammatical structure. Parallelism of expression serves to emphasize opposition of ideas ".[3]

An antithesis must always contain two ideas within one statement. The ideas may not be structurally opposite, but they serve to be functionally opposite when comparing two ideas for emphasis.[4]

According toAristotle,the use of an antithesis makes the audience better understand the point the speaker is trying to make. Further explained, the comparison of two situations or ideas makes choosing the correct one simpler. Aristotle states that antithesis in rhetoric is similar tosyllogismdue to the presentation of two conclusions within a statement.[5]

Antitheses are used to strengthen an argument by using either exact opposites or simply contrasting ideas, but can also include both. They typically make a sentence more memorable for the reader or listener through balance andemphasisof the words.[6]

Rhetorical antithesis[edit]

Inrhetoric,antithesis is a figure of speech involving the bringing out of a contrast in theideasby an obvious contrast in thewords,clauses,orsentences,within a parallel grammatical structure.[7]

The term "antithesis" in rhetoric goes back to the 4th century BC, for example Aristotle,Rhetoric,1410a, in which he gives a series of examples.

An antithesis can be a simple statement contrasting two things, using a parallel structure:

  • I defended the Republic as ayoung man;I shall not desert her now that I amold.(Cicero,2nd Philippic,2.118)

Often there is a double antithesis, as in the following proverb, where "man" is opposed to "God", and "proposes" is contrasted with "disposes":

  • Man proposes,God disposes.(anonymous)

Another type is of the form "not A, but B" (negative-positive), in which the point made is emphasised by first being contrasted with its negative:

Another type involves anantimetabole(AB, BA word order), in which the contrasted words switch places:

  • Inpeaceyou long forwar,and inwaryou long forpeace.
  • Two things show feebleness of mind:holding your breathat the time forspeaking,andspeakingwhen you should besilent.(Saadi)

The negative-positive antithesis and the antimetabole-antithesis can be combined, as in the following sentence:

An antithesis can also be combined with synonymousparallelism.In the following example, the first (A, A') and second couplet (B, B') are parallel synonymously with the same adverb and verb combination distinguishing the couplets: "still do" / "still be" // "still do" / "still be." An antithesis is formed with line A contrasting "evil" with "right" in line B. Line A' contrasts the "filthy" with the "holy" in line B'.[8]

• A Let the evildoer still do evil,
• A' and the filthy still be filthy,
• B and the righteous still do right.
• B' and the holy still be holy (Revelation 22:11).

Twentieth-century rhetoricianKenneth Burkediscusses the rhetorical aesthetic and stylistic effects of antithesis in one of the most referenced passages ofA Rhetoric of Motives,one of his most famous works. In that book, Burke describes how antithesis can invite people to hold an "attitude of collaborative expectancy"[9]through the rhetorical aesthetic principle of form.[10]

Some literary examples[edit]

Some other examples of antithesis are:

  • Giveeverymanthy ear,butfewthyvoice.(William Shakespeare,Hamlet)
  • Formanyarecalled,butfewarechosen.(Matthew 22:14)
  • Never give in — never, never, never, never, in nothinggreatorsmall,largeorpetty,never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. (byWinston Churchill)
  • It was thebestof times, it was theworstof times, it was the age ofwisdom,it was the age offoolishness,it was the epoch ofbelief,it was the epoch ofincredulity,it was the season ofLight,it was the season ofDarkness,it was the spring ofhope,it was the winter ofdespair,we hadeverythingbefore us, we hadnothingbefore us, we were all going direct toHeaven,we were all going direct theother way... (Charles Dickens,A Tale of Two Cities)
  • We must learn tolive togetherasbrothersorperish togetherasfools.(Martin Luther King Jr.,speech atSt. Louis,1964.)
  • The world will little note, nor long rememberwhat we say here,but it can never forgetwhat they did here.(Abraham Lincoln,The Gettysburg Address,1863.)
  • He who desirespeace,should prepare forwar.(Vegetius,Epitoma Rei Militaris,book 3, introduction.)
  • Fornowwe see in a mirror dimly, butthenface to face.NowI know in part;thenI shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. (St Paul, 1st Epistle to the Corinthians 13:12, Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edition)
  • Mymenhave becomewomen,and mywomen,men.(KingXerxesat theBattle of Salamis(480 BC), according toHerodotus8.88.3)
  • Senator, in everything I said about IraqIturned out to berightandyouturned out to bewrong.(George Gallowayat a US Senate hearing, May 2005.)[11]
  • I'm not saying thatthis or that statuewas stolen from there; I'm saying this, that you, Verres, leftnot one single statuein Aspendus. (Cicero,In Verrem,2.1.53.)
  • I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by thecolor of their skinbut by thecontent of their character.(Martin Luther King Jr.,1963.)
  • For contemplation he and valour formed, For softness she and sweet attractive grace; He for God only, she for God in him. (John Milton, Paradise Lost)

