What is antithesis? A rhetorical device for Emphasizing Two Opposing worlds

White or black? Up or down? Left or right?

Juxtaposing opposites is an incredibly effective tool in communication. This tool sharpens issues, making them clearer, more distinct, and more understandable. Simultaneously, it adds emotion to our presentations or speeches. In rhetoric, this tool has a name: antithesis.

Antithesis is a rhetorical device that juxtaposes strongly contrasting ideas, concepts, or terms. It usually consists of sentences where two independent parts are separated by a comma or conjunction. Antithesis is primarily used to show a clear difference between two opposing ideas.

The word antithesis itself comes from Greek and means opposition (Gr. ἀντίθεσις antíthesis). Another name for it is contrapositum.

Examples of Antithesis in Communication

  • There is a time to be born and a time to die.
  • Hope for the best; prepare for the worst.
  • Keep your mouth shut and your eyes wide open.
  • It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness. – Charles Dickens
  • That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. – Neil Armstrong
  • Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. – John F. Kennedy
  • We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools. – Martin Luther King Jr.
  • Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven. – John Milton
  • Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice. – William Shakespeare
  • Keep your friends close; your enemies closer.
  • To err is human, to forgive divine. – Alexander Pope
  • Money is the root of all evil, and poverty is the fruit of all good.
  • Love is ideal, marriage is real. – Goethe
  • People without faults have few virtues. – Abraham Lincoln
  • Man proposes, God disposes.
  • Be slow in choosing, but slower in changing.

When to Use Antithesis?

Antithesis forms the fabric of many stories. “Star Wars” is a tale of the struggle between the light and dark sides of the Force. The story of David and Goliath is a clash between strength and cunning. Many fairy tales depict the battle between good and evil.

As we can see, good narratives often utilize this dualism. Depicting the world in terms of two poles creates the framework of an interesting story. That’s just how we are – we like to perceive things in binary terms. Something is either good or bad. Something is either light or dark. Something is either easy or difficult. Speakers who refer to such bipolar comparisons seem clearer. They speak more distinctly, more understandably, more accessibly. We like such speakers.

Of course, the world is not always so black and white. Often, the truth about the described matters is not black and white, but gray. But let’s consider this for a moment: if a speaker says that things are neither black nor white but gray – what do we, as listeners, gain from it? Well, perhaps such an answer is closer to the truth, but the truth is also that listeners can do little with such an answer. We don’t adopt any clear point of view, and thus we don’t take any specific action. Speaking in a nuanced way – although it may be closer to the truth – often leads communication astray. Nuanced communication – heavily emphasizing the gray shades of reality – is very rarely effective. In this sense, it is ineffective because it does not lead listeners to specific goals. Effective communication, and thus persuasive, much more often takes the form of dichotomies – juxtapositions of opposites, contrasts. They are like this. We are like that. They are weak. We are strong. Or the other way around.

Juxtaposing opposites builds clear, distinct visions in the minds of listeners. Only based on distinct visions can listeners take action. And that’s what communicators want.

Rhetoric and Mastery of Communication

Antithesis sounds particularly good when it takes the form of parallelism. Parallelism is a rhetorical device that involves using the same grammatical structures in at least two adjacent phrases or sentences. For example: “Agreement builds, discord destroys.”

This is a classic example of both antithesis and parallelism. Thanks to parallelism, this saying has a nicely sounding, harmonious rhythm. Two words in the first part, two words in the second part, with the first word in both being the subject and the second the predicate. If we wanted to express the same thought with antithesis but without parallelism, it might sound like this: “Agreement builds, but discord causes chaos.” Here, the harmony is lost.

Other examples of antithesis with parallelism:

  • They learned to fight. But they did not learn to reconcile.
  • To err is human. To forgive, divine. – Alexander Pope
  • United we stand, divided we fall.
  • We train during the day. We rest at night.
  • Love is ideal, marriage is real. – Goethe
  • The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left (Ecclesiastes 10:2).

Want to elevate your communication to an even higher level? Ask me about my communication and presentation training.