Sounds

Definition: The repetition of a pair of sounds, words, phrases, or ideas in reverse order, producing an abba structure. Expanded on below, note that chiasmus is closely linked to antimetabole.

Note that historically, the meaning of this phrase is closely bound to antimetabole and the term chiasmus first appeared in English in 1871.

Examples:

·  In Paradise Lost, Satan attempts to rally the rebel angels with “The mind is its own place, and in itself / Can make a Heav’n of Hell, a Hell of Heav’n.”

·  In Genesis 9:6, it is said “Whoso sheds the blood of man, / By man his blood shall be shed.”

·  By Quintilian is “Non, ut edam, vivo; sed, ut vivam, edo” (I do not live that I may eat, but eat that I may live).

History:

The term chiasmus first appeared in English in 1871, but the term is closely bound up with that of antimetabole, whose use can date back to George Puttenham’s Arte of English Poesie in 1589. The essence of chaismus unveils the “natural invertability” of a hierarchy of two terms, which can be seen all the way back to Ugaritic texts around 1400-1200 BCE, possibly having influenced the composition of the Old Testament, as seen in the example above.

Uses:

Chaismus can be employed in small cases like those seen in the examples given, but it has also been employed on a much larger scale to mirror themes or ideas. The Iliad and the Odyssey are famously full of broader “ring” structures stretching reflected themes across the whole of each epic, called chiastic structure (when the literary techniques and narrative motifs are mirrored).

(Written by Gabriel Cowley)

Definition: Anaphora is a figure of speech in which words repeat at the beginning of successive clauses, phrases, or sentences. 

Examples: Martin Luther King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech contains anaphora: "So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania..." 

· 

History:

•  The Song of Songs, in the Old Testament of the Bible, contains many examples of anaphora. 

• "We Shall Fight on Beaches" speech from WW2 by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

• Robert F. Kennedy made an impassioned, impromptu speech in which he announced the civil rights leader MLK death to a largely African-American crowd in Indianapolis, and made a plea for peace.  

Uses: 

Often used in songs, speeches, or poems.

Source used: 

Anaphora - Definition and Examples | LitCharts

Definition:

• From The Princeton encyclopedia of poetry and poetics: "a repetition of structure or pattern in adjacent phrases or sentences." It is syntactic, meaning it usually relates to how words are arranged to form a coherent structure, but the repetition can also include the sound and rhythm of the words. The repetition of the sentence structures gives the poem a didactic feeling, like there is a message or hidden truth to the poem that is fleshed out in the structure itself. 

History:

• From The Princeton encyclopedia of poetry and poetics, this structure is used many times throughout the history of poetry, such as in Wisdom of Lao-Tse, biblical Hebrew verse, and other religious texts. 

My Response:

• Parallelism is a good way to simplify the message in a poem. If there is something a poet wants to get across to the reader, then parallelism gives the poem a solid structure that is easy to follow. If done too much, however, this simplicity could lead to creating poetry that sounds boring, especially if there is no playful or diverse sounds that go along with the repeated sentence structure. 

What is this poetic element like?

• Parallelism in poetry feels like the chorus of a song. It's meant to be repeated, it's the focus of the piece, and its memorable. Poets use parallelism a lot like songwriters use the chorus, to get a message across in a simple and rhythmic way. The other parts of the poem/song do contribute to the meaning of it and are important for building context for the parallelism/chorus to make sense. 

Example: 

From Walt Whitman's collection Calamus.

THE PRAIRIE-GRASS DIVIDING.

The prairie-grass dividing, its special odor breathing,

I demand of it the spiritual corresponding,

Demand the most copious and close companionship of men,

Demand the blades to rise of words, acts, beings,

Those of the open atmosphere, coarse, sunlit, fresh, nutritious,

Those that go their own gait, erect, stepping with freedom and  

command, leading not following,

Those with a never-quell'd audacity, those with sweet and lusty  

flesh clear of taint,

Those that look carelessly in the faces of Presidents and governors, 

as to say Who are you?

