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"antithesis"
Definition: Juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases. See also: parallelism and isocolon.
Etymology:
From the Greek, "opposition"
Examples and Observations:
- "Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing."
(Goethe)
- "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."
(Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities)
- "I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dryrot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time."
(Jack London)
- "Everybody doesn't like something, but nobody doesn't like Sara Lee."
(slogan for Sara Lee baked goods)
- "We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools."
(Martin Luther King, Jr., speech at St. Louis, 1964)
- "You're easy on the eyes
Hard on the heart."
(Terri Clark)
- "All the joy the world contains
Has come through wishing happiness for others.
All the misery the world contains
Has come through wanting pleasure for oneself."
(Shantideva)
- "The more acute the experience, the less articulate its expression."
(Harold Pinter)
- "Hillary has soldiered on, damned if she does, damned if she doesn't, like most powerful women, expected to be tough as nails and warm as toast at the same time."
(Anna Quindlen, "Say Goodbye to the Virago," Newsweek, June 16, 2003)
 Pronunciation: an-TITH-uh-sis |
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