Antithesis

Takeaways

• It sharpens conflict by giving opposed ideas equal syntactic weight.
• The grammar should clarify the opposition rather than merely decorate it.
• Too neat a contrast can simplify a more complex emotional reality.

Overview

Antithesis places contrasting meanings inside balanced or parallel structure. The reader feels the opposition because the sentence holds both sides in comparable shape.

Examples

• He wanted silence; she wanted an answer.
• The city remembered its victories and forgot its dead.