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Chiasmus is a literary device where a phrase or grammatical pattern is repeated in a sentence. It is used by writers and poets to emphasize meaning and create a lyrical effect. The Bible often uses chiasmus to emphasize lessons. Chiastic structure is used to frame themes in literature. Chiasmus often contains two inverted or opposed concepts. It can also repeat grammatical devices for a lilting quality. Chiastic phrases are often poetic and easily memorized. Many famous quotes, such as President Kennedy’s speech, contain chiasmus.
Chiasmus is the literary practice of repeating a phrase or grammatical pattern in a single sentence. Writers and poets, such as Shakespeare and Alexander Pope, often use this device to make a point, to emphasize meaning, or simply to make their work more lyrical. In large works of literature, authors occasionally use it to frame themes and meanings throughout the work. This is referred to as using a chiastic structure. Both sentence-based chiasm and chiastic structure are used frequently in the Bible.
Most cases of chiasmus contain two important concepts that are related but are inverted or opposed to each other. For example, President John F. Kennedy’s famous slogan “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country” is chiastic. The first concept, concept A, is the inverse of the second concept, concept B. The structure here involves two sentences joined by a conjunction that use the same words to convey two opposite meanings. This is one way to use the chiasmus to make a point, especially in speeches.
The Bible often uses the chiasmus to place special emphasis on lessons. In Matthew 19:30, Jesus explains what life in the kingdom of heaven will be like by saying, “But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” He uses the same words, but reverses them to change the meaning. The chiastic structure of the sentence above is ABBA because references to “the first” come first, making them A. The reference to “the last” comes later, making B. So Jesus again uses the sentence B, followed by the sentence A.
Entire sections of poetry can be chiastic, repeating many sentences twice. Poets often use this device in longer works by making a list of sentences, then repeating the central sentence and continuing the pattern. For example, the sentence order in a poem might read ABCDEEDCBA when tagged. Often, the two central sentences will have opposite meanings, causing the last half of the poem to spin and disprove the sentences in the first half.
Many uses of chiasmus also repeat grammatical devices, such as gerunds or participles, to give the language a lilting quality. The sentence “Flee as swift as a deer and fly as swiftly as a hawk” demonstrates chiasm in grammatical structure. “Fleeing” and “flying” repeat the same type of verb, while “quickly” and “swiftly” are adverbs that also reflect the same structure. “Deer” and “hawk” also demonstrate this device because they are both animal names. The above example structure would be ABCABC.
When spoken aloud, chiastic phrases like this often sound poetic and can be easily memorized. Many ancient stories and storytelling traditions used song, rhyme, and chiastic structure to aid memorization. Today, many famous quotes, such as the example of President Kennedy’s speech, contain chiasmus.
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