# Chiasmus > Repeating words or ideas in reverse order, A-B-B-A: "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." It makes a line balanced and memorable. Also known as antimetabole, inverted parallelism ## In practice Chiasmus is a figure of speech in which words or ideas are repeated in reverse order, in an A-B-B-A pattern. "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country" sets country and you in one order, then flips them. The reversal makes a line feel balanced and final, which is why so many famous quotations use it. The name comes from the Greek letter chi, written X, because if you write the two halves of a chiasmus on two lines and connect the matching words, the lines cross. Classical [rhetoric](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/rhetoric) treated it as a tool of emphasis and memory, and it appears throughout ancient literature, including the Hebrew Bible, where whole passages are built in mirrored order. A strict definition requires the same words to return reversed, a pattern often called antimetabole: "Fair is foul, and foul is fair." A looser one, common in teaching, accepts reversed ideas or grammatical structures without repeating the words. Either way, chiasmus is a cousin of [parallel structure](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/parallel-structure): parallelism repeats a pattern in the same order, and chiasmus repeats it backward. ## A reversal that lands a scene **A mentor's last line, built in mirror order** ``` INT. BOXING GYM - NIGHT Lights off except one. SAL (70s) unwinds the tape from DANI's (20s) hands. Her knuckles are split. DANI I keep losing. I don't know what I'm fighting for anymore. SAL You don't fight for the belt, kid. The belt is what you fight for when you've got nothing else. He drops the tape in the trash and turns off the last light. ``` Sal's line turns "fight for the belt" into "the belt is what you fight for" and lands on the meaning in the second half. In [dialogue](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/dialogue), chiasmus gives a character the sound of hard-won wisdom, which is exactly why it should be rare: one reversal can close a scene, while several make a character sound like a fortune cookie. ## Chiasmus examples From speeches: "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country" (John F. Kennedy, 1961). "Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind" (also Kennedy). Winston Churchill, after the victory at El Alamein in 1942: "Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." From literature: "Fair is foul, and foul is fair" (Macbeth). "Beauty is truth, truth beauty" (John Keats). "Do I love you because you're beautiful, or are you beautiful because I love you?" (Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella). "The first shall be last, and the last shall be first" (the Gospels). From everyday speech: "Eat to live, don't live to eat." "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." "Never let a fool kiss you or a kiss fool you." Each one sets up an order, flips it and puts the point in the reversal. ## Chiasmus vs. antimetabole and antithesis Antimetabole is the strict form: the same words repeated in reverse order, as in "Fair is foul, and foul is fair." Many rhetoricians treat antimetabole as a kind of chiasmus; others use chiasmus only for reversed ideas or grammar without repeated words, such as "By day the frolic, and the dance by night," where day and night swap places with their activities. [Antithesis](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/antithesis) sets opposed ideas side by side in parallel form, as in "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." A line can be both: "Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind" is a chiasmus built from an antithesis. For an essay or an exam, it is enough to name the reversal and explain what it does. ## How to use chiasmus in writing Use it for the line you want remembered. Chiasmus works best at the end of a paragraph, a speech or a scene, where its sense of closure lands. In an essay's conclusion, a reversal can restate the thesis in a form the reader keeps: "We do not read to escape our lives; our lives are what we escape into when we read." Keep it simple. The pattern needs two clear terms the reader can track, and short clauses so the reversal is heard. If you need to explain which word went where, the line is too complicated. Use it rarely. Chiasmus is conspicuous, and two in a page start to sound like slogans. In dialogue, give it to a character who would speak that way, such as a preacher, a politician or a mentor, and let other characters notice when it is too neat. ## How to analyze chiasmus in a text In a [rhetorical analysis](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/rhetorical-analysis), identify the two terms that switch places, then ask what the reversal does. Often it shifts emphasis: in Kennedy's line, the second half puts "you" in charge, which is the speech's call to action. Sometimes it reveals a [paradox](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/paradox), as in Macbeth, where the reversal says good and evil have become impossible to tell apart. Name the effect in your own words: balance, memorability, emphasis, [irony](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/irony) or closure. Pair it with the speaker's purpose and audience, the way you would treat [ethos, pathos and logos](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/ethos-pathos-logos), so the device is evidence for a claim rather than a label on a list. ## Official sources & context Sources reviewed Nov 6, 2026 - [Merriam-Webster — Chiasmus](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chiasmus) - [Britannica — Chiasmus](https://www.britannica.com/art/chiasmus) [Draft it in Canvas](https://www.inkwell.software/canvas) ## Common questions ### What is chiasmus? Chiasmus is a rhetorical device that repeats words or ideas in reverse order, in an A-B-B-A pattern, such as "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." ### How do you pronounce chiasmus? Kye-AZ-mus, with a hard k sound at the start, because the word comes from the Greek letter chi (χ). ### What is an example of chiasmus? "Fair is foul, and foul is fair" from Macbeth, "Eat to live, don't live to eat," and Kennedy's "Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind." ### What is the difference between chiasmus and antimetabole? Antimetabole repeats the same words in reverse order. Chiasmus is the broader term and can reverse ideas or grammatical structures without repeating words. Many sources treat antimetabole as a type of chiasmus. ### What is the effect of chiasmus? It makes a line balanced, emphatic and memorable, and it often shifts the emphasis to the second half or reveals a paradox, which is why it is common in speeches and closing lines. ### Is chiasmus the same as parallelism? No. Parallelism repeats a structure in the same order; chiasmus repeats it in reverse. Both rely on balance, and chiasmus is sometimes called inverted parallelism. ### Why is it called chiasmus? From the Greek letter chi (X). If you write the two halves on separate lines and connect the matching words, the connecting lines form an X. ## Related terms - [Parallel Structure](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/parallel-structure): Giving matching ideas in a sentence the same grammatical form: "hiking, swimming and biking", not "hiking, swimming and to ride a bike." It keeps lists clear and gives lines rhythm. - [Anaphora](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/anaphora): The repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive sentences or clauses, used to build rhythm and emphasis in speeches, poems and dialogue. - [Antithesis](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/antithesis): A rhetorical device that sets contrasting ideas against each other, often in parallel phrases or clauses. The balanced wording makes the opposition easy to hear: ‘We protect the building; we abandon the people.’ - [Anadiplosis](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/anadiplosis): Repeating the last word or phrase of one clause at the start of the next: ‘We need trust. Trust takes time.’ The repeated ending becomes a bridge into the next thought. --- Canonical page: