Chiastic structure
Encyclopedia
Chiastic structure is a literary device
for chiasmus
applied to narrative motif
s, turns of phrase, or whole passages. Various structures of chiasmus are commonly seen in ancient literature to emphasize, parallel, or contrast concepts or ideas. Examples of chiastic structures are the A,B,C...C,B,A pattern and the ABBAABB…ABBA pattern. Chiastic structure s are sometimes called palistrophes, chiasms, symmetric structures, ring structures, or concentric structures.
These often symmetrical patterns are commonly found in ancient literature such as the epic poetry
of Odyssey
and Iliad
. Various chiastic structures are also seen in the Hebrew Bible
and the New Testament
, where biblical writers used chiasmus to give meaning to their writings or to highlight details of particular importance.
, which refers to a crosswise arrangement of concepts or words that are repeated in reverse order. Chiasmus derives from from the Greek
word khiasmos, a word that is khiazein, marked with the letter khi
. From khi comes chi.
Chi is made up of two lines crossing each other as in the shape of an X. The line that starts leftmost on top, comes down, and is rightmost on the bottom, and vice versa. If one thinks of the lines as concepts, one sees that concept A, which comes first, is also last, and concept B, which comes after A, comes before A. If one adds in more lines representing other concepts, one gets a chiastic structure with more concepts.
is especially rich in chiastic structure, possibly as an aid in memorization. In his study of the Iliad
and the Odyssey
, Cedric Whitman, for instance, finds a chiastic structure "of the most amazing virtuosity" that simultaneously performed both aesthetic and mnemonic functions, permitting the oral poet to easily recall the basic formulae of the composition during performances.
is the chiastic structure running from the middle of Exodus through the end of Leviticus
. The structure begins with the covenant made between God
and the Hebrew People
at Mount Sinai
, as described in the Torah, and ends with the admonition from God (YHWH) to the Hebrews of what will happen if they will not follow his laws, which is also a sort of covenant. The main ideas are in the middle of Leviticus, from chapter 11 through chapter 20. Those chapters deal with the holiness
in the Tabernacle
and the holiness of the Israelite people in general. The chiastic structure points the reader to the central idea, that of the expected holiness (set-apartness) of the Israelite people in everything they do. In David Dorsey's book and in his teaching, he poses that the chiastic structure provides a former of interpretive control by the authors of the various books in the Hebrew Scriptures.
The ABBAABB…ABBA pattern emphasizes the contrast between the two sons of Adam, Cain and Abel
. The Torah
describes their names, their occupations, and their offerings. Cain is mentioned first, then Abel twice, then Cain twice, and so on. The structure draws attention to the differences between Cain and Abel, pointing out the essential difference in their personalities.
is composed of a double-chiasm. He supports the theory that the chiastic structure is emphasized by the two languages that the book is written in: Aramaic and Hebrew. The first chiasm is written in Aramaic from chapters 2-7 following an ABC...CBA pattern. The second chiasm is in Hebrew from chapters 8-12, also using the ABC...CBA pattern, however, Shea represents Daniel 9:26 as "D", a break in the center of the pattern.
, David Buckwalter proposes that the chiastic structure of the New Testament is a form of punctuation keyed on the words used in the original Greek texts. In the original Greek, these structures would have been clear to its contemporary audience, however they are not so apparent in modern translations. Like Dorsey's analyis with the Hebrew Bible, Buckwalter also believes that the New testament chiastic structure serves as a form of interpretive control.
origin, such as Beowulf
, chiastic or ring structures are often found on an intermediate level, that is, between the (verbal and/or grammatical) level of chiasmus
and the higher level of chiastic structure such as noted in the Torah. John D. Niles provides examples of chiastic figures on all three levels. He notes that for the instances of ll. 12-19, the announcement of the birth of (Danish) Beowulf, are chiastic, more or less on the verbal level, that of chiasmus. Then, each of the three main fights are organized chiastically, a chiastic structure on the level of verse paragraphs and shorter passages. For instance, the simplest of these three, the fight with Grendel
, is schematized as follows:
A: Preliminaries
A': Aftermath
Finally, Niles provides a diagram of the highest level of chiastic structure, the organization of the poem as a whole, in an introduction, three major fights with interludes before and after the second fight (with Grendel's mother), and an epilogue. To illustrate, he analyzes Prologue and Epilogue as follows:
Prologue
A: Panegyric for Scyld
Epilogue
A': Eulogy for Beowulf
's Paradise Lost
is also of the ABC…CBA type:
A: Satan's sinful actions (Books 1-3)
A': Humankind's sinful actions (Books 10-12)
Literary technique
A literary technique is any element or the entirety of elements a writer intentionally uses in the structure of their work...
for chiasmus
Chiasmus
In rhetoric, chiasmus is the figure of speech in which two or more clauses are related to each other through a reversal of structures in order to make a larger point; that is, the clauses display inverted parallelism...
applied to narrative motif
Motif (narrative)
In narrative, a motif is any recurring element that has symbolic significance in a story. Through its repetition, a motif can help produce other narrative aspects such as theme or mood....
s, turns of phrase, or whole passages. Various structures of chiasmus are commonly seen in ancient literature to emphasize, parallel, or contrast concepts or ideas. Examples of chiastic structures are the A,B,C...C,B,A pattern and the ABBAABB…ABBA pattern. Chiastic structure s are sometimes called palistrophes, chiasms, symmetric structures, ring structures, or concentric structures.
