Chiasmus & Antithesis
A Rhetorical Device which shows two contrasting ideas side by side.
What is Antithesis?
The nautical command "All" these "on deck" uses a body part to represent the entire crew of sailors.
What are hands
What is the definition of Zeugma?
When a verb governs or modifies two or more other parts of a sentence.
What is the definition of Asyndeton
A deliberate omission of coordinating conjunctions
to change rhythm, pacing, and emphasis.
A student walks into school on the first day of summer vacation and says, “I’m so excited for another day of school!”
What type of irony is being used?
A. Dramatic irony
B. Situational irony
C. Verbal irony
D. No irony
C — Verbal irony
From the Greek for "crossing," this literary device inverts the grammatical structure of two parallel clauses, as seen in "Fair is foul, and foul is fair." What device is this
Chaiumus
This sentence uses metonymy: “The crown announced a new law.” What does “the crown” represent?
What is the king or queen/the monarchy?
What is the structure of Zeugma?
A verb affects 2 or more words in a sentence to blend the meaning.
Structure of Asyndeton
intentionally leaving out coordinating conjunctions (such as "and", "but", "or", or "yet") between words, phrases, or clauses
A man buys an expensive security system to protect his house from burglars. That same night, the security system malfunctions and accidentally unlocks every door and window in the house.
What type of irony is this?
A. Verbal irony
B. Dramatic irony
C. Situational irony
D. No irony
C — Situational irony
Find it in the Passage: He wanted to give the crowd liberty, but he ended up giving them death. The cobblestone streets remained narrow and quiet, winding past moss-covered storefronts that seemed completely forgotten by time.
He wanted to give the crowd liberty, but he ended up giving them death.
In the sentence “The classroom was silent during the test,” “classroom” is used to refer to the students inside it. What figure of speech is this?
What is metonymy?
Which one contains Zeugma?
A. She opened the door and walked into the room.
B. He lost his keys and his temper.
C. The children played in the garden all afternoon.
D. I bought a new book from the store.
B. He lost his keys and his temper.
Multiple choice
A. I ran and I jumped and I scored.
B. I came, I saw, I conquered.
C. I ate pizza, pasta, and salad.
D. I like running or swimming or biking.
B. I came, I saw, I conquered.
In a mystery story, the reader learns that the friendly neighbor is secretly the person responsible for the crimes. The detective, unaware of this information, invites the neighbor to help investigate the case.
What type of irony is this?
A. Situational irony
B. Verbal irony
C. Dramatic irony
D. No irony
C — Dramatic irony
While antimetabole requires the exact repetition of words in reverse order ("Eat to live, not live to eat"), chiasmus flips grammatical structures or concepts without needing identical words. Which of the following lines from classical literature is a pure chiasmus, rather than an antimetabole?
A) "Suit the action to the word, the word to the action." (Shakespeare, Hamlet)
B) "The feast was bounteous, but our appetites were meager." (Anonymous)
C) "But O, what damned minutes tells he o'er who dotes, yet doubts; suspects, yet strongly loves!" (Shakespeare, Othello)
D) "Pleasure's a sin, and sometimes sin's a pleasure." (Lord Byron, Don Juan)
C) "But O, what damned minutes tells he o'er who dotes, yet doubts; suspects, yet strongly loves!" (Shakespeare, Othello)
Referring to a car as "wheels" or a business executive as a powerful "suit" relies on this rhetorical device.
Find Zeugma in the passage
As the storm rages outside, you can gather your thoughts and your umbrella before stepping into the rain. Taking a deep breath helps you hold your tongue and your breath while waiting for the thunder to pass. In moments like these, it is easy to lose your temper and your keys, but a quick pause can piece together your patience and your broken vase.
In moments like these, it is easy to lose your temper and your keys
Which of the following passages best shows a complex asyndeton
A) "She ran, she stumbled, she fell, and she cried out in the dark."
B) "The sun rose, the shadows fled, the day awakened, and the world began its endless turning."
C) "Pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty." (John F. Kennedy)
D) "An empty street, a vacant house, a silent clock ticking away the final seconds of an era."
C ("Pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.")
A king announces to his people, “No one in this kingdom has anything to fear from me. I am a ruler who always listens to the people.” The audience knows that the king has already ordered his guards to arrest anyone who publicly disagrees with him.
What type of irony is most clearly present?
A. Situational irony
B. Dramatic irony
C. Verbal irony
D. No irony
B — Dramatic irony
What is the difference between Chiasmus and Antithesis?
Antithesis contrasts two opposite ideas using a parallel sentence structure, chiasmus reverses the structure or word order of the ideas in a AB-BA pattern.
In the sentence “The suits in the office made the final decision,” the word “suits” refers to this group of people
Who are the business executives or people in charge?
Find Zeugma in the passage
As the rain poured down, Arthur sat in the decaying parlor, holding his breath and a faded photograph of his youth. He looked out the window at the empty street, knowing he had to leave before morning. With a heavy sigh, he took his coat and his leave, stepping out into the dark, unforgiving night.
holding his breath and a faded photograph of his youth.
Find it in a Passage
The storm grew stronger as the night continued. The wind howled, the rain crashed, the thunder roared, the trees shook. We stayed inside and listened to the storm from the safety of our home. By morning, the clouds had disappeared and the streets were quiet again.
The wind howled, the rain crashed, the thunder roared, the trees shook.
Read the passage carefully:
Marcus had spent twenty years trying to prove that his older brother had stolen money from their family's business. After finally finding what he believed was undeniable evidence, Marcus proudly presented the documents to the police. The investigation revealed that the documents were authentic—but they proved that Marcus himself had been taking the money for years. His brother had secretly covered up Marcus's theft to protect him from prison. As Marcus was led away, he whispered, “I finally got what I deserved.”
What type of irony is most important to the overall situation?
A. Verbal irony
B. Dramatic irony
C. Situational irony
D. There is no irony
C. Situational irony