RECOGNIZING PARALLEL STRUCTURE
(PARALLELISM)
*Parallelism builds on the power of repetition of the same word (on and on, minute by minute, over and over, day by day, etc.) or of the same part of speech (nouns, verbs, phrases).
*It shows structure and planning on the writer’s part.
*It often involves items in a series.
Notice these illustrations of parallelism:
Verbs
I practically hopped, skipped, and jumped out the door on the last day of school.
Nouns
“These three remain – faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love.”
Phrases
I wanted to cry out, to complain in courts of law, to lead an indignant army to right the wrongs of the past. (infinitives)
“…a government of the people, by the people, for the people…”
(prepositional phrases)
I have three reasons for loving summer—no snow, no coat, and no school.
Clauses (group of words that have a subject & verb)
Give me the man who will speak before he acts,
who will think before he speaks,
who will listen before he thinks.
1. Anaphora: A type of parallelism in which the beginning word or words in back-to-back sentences, clauses, or phrases is the same.
Example: I wondered if she would come back. I wondered if I would ever remember her name. I wondered if she would remember me.
2. Epistrophe: A type of parallelism in which the ending word or words in back-to-back sentences, clauses, or phrases is the same.
Example: “A government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.”
3. Anadiplosis: A type of parallelism in which the last word of a sentence, clause, or phrase is repeated at the beginning of the next sentence, clause, or phrase.
Example: "Suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope." (Romans 5:3)
4. Polysyndeton: Repetition of a conjunction, such as “and”, “or”, or “but”. Effect: Seems more or prolonged
Example: We had so much fun at the amusement park! I rode the Titan and Superman and Flashback and the Mine Train and the Bumper Cars!
5. Asyndeton: Elimination of conjunction in its normal use; Effect: decisive, equality of items in series
Example: a. Jay, Marci, Andrew – Come to the front of the room. b. Stand up straight, look me in the eye, wipe that smile off your face.