These often symmetrical patterns are commonly found in ancient literature such as the epic poetry
Epic poetry
An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...
of Odyssey
Odyssey
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
and Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
. Various chiastic structures are also seen in the Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
and the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
, where biblical writers used chiasmus to give meaning to their writings or to highlight details of particular importance.
Etymology
The term chiastic derives from the mid 17th century term chiasmusChiasmus
In rhetoric, chiasmus is the figure of speech in which two or more clauses are related to each other through a reversal of structures in order to make a larger point; that is, the clauses display inverted parallelism...
, which refers to a crosswise arrangement of concepts or words that are repeated in reverse order. Chiasmus derives from from the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
word khiasmos, a word that is khiazein, marked with the letter khi
Chi (letter)
Chi is the 22nd letter of the Greek alphabet, pronounced as in English.-Greek:-Ancient Greek:Its value in Ancient Greek was an aspirated velar stop .-Koine Greek:...
. From khi comes chi.
Chi is made up of two lines crossing each other as in the shape of an X. The line that starts leftmost on top, comes down, and is rightmost on the bottom, and vice versa. If one thinks of the lines as concepts, one sees that concept A, which comes first, is also last, and concept B, which comes after A, comes before A. If one adds in more lines representing other concepts, one gets a chiastic structure with more concepts.
Mnemonic device
Oral literatureOral literature
Oral literature corresponds in the sphere of the spoken word to literature as literature operates in the domain of the written word. It thus forms a generally more fundamental component of culture, but operates in many ways as one might expect literature to do...
is especially rich in chiastic structure, possibly as an aid in memorization. In his study of the Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
and the Odyssey
Odyssey
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
, Cedric Whitman, for instance, finds a chiastic structure "of the most amazing virtuosity" that simultaneously performed both aesthetic and mnemonic functions, permitting the oral poet to easily recall the basic formulae of the composition during performances.
Use in Hebrew Bible
A notable example in the TorahTorah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
is the chiastic structure running from the middle of Exodus through the end of Leviticus
Leviticus
The Book of Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible, and the third of five books of the Torah ....
. The structure begins with the covenant made between God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
and the Hebrew People
Hebrews
Hebrews is an ethnonym used in the Hebrew Bible...
at Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai , also known as Mount Horeb, Mount Musa, Gabal Musa , Jabal Musa meaning "Moses' Mountain", is a mountain near Saint Catherine in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. A mountain called Mount Sinai is mentioned many times in the Book of Exodus in the Torah and the Bible as well as the Quran...
, as described in the Torah, and ends with the admonition from God (YHWH) to the Hebrews of what will happen if they will not follow his laws, which is also a sort of covenant. The main ideas are in the middle of Leviticus, from chapter 11 through chapter 20. Those chapters deal with the holiness
Sacred
Holiness, or sanctity, is in general the state of being holy or sacred...
in the Tabernacle
Tabernacle
The Tabernacle , according to the Hebrew Torah/Old Testament, was the portable dwelling place for the divine presence from the time of the Exodus from Egypt through the conquering of the land of Canaan. Built to specifications revealed by God to Moses at Mount Sinai, it accompanied the Israelites...
and the holiness of the Israelite people in general. The chiastic structure points the reader to the central idea, that of the expected holiness (set-apartness) of the Israelite people in everything they do. In David Dorsey's book and in his teaching, he poses that the chiastic structure provides a former of interpretive control by the authors of the various books in the Hebrew Scriptures.
Book of Genesis
In the Book of Genesis, the beginning of chapter 4 uses the ABBAABB…ABBA chiastic structure. This structure is used to contrast concepts A and B, which are usually closely related, but very different. First, concept A is mentioned once. Then B twice, A twice, etc., until the structure ends with a final A. The format points the contrast between the two ideas.The ABBAABB…ABBA pattern emphasizes the contrast between the two sons of Adam, Cain and Abel
Cain and Abel
In the Hebrew Bible, Cain and Abel are two sons of Adam and Eve. The Qur'an mentions the story, calling them the two sons of Adam only....
. The Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
describes their names, their occupations, and their offerings. Cain is mentioned first, then Abel twice, then Cain twice, and so on. The structure draws attention to the differences between Cain and Abel, pointing out the essential difference in their personalities.
Book of Daniel
In 1986, William H. Shea proposed that the Book of DanielBook of Daniel
The Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, and his Judean companions, were inducted into Babylon during Jewish exile, and how their positions elevated in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. The court tales span events that occur during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar,...
is composed of a double-chiasm. He supports the theory that the chiastic structure is emphasized by the two languages that the book is written in: Aramaic and Hebrew. The first chiasm is written in Aramaic from chapters 2-7 following an ABC...CBA pattern. The second chiasm is in Hebrew from chapters 8-12, also using the ABC...CBA pattern, however, Shea represents Daniel 9:26 as "D", a break in the center of the pattern.
