Chiastic structure
Chiastic structure, or chiastic pattern, is a
These often
Herodotus frequently uses ring composition or 'epic regression' as a way of supplying background information for something discussed in the narrative. First an event is mentioned briefly, then its precedents are reviewed in reverse chronological order as far back as necessary; at that point the narrative reverses itself and moves forward in chronological order until the event in the main narrative line is reached again.[2]
Various chiastic structures are also seen in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, the Book of Mormon,[3] and the Quran.
Etymology
The term chiastic derives from the mid-17th century term chiasmus, which refers to a crosswise arrangement of concepts or words that are repeated in reverse order. Chiasmus derives from the Greek word khiasmos, a word that is khiazein, marked with the letter khi. From khi comes chi.[4]
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.[a][6]
Mnemonic device
Oral literature is especially rich in chiastic structure, possibly as an aid to memorization and oral performance. In Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, for instance, Cedric Whitman finds chiastic patterns "of the most amazing virtuosity" that simultaneously perform both aesthetic and mnemonic functions, permitting the oral poet easily to recall the basic structure of the composition during performances.[7] Steve Reece has demonstrated several ambitious ring compositions in Homer's Odyssey and compared their aesthetic and mnemonic functions with those of several South Slavic songs.[8]
Use in the Hebrew Bible
Chiasms in the Hebrew Bible include, but are not limited to, the following examples:
- Genesis 6:10–9:18a (including a numerical mini-chiasm)[9][10]
- Genesis 17:1–25[11]
- Genesis 32:1–31 (including a name-changing mini-chiasm)[12][13]
- Genesis 37:3–11[11][13]
- Genesis 37:12–36[13]
- Genesis 38:1–30[13]
- Genesis 39:1–23[13]
- Genesis 40:1–23[13]
- Genesis 41:1–57[13]
- Genesis 42:1–38[13]
Genesis flood narrative
A: Noah and his sons (Gen 6:10)
A': Noah and his sons (9:18,19a) |
Within this overall structure, there is a numerical mini-chiasm of 7s, 40s, and 150s:
α: Seven days waiting to enter Ark (7:4)
α': Second seven days waiting for dove (8:12) |
Genesis 17
William Ramey has compiled several chiasms in the Hebrew Bible, including Genesis 17:1–25 (quoted in Donald Ostrowski 2006).[11]
A: Abram 's age ("When Abram was 99 years old..."; 1a)
A': Abraham's age ("Abraham was 99 years old..."; 24–25) |
Book of Daniel
In 1986,
Use in the Christian Testament
Form critic Nils Lund acknowledged Jewish and classical patterns of writing in the Christian Testament, including the use of chiastic structures throughout.[15]
Use in the Quran
While there are many examples of chiastic structure in the Quran, perhaps the most well known is in the '
A: Belief (1-20)
A': Belief (285-286)
|
Use in the Primary Chronicle
Donald Ostrowski (2006) identified two chiastic structures within the Primary Chronicle (PVL) account of Volodimer's conversion.
A: 'Foreign missionaries come to Volodimer in Kyiv to tell about their respective religions'[20]
A': 'Volodimer sends envoys out to report on the religions of the people they visit'[20] |
A: 'Volodimer vows to be baptized if he is successful in capturing Kherson'[22]
A': 'Volodimer is baptized on Anna's instruction and regains his sight'[23] |
Use in the Book of Mormon
Chiastic structure is found throughout the Book of Mormon, for example in Mosiah 5:8–9:[24]: 171
And under this head ye are made free, and there is no other head whereby ye can be made free.
|
ABC…CBA pattern
Beowulf
In literary texts with a possible oral 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.[25] 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.[26] 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
- 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[27]
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
- B: Scyld's funeral
- C: History of Danes before Hrothgar
- D: Hrothgar's order to build Heorot
- C: History of Danes before
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[28]
Paradise Lost
The overall chiastic structure of John Milton's Paradise Lost 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)[29]: 141
See also
Notes
References
- ^ Gentili, Bruno, Poetry and Its Public in Ancient Greece: From Homer to the Fifth Century, trans. A. Thomas Cole (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1988), 48
- ^ Boedeker, Deborah. "Epic Heritage and Mythical Patterns in Herodotus." Published in Companion to Herodotus, ed. Egbert J. Bakker, Irene J. F. de Jong, and Hans van Wees (Brill, 2002), 104–05.
- ^ "Alma 36: 3-27". Retrieved 10 January 2018.
