On "On the Media" this week, they discuss the rhetorical device of Antimetabole.
Examples of this device include:
- Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.
- We wanted to change Washington, but Washington changed us.
- Some people use change to promote their careers, some people use their careers to promote change.
Quite effective and ubiquitous. I definitely recommend listening to the segment on OTM, which is my favorite show on WNYC.
Got me thinking about how this device might be utterly misused.
For example...
- Some offer hope and change; others offer change to the hopeless.
- Religion will not be your whipping boy; religion whips boys for you!
- Some say crime doesn't pay; I say: "Pay me for my crimes."
- My opponent claims to love America; but I love America's claims.
- Wall Street hasn't fallen apart; a part of the Wall has fallen on the Street.
This is a fun game. You can play too! My comments section is for thee. Misuse this rhetorical device! For fun! And profit! (Well, not profit...)
About Me
- Freeman
- Matthew Freeman is a Brooklyn based playwright with a BFA from Emerson College. His plays include THE DEATH OF KING ARTHUR, REASONS FOR MOVING, THE GREAT ESCAPE, THE AMERICANS, THE WHITE SWALLOW, AN INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR, THE MOST WONDERFUL LOVE, WHEN IS A CLOCK, GLEE CLUB, THAT OLD SOFT SHOE and BRANDYWINE DISTILLERY FIRE. He served as Assistant Producer and Senior Writer for the live webcast from Times Square on New Year's Eve 2010-2012. As a freelance writer, he has contributed to Gamespy, Premiere, Complex Magazine, Maxim Online, and MTV Magazine. His plays have been published by Playscripts, Inc., New York Theatre Experience, and Samuel French.
5 comments:
the tax code shouldn't be changed to reward those who wrote it; those who write should be changed by those who tax.
"Here in America, you can always find a party. In Soviet Russia, the Party can always find you!" - Yakov Smirnoff
"Here on Earth, you enjoy a tasty crab. On my planet, crabs enjoy a tasty you!" - Dr. John Zoidberg
I didn't get out of bed this morning because I couldn't face the world; this morning, I couldn't face the world so I didn't get out of bed.
I...aw, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
This reminds me of this utterly surreal SNL skit they played at 12:50 on one episode back in the '90s or something...
http://snltranscripts.jt.org/90/90ereversals.phtml
I'm not afraid of what I've become; I'm becoming afraid of what I'm not.
Post a Comment