Use in New Testament
Based on the theories of David Dorsey, while considering the lack of punctuation and spaces in the earliest textual sources of the New TestamentNew Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
, David Buckwalter proposes that the chiastic structure of the New Testament is a form of punctuation keyed on the words used in the original Greek texts. In the original Greek, these structures would have been clear to its contemporary audience, however they are not so apparent in modern translations. Like Dorsey's analyis with the Hebrew Bible, Buckwalter also believes that the New testament chiastic structure serves as a form of interpretive control.
ABC…CBA pattern
The ABC…CBA chiastic structure is frequently used to emphasize to the inmost concept, i.e., C, the concept that appears either twice in succession or only once, showing that the other ideas all lead up to the middle idea or concept.Beowulf
In literary texts with a possible oralOral literature
Oral literature corresponds in the sphere of the spoken word to literature as literature operates in the domain of the written word. It thus forms a generally more fundamental component of culture, but operates in many ways as one might expect literature to do...
origin, such as Beowulf
Beowulf
Beowulf , but modern scholars agree in naming it after the hero whose life is its subject." of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.It survives in a single...
, chiastic or ring structures are often found on an intermediate level, that is, between the (verbal and/or grammatical) level of chiasmus
Chiasmus
In rhetoric, chiasmus is the figure of speech in which two or more clauses are related to each other through a reversal of structures in order to make a larger point; that is, the clauses display inverted parallelism...
and the higher level of chiastic structure such as noted in the Torah. John D. Niles provides examples of chiastic figures on all three levels. He notes that for the instances of ll. 12-19, the announcement of the birth of (Danish) Beowulf, are chiastic, more or less on the verbal level, that of chiasmus. Then, each of the three main fights are organized chiastically, a chiastic structure on the level of verse paragraphs and shorter passages. For instance, the simplest of these three, the fight with Grendel
Grendel
Grendel is one of three antagonists, along with Grendel's mother and the dragon, in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf . Grendel is usually depicted as a monster, though this is the subject of scholarly debate. In the poem, Grendel is feared by all but Beowulf.-Story:The poem Beowulf is contained in...
, is schematized as follows:
A: Preliminaries
- Grendel approaching
- Grendel rejoicing
- Grendel devouring Handscioh
- B: Grendel's wish to flee ("fingers cracked")
- C: Uproar in hall; Danes stricken with terror
- HEOROT IN DANGER OF FALLING
- C': Uproar in hall; Danes stricken with terror
- C: Uproar in hall; Danes stricken with terror
- B': "Joints burst"; Grendel forced to flee
A': Aftermath
- Grendel slinking back toward fens
- Beowulf rejoicing
- Beowulf left with Grendel's arm
Finally, Niles provides a diagram of the highest level of chiastic structure, the organization of the poem as a whole, in an introduction, three major fights with interludes before and after the second fight (with Grendel's mother), and an epilogue. To illustrate, he analyzes Prologue and Epilogue as follows:
Prologue
A: Panegyric for Scyld
Scyld
Scyld Scefing is the legendary ancestor of the Danish royal lineage known as the Scyldings. He is the counterpart of the Skioldus or Skjöldr of Danish and Icelandic sources....
- B: Scyld's funeral
- C: History of Danes before HrothgarHroðgarHroðgar, King Hroþgar, "Hrothgar", Hróarr, Hroar, Roar, Roas or Ro was a legendary Danish king, living in the early 6th century....
- D: Hrothgar's order to build HeorotHeorotHeorot is a mead hall described in the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf as "the foremost of halls under heaven." It served as a palace for King Hroðgar, a legendary Danish king of the sixth century. Heorot means "Hall of the Hart"...
- D: Hrothgar's order to build Heorot
- C: History of Danes before Hrothgar
Epilogue
-
-
- D': Beowulf's order to build his barrow
- C': History of Geats after Beowulf ("messenger's prophecy")
-
- B': Beowulf's funeral
A': Eulogy for Beowulf
Paradise Lost
The overall chiastic structure of MiltonJohn Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
's Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. It was originally published in 1667 in ten books, with a total of over ten thousand individual lines of verse...
is also of the ABC…CBA type:
A: Satan's sinful actions (Books 1-3)
- B: Entry into Paradise (Book 4)
- C: War in heaven (destruction) (Books 5-6)
- C': Creation of the world (Books 7-8)
- B': Loss of paradise (Book 9)
A': Humankind's sinful actions (Books 10-12)
Further reading
- The Literary Structure of the Old Testament: A Commentary on Genesis-Malachi, David A. Dorsey, Baker, Grand Rapids, 1999
- Review of The Literary Structure of the Old Testament: A Commentary on Genesis-Malachi, The Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Terrence A. Clarke, Sep 2001
- The Elusive Covenant: A Structural-Semiotic Reading of Genesis, Terry J. Prewitt, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 1990
- The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture, Bart D. Ehrman, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1993