Ring composition is a rhetorical technique used in ancient oral traditions, where a speaker presents ideas in sequence before returning to the starting point. It is found in classical texts, including the Hebrew Bible and works of John Milton and William Shakespeare. It serves as a mnemonic device and can integrate other aspects of literature. It is also useful in literary criticism and is sometimes referred to as chiasmus, associated with Christianity’s cross.
The concept of ring composition, as used in a narrative, revolves around specific rhetorical techniques related to ancient oral traditions, in which a speaker will present various ideas or topics in sequence, before reaching a kind of crescendo composed of the most important topic or idea; afterwards, the speaker will retrace the pattern back to the original starting point. This type of communication has been used for many centuries to tell stories and convey information. Experts believe it served a variety of purposes, including a mnemonic element that helps the speaker remember how to proceed with a narrative.
Many examples of this type of composition are found in classical texts. These include Greek and Roman writings as well as elements of the Hebrew Bible. For example, in the Jewish Torah, or in the first five books of the conventional Christian Bible, a narrative proceeding from the book of Exodus to the book of Leviticus uses a kind of ring composition to touch upon various aspects of man’s relationship with the divine. .
A ring composition is also often referred to as a chiasm or chiastic structure. This word from the Greek refers to the ordering of various ideas. Historians and other academics will often point to many examples of this type of communication in literature and the oral narrative tradition.
While the ring composition was useful in many ancient texts, some more modern authors have also used it extensively. An example is in the epic poetry of John Milton – in particular, the creation of Paradise Lost, where these kinds of structures complement other deliberately formed patterns of language. Elements of ring composition are also present in some works of the Elizabethan poet William Shakespeare and in the Book of Mormon, a relatively modern religious composition.
In addition to its use as a mnemonic device, the ring composition phenomenon can integrate other aspects of conventional poetry or literature. Many see the application of this type of technique as part of the structural composition for a longer work of fiction, poetry or other fiction. It is also useful in literary criticism for students of ancient or modern literature. As a further point, when this technique is called chiasmus, it refers to another semantic idea common in Western religion, or especially Christianity, where the Greek letter “chi” and its structure “X” are associated with Christ, and the cross of the messianic crucifixion.
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