Antithesis

Antithesis (pl.: antitheses; Greek for "setting opposite", from ἀντι- "against" and θέσις "placing") is used in writing or speech either as a proposition that contrasts with or reverses some previously mentioned proposition, or when two opposites are introduced together for contrasting effect.

As a rhetorical device, antithesis is a figure of speech in which seemingly contradictory ideas, phrases, or clauses are introduced using a balanced grammatical structure. An antithesis must always contain two ideas within one statement. The ideas may not be structurally opposite, but they serve to be functionally opposite when comparing two ideas for emphasis.

According to Aristotle, the use of an antithesis makes the audience better understand the point the speaker is trying to make. Further explained, the comparison of two situations or ideas makes choosing the correct one simpler. Aristotle states that antithesis in rhetoric is similar to syllogism due to the presentation of two conclusions within a statement.

Antitheses are used to strengthen an argument by using either exact opposites or simply contrasting ideas, but can also include both. They typically make a sentence more memorable for the reader or listener through balance and emphasis of the words.

Rhetorical antithesis

Antithesis has two rhetorical definitions (detailed by Rhetorica ad Herennium and Alexandrum):

Antithesis of wording as a figure of diction involves the juxtaposing of ideas by an obvious contrast in the words, clauses, or sentences, within a parallel grammatical structure in one sentence.