antithesis

Pronunciation

anˈtiθəsis

Definition

A rhetorical* device in which two ideas are directly opposed. For a statement to be truly antithetical, the opposing ideas must be presented in a grammatically parallel way, thus creating a perfect rhetorical balance.

*rhetoric is the art of effective or persuasive writing or speaking, especially the use of figures of speech.

Examples

That's one small step for [a] man; one giant leap for mankind."

-- Neil Armstrong, Apollo 11 Moon Landing Speech

As he said many times, in many parts of this nation, to those he touched and who sought to touch him: 'Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not.'" -- Edward Kennedy, Eulogy for Robert F. Kennedy

Note: In this case there are two different, successive antitheses.

We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedom, symbolizing an end as well as a beginning, signifying renewal as well as change."

-- John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address

Can you find the antitheses?

"We find ourselves rich in goods but ragged in spirit, reaching with magnificent precision for the moon but falling into raucous discord on earth. We are caught in war, wanting peace. We're torn by division, wanting unity.”

-- Richard M. Nixon, Inaugural Address

"We find ourselves rich in goods but ragged in spirit, reaching with magnificent precision for the moon but falling into raucous discord on earth. We are caught in war, wanting peace. We're torn by division, wanting unity.”

Note: In this case there are four different, successive antitheses.

More examples:

"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”

--(Martin Luther King, Jr., speech at St. Louis, 1964)

"The more acute the experience, the less articulate its expression.”

--(Harold Pinter)

     The opening lines of Charles Dicken’s A Tale of Two Cities (1859) imply antithesis:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of  wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way. . . .

This passage from John Lyly’s Euphues (1579) relies heavily on antithesis:

                “So likewise in the disposition of the mind, either virtue is overshadowed with some vice or vice overcast with some virtue: Alexander valiant in war, yet given to wine; Tully eloquent in his glozes [flattering or fine speeches], yet vainglorious; Solomon wise, yet too too wanton; David holy, but yet an                         homicide; none more witty than Euphues, yet at the first none more wicked.”

Former US president Ronald Reagan’s speeches made frequent use of antithesis. In one speech contrasting totalitarianism and freedom, two ideas that are themselves antithetical, Reagan asked:

“Who would voluntarily choose not to have a right to vote, decide to purchase government propaganda handouts instead of independent newspapers, prefer                         government to worker-controlled unions, opt for land to be owned by the state instead of those who till it, want government repression of religious liberty, a single political party instead of a free choice, a rigid cultural orthodoxy instead of democratic tolerance and diversity?”

Activity

Write three antitheses of your own:• One that shows the contrast between school

days and vacation days;• one that distinguishes childhood from

adolescence or adulthood;• and one that expresses the paradoxical nature of

something (for example, how a special holiday like Christmas can be both wonderful and awful).

• Or, choose your own topic.• You could try to capture your oppositions in one

sentence for each, or write more than one.• Create a graphic that illustrates the antithetical

nature of one of your descriptions.

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/figures/antithesis.htm