Antithesis

__//Antithesis//__


 * D** **efinition::** //Antithesis,// an opposition or contrast of ideas, expressed by using the corresponding members of 2 sentences or clauses. Words are opposites of, or strongly contrasted with, each other. In other words, it is a counter-proposition and it denotes a direct contrast to the original proposition (idea).


 * Origin::** From the Greek, "setting opposite", "against", and "position".

Definition taken from (wikipedia.org) and (merriam-webster.com).

1) "They spoke as we do not speak, in silence yet heard of each other, nor were their thoughts as our thoughts." ("Chu-bu and Sheemish" by Lord Dunsany).
 * Examples** from text:
 * In this passage, the first phrase or clause is contrasted with the second. The words are contrasted with each other and the second part of the phrase is opposite of the first part.

2) "Since I shall worship you until the day I draw my last breath, please believe that the sentiments you inspire rise above all human actions, and that it is as impossible for me not to feel them as it is for you to cease to be worthy of inspiring them." ("The Effects of Despair" or "Miss Henrietta Stralson" from The Marquis De Sade).
 * In this quote the male character in the story, Williams, is professing his love for the female character, Henrietta. When he states that "it is as impossible for me not to feel them as it is for you to cease to be worthy of inspiring them", he is expressing how he feels in one way but then turns it around and explains how she gives off these feelings in another way. The ideas and words that he expresses at first are then repeated in a contradictory way.

(MN)