Literary notes about antithetical (AI summary)
In literature, "antithetical" is employed as a device for establishing and emphasizing sharp contrasts, whether between themes, characters, or stylistic elements. Writers use it to structure compositions where opposing ideas are deliberately balanced against one another to enhance meaning, such as in the carefully ordered stanzas of a poem ([1]) or in the distinct arrangement of couplets that set differing tones in opposition ([2]). It also appears in argumentative prose where conflicting doctrines or intrinsic oppositions are highlighted to underscore deeper syntheses of thought ([3], [4]), and even to characterize a personal style that mingles contradictory qualities, lending an edge to narrative or descriptive passages ([5], [6]). This strategic deployment not only enhances aesthetic appeal but also invites readers to engage with the tension between contrasting elements.
- Observe the antithetical structure of this stanza, both in the Stichomuthia , or balance of line against line, and in the lines themselves.
— from Spenser's The Faerie Queene, Book I by Edmund Spenser - ( b ) There is a tendency to antithetical arrangement of tones in the two lines of a couplet, especially in the last part of the lines.
— from A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems - The resolution of two antithetical ideas in a third of a superior order is what the school calls SYNTHESIS.
— from System of Economical Contradictions; Or, The Philosophy of Misery by P.-J. (Pierre-Joseph) Proudhon - The first two terms in each triad evidently form an antithetical couple, of which the third term is the synthesis.
— from History of Modern Philosophy by Alfred William Benn - I must limp after in my poor antithetical manner, as the fates have given me grace and talent.
— from The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb — Volume 2 by Charles Lamb and Mary Lamb - He is often antithetical, but is a profound thinker.
— from The Life and Letters of Elizabeth Prentiss by George Lewis Prentiss
