Chiasmus DefinitionChiasmus is a rh

Chiasmus Definition
Chiasmus is a rhetorical device in which two or more clauses are balanced against each other by the reversal of their structures in order to produce an artistic effect.
Let us try to understand chiasmus with the help of an example:
“Never let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You.”
Notice that the second half of the above mentioned sentence is an inverted form of the first half both grammatically and logically. In the simplest sense, the term chiasmus applies to almost all “criss-cross” structures and this is the concept that is common these days. In its strict classical sense, however, the function of chiasmus is to reverse grammatical structure or ideas of sentences given that the same words and phrases are not repeated.
Chiasmus Examples in Literature
The use of chiasmus as a rhetorical device dates back to the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. Its traces have been found in the ancient texts of Sanskrit and also in the ancient Chinese writings. Greeks, however, developed an unmatched inclination for this device and made it an essential part of the art of oration.
Below are a few samples from famous Greek sages:
Example #1
“It is not the earth that makes us believe the man,
but the man the oath.” – Aeschylus (5th Century B.C.)
Example #2
“Love as if you would one day hate,
and hate as if you would one day love.” – Bias (6th Century B.C.)
Example #3
“Bad men live that they may eat and drink,
whereas good men eat and drink that they may live.” – Socrates (5th Century B.C.)
Example #4
The value of marriage is not that adults produce children, but that children produce adults. - Peter de Vries
Example #5
Do I love you because you're beautiful? Or are you beautiful because I love you? - Oscar Hammerstein.
Example #6
They don't care about how much you know until they know how much you care - Jim Calhoun.
Example #7
I'd rather be looked than over looked. - Mae West.
Example #8
In the blue grass region, A paradox was born: The corn was full of kernals And the colonels full of corn. - John Marshall.
Example #9
Some have an idea that the reason we in this country discard things so readily is because we have so much. The facts are exactly opposite - the reason we have so much is simply because we discard things so readily. - Alfred P. Solan.
Example #10
Don't sweat the petty things, and don't pet the sweaty things. - Jacquelyn Small.
Example #11
One should eat to live, not live to eat. - Cicero.
Example #12
In the 70's I threw in the 90's; In the 90's I throw in the 70's. - Frank Tanana.
Example #13
I find Paul appealing and Peale appalling. - Adlai Stevenson.
Example #14
There are trivial truths and great truths. The opposite of a trivial truth is plainly false.
The opposite of a great truth is also true. - Niels Bohr.
Example #15
The instinct of a man is to pursue everything that flies from him, and to fly from all that pursues him. - Voltaire.
Example #16
The art of progress is to preserve order amid change, and to preserve change amid order. - Alfred North Whitehead.

Example #17
Our very hopes belied our fears, our fears our hopes belied;
Example #18
We thought her dying when she slept, and sleeping when she died. - Thomas Hood.
Example #19
She would rather fool with a bee than be with a fool. - John Kendrick Bangs.
Example #20
This isn't a bar for writers with a drinking problem; it's for drinkers with a writing problem. - Judy Joice.
Example #21
Infantile love follows the principle: "I love because I am loved." Mature love follows the principle: "I am loved because I love." Immature love says: "I love you because I need you." Mature love says: "I need you because I love you." - Erich Fromm