The Online Scholar Institute

📌 Chiasmus

Definition:
Chiasmus is a rhetorical or literary device in which the structure of the first part of a sentence or phrase is reversed in the second part to create a mirror-like effect.

🪞 Think of it as A-B / B-A structure.

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✅ Example:

“Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.”
— John F. Kennedy

• Structure:
  • A = your country
  • B = you
  • Then reversed: B = you, A = your country

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🎯 Another Example:

“You forget what you want to remember, and you remember what you want to forget.”
— Cormac McCarthy

And there you go! So go ahead and use chiasmus in your CXC prep/ CSEC prep.

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