Crafting Chiasmus and Anaphora Worksheet

Directions: There are two parts to this assignment. Read each section carefully and follow the instructions.

Part 1: Analysis

Explain in two to three sentences each the meaning, effect, and effectiveness of the following chiasmus examples:

1. “I wasted time, and now time doth waste me,”—William Shakespeare, Richard II
2. “Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind.”—John F. Kennedy, speech to the United Nations General Assembly
3. “Bad men live that they may eat and drink, whereas good men eat and drink that they may live.”—Socrates

Explain in two to three sentences each the meaning, effect, and effectiveness of the following anaphora examples:

4. “Cannon to right of them,
   Cannon to left of them,
   Cannon in front of them
   Volley’d and thunder’d;”—Lord Alfred Tennyson, from “The Charge of the Light Brigade”
5. “We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills.”—Winston Churchill, Speech to the House of Commons
6. “But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate – we cannot hallow – this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us – that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”—Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address

Part 2: Application

Now, it is your turn! Write a well-developed paragraph of at least 6–8 sentences in which your purpose is to move your audience to action or challenge them to think differently about something. Choose any topic that is school-appropriate, and use your diction and syntax to create either a humorous tone or serious tone. Use chiasmus and anaphora to help you achieve your purpose.

In a brief reflection, identify your purpose, your tone, and where you used chiasmus and anaphora. Discuss the effects you were hoping to achieve with each technique and comment on your effectiveness.

Sample Solution