![]() ![]() Example #3įrom his first memory Cal had craved warmth and affection, just as everyone does. Similar to the speeches above, the contrasts in this paragraph help to create a wider sense of the setting. It could either be the best of times for many different reasons laid out, or the worst of times. The contrasts lead the reader to believe that a range of experiences could be found in the two cities in this era, depending on someone’s background. He uses many antithesis examples to show how confusing the time in question was. ( A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens)Ĭharles Dickens’s opening paragraph in his novel A Tale of Two Cities is a famous example of contrasts. ![]() It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only. Romeo compares his love Juliet to the sun, and uses that metaphor to contrast her to “the envious moon.” In this lovely excerpt from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet we see the type of contrast that works to heighten the beauty of the speaker’s beloved. ( Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare) That thou her maid art far more fair than she:Īnd none but fools do wear it cast it off. ROMEO: But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?Īrise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Examples of Contrast in Literature Example #1 The literary use of contrast is opposite to the device of simile. Poets also might show that two things that seemed similar are, in fact, quite different. A surprising analogy was devised between two things to get the reader to consider them afresh. Some poets use elaborate contrasts to create an overall conceit or argument. The contrasts in these speeches show the wide range of experience and how, in fact, there is no permanent separation from one seemingly different thing and another. In some cases, especially in the quotes from speeches above, contrast is actually used to unite concepts. There are many reasons that an author might want to use contrast in a work of literature. Some nursery rhymes incorporate contrast examples to make them memorable, such as the following ones: Winston Churchill, “We shall fight on the beaches” speech 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. 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. Martin Luther King, Jr., “I have a dream” speech I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. Barack Obama, Keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention We coach Little League in the blue states and, yes, we’ve got some gay friends in the red states. ![]() We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don’t like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the red states. The pundits like to slice and dice our country into red states and blue states-red states for Republicans, blue states for Democrats. ![]() We can see some of these contrasts in the following quotes: Many famous speeches includes examples of contrast to make their points. ![]()
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