Types of Chiasmus: Double Chiasmus

All examples of chiasmus share the same distinctive structure—a reversal in word order that can be "marked with an X" (as described in Welcome to the World of Chiasmus.) However, there are a number of interesting variations on the chiastic theme. We'll examine all of them here on "Types of Chiasmus." In this edition, we feature a much rarer type of chiasmus, something I call Double Chiasmus.

Every now and then a single observation contains two separate chiastic reversals. One of the first examples I found in my research—and still one of the best I've seen—comes from Leonardo da Vinci: "Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen."

When the two clauses of Da Vinci's observation are laid out parallel to each other, two separate chiastic reversals become apparent (I've "marked" each one with an "X" below):

For obvious reasons, I've coined the expression double chiasmus to characterize an observation like this. Double chiasmus is the rarest type of chiasmus and, in some ways, is the most impressive. To forge a good one requires great conceptual ability and a high degree of language facility. Because they're so rare, I always feel a special thrill when I come upon one.

Here's another example, from former French president Georges Pompidou (I won't formally "mark" it for you, but I will highlight the key words):

A statesman is a politician who places himself at the service of the nation.

A politician is a statesman who places the nation at his service.

And here's one from American psychiatrist Thomas Szasz:

When religion was strong and science weak, men mistook magic for medicine;

now, when science is strong and religion weak, men mistake medicine for magic.

Observations like these can be appreciated in so many different ways and on so many different levels. Conceptually, examples of double chiasmus tend to extremely thought-provoking, capable of stimulating far-reaching discussions. Technically, they tend to be exquisite little constructions, in some cases even reaching the level of virtuosity. And, finally, from an aesthetic point of view, they can be appreciated as beautiful creations with balance and symmetry, point and counterpoint, and a whole that is far greater than the sum of its individual parts.

A final example comes from an anonymous source who is obviously familiar with people who do clinical work and research in medical settings (I've reduced the font size in order to lay out the entire observation in two lines):

A clinician learns less & less about more & more until he knows nothing about everything.

A researcher learns more & more about less & less until he knows everything about nothing.

In each of the examples of double chiasmus presented so far, there two separate reversals going on concurrently. There's another variation of double chiasmus which, while not quite as impressive as the ones just seen, is also quite interesting. An example comes from Martin Luther King, Jr.:

As with the earlier examples, there are two separate reversals in this sentiment, but they emerge in a slightly different way. Instead of a concurrent reversal, the reversal here is sequential. Let me lay it out for you and "mark"the two reversals:

As you can see, there's one reversal in the first clause, and another in the second. The same thing occurs in a famous observation from Erich Fromm, in his classic The Art of Loving:

This form of sequential double chiasmus occurs in poetry as well as in prose. Here's an example from "The Death Bed" by English poet Thomas Hood:

As you can see, the quatrain contains two separate reversals, one in the first couplet, the other in the second.

Of course, it's possible to have three, four, or even more reversals of a sequential nature. Perhaps the best example of a sequential triple chiasmus comes from the Bible, in this passage from Isaiah 5:20:

In this passage, Isaiah warns of the consequences that will befall those who are unable to tell good from bad and, as a result, are unable to make important moral distinctions. Unfortunately, a number of otherwise fine quotation books—including the wonderful Bartlett's Familiar Quotations—present only the first line of this passage, thus depriving readers of an opportunity to see a fairly unique quote, one with three distinct chiastic inversions.

Despite my extensive research efforts, I have discovered only about a half dozen examples of the concurrent type of double chiasmus. If you come across a particularly good example, send it send it along. And if you have any thoughts or observations about the topic of double chiasmus, please share them.