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Antithesis

Rhetorical Devices
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Antithesis places contrasting ideas, words, or images in a balanced structure. The contrast clarifies differences and gives language force and symmetry.

Detailed Definition
Antithesis is a rhetorical device that sets opposing concepts beside one another, often in parallel grammatical phrasing. It may contrast life and death, light and darkness, freedom and confinement, or hope and despair. In poetry, this balance makes conflict audible and visible, giving abstract ideas a sharp formal shape. Antithesis can express divided emotion, moral tension, or the instability of human experience. By making opposites meet within one phrase or line, poets invite readers to consider how contrary forces define, challenge, or depend upon each other.
Example
Example in poetry:
“To err is human, to forgive divine” contrasts human limitation with divine grace; “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” from Dickens sets opposites side by side; “Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall” from Shakespeare contrasts rise and fall; “The city roared outside, but inside the room all was still” opposes noise and quiet
Additional Notes
Antithesis gains force from parallel structure, which lets opposing ideas stand in clear relation: light and dark, freedom and confinement, speech and silence. The opposition need not be simple contradiction; it may reveal tension or paradox. Pair balanced syntax with meaningful contrast rather than relying on opposites alone.
Other Meanings of “Antithesis”
Also Known As
Contrast Opposition Balanced Contraries Counterstatement
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