Parallelism/Chiasmus: Repeat After Me - Rhetoric Series | Academy 4 Social

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Parallelism/Chiasmus: Lesson Plan

Topic

Parallelism is essentially similar or repeating grammatical structures within a

clause or sentence, which can also take the form of repeating words or phrases.
Meanwhile, chiasmus reverses the structure or word order of the second of two
parallel clauses or sentences to create a slightly different meaning and put
emphasis on the specific words that were reversed. Both parallelism and
chiasmus are literary devices that feature heavily in works of spoken word and
advertisement.

Possible subjects/classes Time needed

Linguistics, Literature, Poetry, English,

30-45 minutes
Public Speaking

Video link:

https://academy4sc.org/topic/parallelism-chiasmus-repeat-after-me/

Objective: What will students know/be able to do at the end of class?

Students will be able to...

● Define both parallelism and chiasmus.
● Identify literary samples as either examples of parallelism or chiasmus.
● Form original sentences that use parallelism and/or chiasmus.

Key Concepts & Vocabulary

Literary technique

Materials Needed

Worksheet

Before you watch

 Parallelism/Chiasmus: Repeat After Me - Rhetoric Series | Academy 4 Social
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Work in pairs: Give each pair a copy of the two pieces of writing on the
Worksheet. One student should read the poem, and one should read the speech.
Then, they should each answer the following questions:
1. What is the purpose of using repetition in this work?
2. Please come up with a specific pattern or formula that the author uses to
create a repetitive effect in their writing.
Then, with their partner, discuss the answers and compare and contrast the two
works.

While you watch

1. Define Parallelism.
2. Define Chiasmus.
3. What purposes do these rhetorical devices serve? (name at least 2)
4. Where might you see them commonly used?

After you watch/discussion questions

1. Name one other example of either parallelism or chiasmus from famous

literature. (If you can’t think of one, make up an example of either
parallelism or chiasmus.)
2. Parallelism and chiasmus often feature in religious texts. Why do you think
that is?
3. What might be one benefit and one drawback to using more parallelism in
your writing?

Activity Ideas

● Complete the Worksheet alone, in pairs, or groups, and share some

answers with the class.
● Have students imagine that they will be giving a speech to the school about
an issue or current event that they care about. Write a two minute speech
that uses either parallelism or chiasmus. This activity could be expanded
into a larger public speaking assignment that leads to class presentations.

Sources/places to learn more

1. Alice E. M. Underwood. “Parallelism.” Parallelism In Writing | Grammarly

Blog, 26 Jan. 2016, https://www.grammarly.com/blog/parallelism/.
 Parallelism/Chiasmus: Repeat After Me - Rhetoric Series | Academy 4 Social
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2. Berlin, Adele. The Dynamics of Biblical Parallelism. Indiana University Press,

1992.
3. Geller, Stephen A. Parallelism in Early Hebrew Poetry. Brill, 1979. brill.com,
https://brill.com/view/title/39164.
4. Nänny, Max. “Chiasmus in Literature: Ornament or Function?” Word &
Image, vol. 4, no. 1, Jan. 1988, pp. 51–59. caa.tandfonline.com (Atypon),
doi:10.1080/02666286.1988.10436219.
5. Welch, John W. “Criteria for Identifying and Evaluating the Presence of
Chiasmus.” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies (1992-2007), vol. 4, no. 2,
1995, pp. 1–14.