Those of earth-born passion, simple, never constrain'd, never  

obedient,

Those of inland America.

("Calamus," Leaves of Grass)

Definition:

• The repition of verse elements, such as rhyme, words, or grammatical structure, in reverse order, often following a pattern like ABBA.

  • Source: The Poetry Foundation

History:

• The word chiasmus comes from the Greek chiasma, or crossing. The chiasmus is found all across the bible and in Ancient texts, showing its importance across different facets on literature.

  • Source: scipturecentral.org

My Response:

• I honestly did not realize how common this is, and how often I encounter it. What strikes me the most about chiasmus is how satisfying it feels. While one could perceive it as repetitive, I read it as giving the sentence a sense of balance and completion. In a sense, the sentence folds back on itself. Furthermore, chaismus shows how much structure influences meaning. The structure is just as important as the words themselves.

What is this poetic element like?

• At first glance, chiasmus could be compared to a mirror or a seesaw. The way that the words are reflecting and balancing each other, it's a pretty direct comparison. However, as I was explaining this concept to my roommate, it reminded me of the worst meme of all time. Doing the seesaw hand motion made me think of the new, completely unfunny 6-7 joke. Moving your hands like a seesaw resembles the balancing of the chiasmus.

Example: 

• “But many that are first / Shall be last, / And many that are last / Shall be first”

  • Matthew 19:30

1. Definition: 

Terza rima is a verse form consisting of tercets (three-line stanzas) linked by an interlocking rhyme scheme: ABA BCB CDC, and so on, often concluding with a single line or couplet that completes the final rhyme. The form is most traditionally written in iambic pentameter in English. According to The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics (4th ed.), terza rima is notable for its forward-driving momentum, as each stanza’s middle rhyme anticipates the next, creating a sense of continuous movement. 

2. History: 

Terza rima originated in medieval Italy and is most famously associated with Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy (early 14th century). Dante designed the form to mirror theological ideas of progression, order, and unity, particularly the Christian concept of the Trinity. The form entered Anglophone poetry through Renaissance writers and was later adapted by poets such as Sir Thomas Wyatt, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Robert Frost. Because English has fewer rhymes than Italian, terza rima is considered technically demanding in English and is often used deliberately to showcase poetic control. This difficulty and prestige are emphasized in The Princeton Encyclopedia and discussed in entries on verse forms across poets.org and the Poetry Foundation. 

3. My Response: 

I find terza rima compelling because it feels almost inevitable—once the pattern begins, the poem must move forward. The interlocking rhyme forces continuity, making the poem feel like a journey rather than a series of isolated moments. In English especially, terza rima highlights the poet’s craftsmanship, since sustaining the rhyme without sounding forced is difficult. When it works, the form reinforces the poem’s thematic motion, whether that motion is spiritual, emotional, or intellectual. 

4. What is this poetic element like? 

Terza rima is often compared to ottava rima or chain rhyme, but it is distinct in how each stanza depends on the next. Unlike the closed, self-contained quatrain or couplet, terza rima is structurally unfinished until the poem ends. This makes it especially effective for poems about journeys, transitions, or arguments. As noted in The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics, the form’s propulsion makes it ideal for philosophical and narrative poetry rather than lyrical stillness. 

5. Example (Showing True Terza Rima): 

Dante Alighieri, Inferno, Canto I (1–9) 

Original Italian: 

Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita
mi ritrovai per una selva oscura,
ché la diritta via era smarrita. 

Ahi quanto a dir qual era è cosa dura
esta selva selvaggia e aspra e forte
che nel pensier rinova la paura! 

Tant’ è amara che poco è più morte;
ma per trattar del ben ch’i’ vi trovai,
dirò de l’altre cose ch’i’ v’ho scorte. 

Translation (original): 

Midway along the journey of our life
I found myself within a darkened wood,
for I had lost the straight and rightful path. 

Ah, how hard it is to say what that wood was—
so savage, harsh, and dense it was,
the very thought of it renews my fear. 

It is so bitter that death is hardly worse;

but to speak of the good that I found there,

I will tell of the other things I saw. 

