ANTITHESIS introduced — Kennedy Ask Not, King not-by-the-color, Morrison Nobel

Quick-listen: teacher reads two versions of Kennedy's line. Version 1 (without antithesis): 'Don't ask what your country can do for you; do something for your country instead.' Version 2 (Kennedy's actual): 'Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.' Which is more memorable? Why?

• Read both versions with deliberate intonation
• Affirm: Kennedy's parallel structure with contrast = antithesis
• Note: antithesis is the most memorable device when done well

ANTITHESIS is the deliberate juxtaposition of two CONTRASTING ideas in PARALLEL grammatical structure. Look at MG-7. Antithesis = parallelism + contrast. The rule: set the two ideas in matching grammatical form. The effect: the parallel structure makes the contrast inescapable. Kennedy: 'Ask not what your country can do FOR YOU — ask what YOU can do FOR YOUR COUNTRY.' Parallel imperative verbs (ask) + parallel structure (what X can do for Y) + reversal of subject/object (you/country flipped). King: 'not by the COLOR of their skin BUT by the CONTENT of their character.' Parallel prepositional phrases + sharp contrast between superficial (color) and essential (character). Lincoln: 'The world will little note nor long remember what we SAY here, but it can never forget what they DID here.' Parallel verbs (say/did) + contrast between speech and action. Toni Morrison in her Nobel Lecture: 'We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.' Antithesis builds the philosophical pivot. The structure makes the audience FEEL the contrast as inevitable.

• Antithesis often uses INVERSION as its contrast. The same elements appear in both halves but in reversed positions.

  model Contrast: what country does FOR YOU vs. what YOU do FOR COUNTRY. The contrast is INVERSION — same elements, reversed roles.

  prompt Look at MG-7. What two ideas does Kennedy contrast?
• Get the parallel structure first; then check that the contrast is meaningful (not just synonymous).

  model For school-uniforms topic: 'Not by erasing identity but by creating common ground, uniforms unify.' (Parallel prepositional phrases + sharp contrast.)

  prompt Construct an antithesis on your fall topic using the not-X-but-Y template.
• Morrison's antithesis is philosophical — antithesis can be USED for the heaviest claims. The structure carries the weight.

  model Highlight in green: 'We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.' Two parallel structures + sharp contrast (die/do language; meaning/measure).

  prompt Read Morrison Nobel Lecture paragraph 12.

• Cold Call: name the parallel structure in King's not-by-the-color
• Pair-share: construct one antithesis on fall topic; check parallel structure
• Thumbs: I can construct antithesis (up) / I need more practice (down)

• Annotate Morrison Nobel paragraph 12. Highlight antithesis in green. Identify parallel grammatical structure.

  scaffold Partial-fill annotation with first half of antithesis highlighted
• Construct 2 antitheses on fall topic using not-X-but-Y template. Check parallel structure.

  scaffold MG-7 anchor + sentence-frame template at desk
• Hochman although-but-however triad applied to antithesis: combine two contrasting sentences into one antithesis.

  scaffold Worked example: 'Uniforms erase visible class differences. Uniforms create common ground.' → 'Not by erasing identity, but by creating common ground, uniforms unify.'

M-6-S-RH-12-B Chart

10 antitheses with parallel structure underlined and contrast in bold. Kennedy 'ask not / ask what'; King 'not by color / but by content'; Lincoln 'what we say / what they did'; Morrison 'die / do language'; Dickens 'best of times / worst of times'; Churchill 'never have so many / owed so much'; Hamlet 'to be / not to be'; Patrick Henry 'give me liberty / give me death'; Frederick Douglass 'this is your 4th of July / not mine'; Sotomayor 'I am wise / Latina woman'. Print-ready 11x17.

• Construct one antithesis for your spring argument conclusion. Identify the parallel structure and the contrast.

• Restate: antithesis = parallelism + contrast; use at climax or conclusion for memorable closure
• Preview tomorrow's original argument with rhetorical devices launch (weeks 13-17 arc)

• Add one antithesis to your spring argument conclusion. Mark in green. Bring tomorrow.