- ^ "Chiasmus", Oxford Living Dictionaries, Oxford University Press, archived from the original on May 31, 2013, retrieved 2014-07-10
- ^ Proverbs 1:20–33
- ^ Garrett 1993, p. 71
- OCLC 310021.
- ^ Reece, Steve (1995). "The Three Circuits of the Suitors: A Ring Composition in Odyssey 17-22". Oral Tradition. 10 (1): 207–229.
- ^ a b Gordon J. Wenham, "The Coherence of the Flood Narrative" Vetus Testamentum 28 (1978) 336–348.
- ^ F. I. Andersen, The Sentence in Biblical Hebrew (The Hague, 1974).
- ^ a b c d Ostrowski 2006, p. 570.
- ^ Ostrowski 2006, p. 571.
- ^ a b c d e f g h William Ramey. "Examples | Chiasmus". inthebeginning.org. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
- ^ Shea 1986[page needed]
- ^ Nils Wilhelm Lund, Chiasmus in the New Testament: A Study in the Form and Function of Chiastic Structures (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1992), 8.
- ^ Zakariya, Abu (21 September 2015). "Ring Theory: the Quran's Structural Coherence". Islam21c.com. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
- .
- ^ "Coherence: Evidence of the Quran's Literary Depth". Understand Al-Qur'an Academy. 2015-04-21. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
- ^ Rizvi, Muhammad (1 June 2018). "Symmetry in Sura al-Baqara". Symmetry in Sura al-Baqara. (blog). Retrieved 2023-03-13.
- ^ a b c d e f Ostrowski 2006, p. 572.
- ^ Ostrowski 2006, pp. 573–574.
- ^ a b Ostrowski 2006, p. 573.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Ostrowski 2006, p. 574.
- ^ Parry, Donald (2007). "Poetic Parallelisms in the Book of Mormon" (PDF). Neal A. Maxwell Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- ^ Niles 1979, pp. 924–35
- ^ Niles 1979, pp. 924–25
- ^ Niles 1979, pp. 925–6
- ^ Niles 1979, p. 930
- OCLC 55495010. Archived from the originalon 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-06-23.
Sources
- Garrett, Duane A. (1993). Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of songs. The New American Commentary, v. 14. Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman Press. OCLC 27895425.
- Niles, John D. (1979). "Ring Composition and the Structure of Beowulf". S2CID 163316481.
- Ostrowski, Donald (2006). "The Account of Volodimer's Conversion in the "Povest' vremennykh let": A Chiasmus of Stories". Harvard Ukrainian Studies. 28 (1–4). Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute: 567–580.
- Shea, William H. (1986). "The Prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27". In Holbrook, Frank (ed.). The Seventy Weeks, Leviticus, and the Nature of Prophecy. Daniel and Revelation Committee Series. Vol. 3. Washington, D.C.: OCLC 14279279.
Further reading
- Breck, John (1994). The Shape of Biblical Language: Chiasmus in the Scriptures and Beyond. Crestwood, N.Y.: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press. OCLC 30893460.
- Dorsey, David A. (1999), The Literary Structure of the Old Testament: A Commentary on Genesis-Malachi, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, OCLC 42002627
- ISBN 978-0-300-16785-6.
- Ehrman, Bart D. (1993), The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture: the effect of early Christological controversies on the text of the New Testament, Oxford: Oxford University Press, OCLC 26354078
- Lund, Nils Wilhelm (1942), Chiasmus in the New Testament, a study in Formgeschichte, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, OCLC 2516087
- Martin, Gary D. (2004), Ring Composition and Related Phenomena in Herodotus (PDF)
- McCoy, Brad (Fall 2003), "Chiasmus: An Important Structural Device Commonly Found in Biblical Literature" (PDF), CTS Journal, 9 (2): 18–34, archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-11-22, retrieved 2014-06-18
- ISBN 978-0-934893-36-7, archived from the original(PDF) on 2014-07-14, retrieved 2014-06-18
- Prewitt, Terry J. (1990), The Elusive Covenant: A Structural-Semiotic Reading of Genesis, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, OCLC 20827915
- Ramirez, Matthew Eric (January 2011). "Descanting on Deformity: The Irregularities in Shakespeare's Large Chiasms". Text and Performance Quarterly. 31 (1): 37–49. S2CID 170466856.
- S2CID 55801823, archived from the originalon 2015-10-13, retrieved 2014-06-18
- OCLC 40126818