1. Definition: 

Consonance and assonance are a sonic poetic element under the umbrella of alliteration. Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in a string of words. Assonance is the same kind of repetition, however using vowel sounds. 

2. History: 

Talking about the history of assonance and consonance is a difficult task due to its ubiquity across cultures and the general flexibility of the technique itself. For as long as we have created written, literary works, and even before that with oral tradition and song, the manipulation of sounds has been a key component, and one could imagine that the repetition of certain sounds would be seen as more pleasing. To say where the idea of emphasizing and repeating either vowel or consonant sounds originated is utterly impossible because this is such a simple exercise with language that we have utilized in some of the oldest texts we have. 

3. My Response: 

This is one of my favorite techniques to utilize because initial syllable alliteration can come off as campy or even just uninteresting in my opinion. Playing with the internal sounds of language is much more engaging, adding to the sense of rhythm present in a poem, and it also can present a challenge for the poet and the ways they stretch their own language. It can also be used to enhance imagery in almost onomatopoeia sense like if you were talking about a hard substance and then used a string of words that all emphasize the sound of a "t" or some other hard, staccato letter.   

4. What is this poetic element like? 

Consonance and assonance are like a metronome for poems. They tinnily tick across the line, maintaining a beat that can be followed to a tee. Every time it hits, you hear it. 

5. Example: 

"Crossing the Water" by Sylvia Plath

Black lake, black boat, two black, cut-paper people.

Where do the black trees go that drink here?

Their shadows must cover Canada.

A little light is filtering from the water flowers.

Their leaves do not wish us to hurry:

They are round and flat and full of dark advice.

Cold worlds shake from the oar.

The spirit of blackness is in us, it is in the fishes.

A snag is lifting a valedictory, pale hand;

Stars open among the lilies.

Are you not blinded by such expressionless sirens?

This is the silence of astounded souls. 

Definition:

• “It is a seven-line stanza rhyming ABABBCC,” often in iambic pentameter. That’s it. (Rhyme Royal in The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics (Fourth Ed.)).

History:

• Chaucer (14th century) thought that poetry was not complicated enough (The English again…) and thus smooched together French courtly poetry (The French again…) and ottava rima (The Italian again…) by adapting the ABABABCC structure into ABABBCC, thus creating a septet. 

• More seriously, it is said that Chaucer used rhyme royal “in a ballade-like way for reflection, philosophizing, and emotional expressiveness, as does his contemporary John Gower, who favors rhyme royal for philosophical love poetry.” (Rhyme Royal in The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics (Fourth Ed.)).

My Response:

• I had no idea what “rhyme royal” was before doing this research. It sounded to me as something very important since it is “royal”. But, in fact, it is royal only by association with the royal court of England, not because the poem is royal by itself. 

What is this poetic element like? (metaphor ou simile)

• On the one hand, it is as if they put a crown on a perfectly standard poem and decided that from now on it was considered royal. Can you imagine how silly it sounds? “It has been decided I am a King now, so here I am”. Ah...ah... On the other hand, it does actually look like it fits in a royal court, especially the English. 

Example: (only a short fragment)

Resolution and Independence

BY WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

There was a roaring in the wind all night;

The rain came heavily and fell in floods;

But now the sun is rising calm and bright;

The birds are singing in the distant woods;

Over his own sweet voice the Stock-dove broods;

The Jay makes answer as the Magpie chatters;

And all the air is filled with pleasant noise of waters.

All things that love the sun are out of doors;

The sky rejoices in the morning's birth;

The grass is bright with rain-drops;—on the moors

The hare is running races in her mirth;

And with her feet she from the plashy earth

Raises a mist, that, glittering in the sun,

Runs with her all the way, wherever she doth run.

I was a Traveller then upon the moor;

I saw the hare that raced about with joy;

I heard the woods and distant waters roar;

Or heard them not, as happy as a boy:

The pleasant season did my heart employ:

My old remembrances went from me wholly;

And all the ways of men, so vain and melancholy.

(...)

(from the Poetry Foundation website)