In literary works, quite often the plot is built on the opposition. Black and white. Fire and Ice. Good and evil. Eternal themes. But few people know that such a contrast in the Russian language has a definite name. And this is the antithesis. A stylistic figure of speech, which is used to create more vivid images. After all, very often, while reading a work, one can notice that some things attract our attention. Something immediately like, but something not. Such an effect can create an antithesis. What is it and how does it work?
Definition
What is the contrast? Contrast is the antithesis. Antithesis - a stylistic device, which is based on a comparison of representations and concepts related by a common construction or meaning. In a sense, this can be called a game in contrast. One image is sharply opposed to another. Because of this, some poets and writers do not really like this technique. Others, on the contrary, give him preference. Often the antithesis is found in poetic works.
Antithesis in poems
It is best to understand what opposition is, for example. Since the antithesis is a favorite technique of poets, it’s worth starting with poems. M. Yu. Lermontov is an outstanding poet and master of the word. Intricate speech techniques and means of expression are always woven into his poems. Examples of antithesis can also be found in them. For example, consider the poem Sail:
Lonely sail whitens
In the fog of the blue sea!
What is he looking for in a distant country?
What did he throw in his native land?
Already in the first quatrain of the work you can see what the opposition is and how the author uses it. In adjacent lines, the poet puts the expression "in a distant land" and "in the land of his native land", which are opposite in meaning. Thus, M. Yu. Lermontov creates that very sense of contrast. A difficult path to something new and, perhaps, longing for something old and native.
Also a wonderful example of the contrast is the poem by N. Zabolotsky “Swan in the zoo”. All this poem is an antithesis. At first, the reader encounters a wonderful, calm picture. Warm summer twilight, water, a beautiful swan, smooth bends. And suddenly this picture ends abruptly and another pops up. Noisy city, cars, anthills of high-rise buildings. The contrast is sudden and obvious.
Antithesis in Prose
Prose is also rich in expressive means and can answer the question: what is the opposition? It is worth turning to the works of A.P. Chekhov, who was also a master of the word. Reading his works is thoughtful and slow. Not a single word was written by A.P. Chekhov just like that.
Everything carries its own meaning, each phrase stands in its place. He skillfully writes various tricks in his stories, including the antithesis. An example of the contrast can be found in the story “At acquaintances”.
Podgorin smiled at her and the girls, but it was strange to him that this healthy, young, intelligent woman, in fact, such a large complex organism, all her energy, all the forces of life, wasted on such a simple, small work as the device of this nest, which already arranged.
The author very subtly and imperceptibly inscribes the antithesis in this proposal, but achieves the desired effect. Perhaps the reader will not even immediately understand what made him look at the situation from this angle. The image of a woman and this small work begin to stand out very clearly against the general background. Only two words are used by Anton Pavlovich, but the effect is achieved.
Antithesis Features
Having answered the question of what is the opposition, we can proceed to the features of this technique. Due to the strong contrast to the writer, it is sometimes very simple to form the reader’s attitude to certain things.
Take, for example, the same passage from the work of A.P. Chekhov. If the writer did not present the woman in this light, did not indicate “petty work”, then the impression would be completely different. Therefore, the antithesis is often used when it is necessary to emphasize, to direct the reader’s attention to one thing. Make him feel and form his attitude to what is happening.