The "Antitheses" in St Matthew's Gospel[edit]

Main article:Matthew 5 § Antitheses

Matthew's Antithesesis the traditional name given to a section of theSermon on the Mount[12]whereJesustakes six well known prescriptions of theMosaic Lawand calls his followers to do more than the Law requires.Protestantscholars since the Reformation have generally believed that Jesus was setting his teaching over against false interpretations of the Law current at the time. "Antithesis" was the name given byMarcion of Sinopeto a manifesto in which he contrasted theOld Testamentwith theNew Testamentand defined what came to be known asMarcionism.

In philosophical discussion[edit]

See also:Thesis, antithesis, synthesisandDialectic

Indialectics(any formal system of reasoning that arrives at the truth by the exchange of logical arguments) antithesis is the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas, usually in a balanced way. The logical arguments are said to be stated in the orderthesis, antithesis, synthesis.

Although this style of philosophical discussion (stating a point of view, then its opposite, and finally drawing a conclusion) was commonly used by ancient philosophers,[13]the use of the trio "thesis, antithesis, synthesis" itself to describe it goes back only to the 18th century, to a work published in 1794 by the German philosopherJohann Gottlieb Fichte.[14]

The phrase is sometimes incorrectly stated to originate from the German philosopherHegel.However, Hegel never actually used the trio of terms except once in a lecture, in which he reproachedImmanuel Kantfor having "everywhere posited thesis, antithesis, synthesis".[15]

See also[edit]

Look upantithesisin Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

References[edit]

  1. ^Ferreira, Gladwyn."English Kumarbharati Grammar,Language Study & Writing Skills Std.X".{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help)
  2. ^Cody, Sherwin (December 31, 2007).The Art of Writing and Speaking the English Language.ISBN978-1406846577.
  3. ^"Antithesis".The Columbia Encyclopedia.Columbia University Press. 1963.
  4. ^Lloyd, Alfred (May 25, 1911). "The Logic of Antithesis".The Journal of Philosophy, Psychology, and Scientific Methods.8(11): 281–289.doi:10.2307/2013034.JSTOR2013034.
  5. ^Preminger, Alex; Brogan, T.V.F. (1993).Antithesis.Princeton University Press.
  6. ^Nick Skellon, "Antithesis: examples and definition," Speak Like A Pro. 2013
  7. ^One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Antithesis".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 146–147.
  8. ^Craig R. Koester, 2014. Revelation (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2014), 853.
  9. ^Burke, Kenneth.A Rhetoric of Motives.University of California Press, 1969. p. 58.
  10. ^Slater, Jarron. "Attitudes of Collaborative Expectancy: Antithesis, Gradatio, and A Rhetoric of Motives, Page 58."Rhetoric Review37.3 (2018): 247-258.
  11. ^BBC News online, 17 May 2005.
  12. ^Matt. 5:17–48
  13. ^E.g. Cicero,de Officiis3.54-57.
  14. ^Williams, Robert R. (1992).Recognition: Fichte and Hegel on the Other.SUNY Press. p. 46, note 37.
  15. ^Kaufmann, Walter,Hegel: A Reinterpretation,1966, Anchor Books, p.154.
  • [1]- Antithesis in Plato'sEuthydemusandLysis
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