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Masters of Chiasmus: The Talented Mr. Ridley

Dennis Ridley

First, a little more about the talented Mr. Ridley. Originally from Portland, Oregon, he is a graduate of Amherst College and the University of California at Santa Barbara. Dennis has spent most of his career as a professor, researcher, and administrator (when I first met him, he was working at Virginia Wesleyan College; he's now at the Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia). A lover of language and a word game aficionado, he has dabbled in creative writing for many years. He has also published extensively in his fields of psychology and higher education research. He and wife Liane, married 34 years at the time of this writing (2008), have two grown daughters and two grandchildren.

As we proceed, I'll occasionally let Dennis speak for himself, letting him share his thoughts about chiasmus and some of his quotes. Take it away Dennis:

"Making chiastic creations has been some of the best fun I've had in years. It has been both challenging and pleasantly addictive. Occasionally, when I've come up with a winner, it was exhilarating. Thanks to Mardy Grothe, who is truly the modern master and guru of chiasmus, for providing the inspiration. I also thank my friend Fred Weiss. Fred, a business professor at Virginia Wesleyan College, was the first Chiastic Quotes Competition winner in September 1999. Once these good folks turned me on, I could hardly stop."

You've already seen a neat example of double chiasmus. Take a close look at this quote, which is even more impressive:

And here's Dennis's comment: "This chiastic quote was inspired by an amusing TV commercial depicting a sheep in a wolf's clothing. Mardy had to yawn through several forgettable versions before I hit upon a winner. Since there are three distinct reversals, can we call this one a triple chiasmus?" Yes we can, Dennis, yes we can.

Some of Dennis's best creations are simple reversals with a funny or clever twist:

Others are more thought-provoking, and invite us to linger over them and savor the additional thoughts they stimulate:

Dennis also tried his hand at chiasmus by letter reversal. Notice how the letters "m" and "f" reverse in this oh-so-true observation:

"A Monday in the fall is NOT a fun day in the mall."

Early in my research into chiasmus, I developed a special fondness for thought-provoking questions of a chiastic nature. The very first one I discovered was Nietzsche's famous rhetorical question, "Which is it? Is man one of God's blunders? Or is God one of man's?" Some other wonderful examples occur in this "Types of Chiasmus" edition: Chiastic Questions. When rhetorical questions are framed chiastically, they have a special quality. Dennis excelled at posing such questions:

Implied chiasmus is the reversal of an existing, often well-known, phrase, like "A hangover is the wrath of grapes" or Kermit the Frog's "Time's fun when you're having flies." If I had to choose my favorite form of chiasmus, it would be tough, but in the end I'd probably select implied chiasmus. Dennis also demonstrated a fondness for it:

Chiasmus has had a special appeal to poets over the centuries, and all of the greats have experimented with the device. In fact, W. H. Auden even offered a wonderful chiastic observation on the subject: "In poetry you have a form looking for a subject and a subject looking for a form. When they come together successfully you have a poem." Dennis demonstrated his versatility by composing this little chiastic ditty:

In "chiastic piggybacking," people take an expression from someone else and reverse it in a clever or witty way. Here's what Dennis had to say about one of his most impressive creations: "In the 'pure fun' category, it was pure fun for me to take the famous saying of General Joseph 'Vinegar Joe' Stilwell and turn it around. I substituted his ersatz Latin with an equally bogus phrase."

After seeing this quote for the first time, I found myself feeling a little envious, and thought, "Damn! Why didn't I think of that one?" I've seen the daily grind make bastards out of a number of people over the years, but it never occurred to me to reverse that popular saying (which, by the way, Harry Truman also loved, and prominently displayed on his desk in the Oval Office). Here are several more piggybacking examples (notice the double reversal in the second one):

In the chiastic shorthand category, Dennis only came up with one, but I liked it:

"Candidates for public office promise breaks, and vice versa."

Over the centuries, the dynamics of love, marriage, and family life have inspired many wonderful chiastic observations. I can't talk to an expectant couple without reminding them of the Peter de Vries observation: "The value of marriage is not that adults produce children, but that children produce adults." And whenever I meet a parent or boss who's having trouble getting someone to listen, I remind them of the saying, "People don't care how much you know unless they know how much you care." Of all of Dennis's observations in this arena, my favorite was:

There are two reversals in this observation, making it a kind of chiasmus within a chiasmus. One is obvious, the other not. Before reading on, take a look and see if you can detect the not-so-obvious one. (Here's the explanation: "a man" reverses to "manna"). Here's another one I especially liked:

Dennis said about this quote, "As the loving father of two grown daughters, I witnessed and took part in many such battles." Having a daughter myself, I could relate. Here are a few more Ridley observations on the theme of love and marriage:

Several months ago, Dennis wrote and suggested that I add a "Chiastic Challenge" to my monthly chiastic quotes competition. Here's what he said:

"I know you have quite enough to think about right now, but how about a specific challenge to chiasmus creators? For example: 'Create a chiasmus about Bob Hope.' Here's one: 'Hope renewed laughter in the troops, and the troops renewed hope in their laughter.' Not very good; only an illustration. A specific challenge puts a tight hedge around the task. For me, that's fun."

I fired back an e-mail to Dennis saying, "Here's your first Chiastic Challenge: Elvis." Dennis was amazingly quick on the draw. I received a couple of quotes within 24 hours:

I was impressed. Yes, it's possible to quibble over some aspects of the quotes (was Elvis really the Salvation of Rock?), but the quotes revealed a quick and agile mind. I immediately threw out another challenge: Hugh Hefner. As quickly as before, Dennis came back at me:

 Continue to Ridley Presidential Tour

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