v Parallelism
Definition
Parallelism
is the use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the same; or
similar in their construction, sound, meaning or meter. Parallelism examples
are found in literary works as well as in ordinary conversations.
This
method adds balance and rhythm to sentences giving ideas a smoother flow and
thus can be persuasive because of the repetition it employs. For example,
“Alice ran into the room, into the garden, and into our hearts.” We see the
repetition of a phrase that not only gives the sentence a balance but rhythm
and flow as well. This repetition can also occur in similar structured clauses
e.g. “Whenever you need me, wherever you need me, I will be there for you.”
v Common
Parallelism Examples
·
Like
father, like son.
·
The
escaped prisoner was wanted dead or alive.
·
Easy
come, easy go.
·
Whether
in class, at work or at home, Shasta was always busy.
·
Flying
is fast, comfortable, and safe.
v Examples of
Parallelism in Literature
In
literature, parallelism is used in different ways to impress upon the readers
in order to convey messages or moral lessons. Let us analyze a few examples of
parallelism in literature:
Example #1
Antithesis
is a kind of parallelism in which two opposite ideas are put together in parallel
structures. Alexander Pope in his “An Essay on Criticism” uses antithetic
parallel structure:
“To
err is human; to forgive divine.”
Imperfection
is a human trait and God is most forgiving. Through these antithetical but
parallel structures, the poet wants to say that God is forgiving because his
creation is erring.
Example #2
We
find parallelism in John Donne’s poem “Community”,
“Good
we must love, and must hate ill,
For
ill is ill, and good good still;
But
there are things indifferent,
Which
we may neither hate, nor love,
But
one, and then another prove,
As
we shall find our fancy bent.”
Contrasting
ideas of “good” and “ill”, “love” and “hate” are placed together in parallel
structures to emphasize the fact that we love good because it is always good
and we hate bad because it is always bad.
Example #3
We
see the repetition of parallel structures in the following lines from “A Tale
of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens:
“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.
By
repeating “It was…” in the passage, the readers are prompted to focus on the
traits of the “age” they will read about in the succeeding passages.
Example #4
We
see William Blake employ Parallelism in his poem “The Tyger”:
“What
the hammer? what the chain?
In
what furnace was thy brain?
What
the anvil? what dread grasp
Dare
its deadly terrors clasp?”
The
use of parallel structures, starting with “what”, creates a beautiful rhythm in
the above lines.
Example #5
Parallelism
takes form of “Diazeugma” in which a single subject is connected with multiple
verbs. Read the following lines from the speech of Norfolk in William
Shakespeare Henry VIII, Act 3, Scene 2:
“My
lord, we have
Stood
here observing him: Some strange commotion
Is
in his brain: he bites his lip, and starts;
Stops
on a sudden, looks upon the ground,
Then,
lays his finger on his temple; straight,
Springs
out into fast gait; then, stops again,
Strikes
his breast hard; and anon, he casts
His
eye against the moon: in most strange postures
We
have seen him set himself.”
The
use of multiple verbs in the above lines creates a dramatic effect in the
speech of Norfolk that makes his description vivid.
v Function of
Parallelism
The
use of parallel structures in speech or writing allows speakers and writers to
maintain a consistency within their work and create a balanced flow of ideas.
Moreover, it can be employed as a tool for persuasion as well because of the
repetition it uses.
