by Barbara McNichol
Using figures of speech in our writing make it fun. Truly my favorite figure of speech is the chiasmus (ky-AZ-mus). That’s when words in a sentence mirror each other.
Politicians have made them famous (e.g., Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. – John F. Kennedy). Experts have made them accessible and even fun (e.g., Dr. Mardy Grothe’s book: Never Let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You: Chiasmus and a World of Quotations That Say What They Mean and Mean What They Say)
My contribution to the joy of words is a 4-page Chiasmus Collection I’d like to share. Simply email me with Chiasmus Collection in the subject line.
The ones I’ve included come from years of gleaning them from authors, clients, and subscribers in my daily editing work.
A few choice examples:
It is not true that people stop pursuing dreams because they grow old; they grow old because they stop pursuing dreams. – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Write only what you love, and love what you write. – Ray Bradbury
New York is the perfect model of a city, not the model of a perfect city. – Sir Lewis Mumford
What is your favorite chiasmus? Share it here!
Request my 4-page Chiasmus Collection.
This is a lovely reminder. I once wrote a series of little known literary term for a writers’ magazine. You have inspired me to dig it out. Our language is, indeed, a poem. Perhaps an epic! All languages are treasures. Thank you!