The following materials provide definitions of chiasmus from traditional Latin grammars; for a more user-friendly set of chiasmus materials, check out the Chiasmus page at the Latin Via Proverbs wiki - and write your own chiastic proverbs!
The Latin reference grammar by Allen and Greenough 598f provides the following terminology to describe two important parallel patterns: "Antithesis between two pairs of ideas is indicated by placing the pairs either (1) in the same order (anaphora) or (2) in exactly the opposite order (chiasmus)." In section 641 , Allen and Greenough define chiasmus as "a reversing of the order of words in corresponding pairs of phrases."
[So too in other reference grammars; see the addenda below for Gildersleeve and Lodge; Madvig (Woods); Harkness; Sonnenschein; Chase; Hale and Buck; Bennett; Burton; and D'Ooge.]
So, the crucial elements in the definition of chiasmus are as follows: a corresponding pair of ideas (pair of phrases), and a reversal of the order (opposite order).
To express this situation formally, we can use the symbols A1-A2 (a pair), B1-B2 (a corresponding pair), B2-B1 (a reversal of the order).
The CORRESPONDENCE between the pairs is based on the nature of A1-B1 and A2-B2, that is on what is "1" and what is "2" in the definition of the pairs. These correspondences can be morphological, syntactic, lexical, etc. There is no specific limitation placed on the nature of the correspondence.
Here are ALL five examples provided by Allen and Greenough. I have put A1, A2, B1 and B2 in bold. I have put B1 and B2 in ALL CAPS. In addition, I have marked A1 and B1 as blue, and A2 and B2 as red in order to reveal the chiastic pattern visually.
The most common pattern for chiasmus has the red items together in the middle, A1-A2-B2-B1 or A1-B2-A2-B1, as you can see below, although it is also theoretically possible for the red items to be interlaced as in A1-B2-B1-A2 (see Example 6: can anyone help find an example of this?).
Example 1: A1-A2-B2-B1
leges supplicio improbos afficiunt, DEFENDUNT AC TUENTUR BONOS
CORRESPONDENCE:
1: accusative object
2: verb
PAIRS:
A1-A2: improbos afficiunt
B1-B2: BONOS DEFENDUNT AC TUENTUR
REVERSAL:
B2-B1 DEFENDUNT AC TUENTUR BONOS
Comments: This example shows that the parallelism is not limited by the number of words, as there is a compound verb phrase in B2.
Example 2
Lucius Catilina nobili genere natus fuit, magna vi et animi et corporis, sed INGENIO MALO PRAVOQUE
CORRESPONDENCE:
1: modifier
2: noun
PAIRS:
A1-A2: magna vi
B1-B2: MALO PRAVOQUE INGENIO
REVERSAL:
B2-B1 INGENIO MALO PRAVOQUE
Comments: Here there is a compound modifier phrase in B1.
Example 3
non igitur utilitatem amicitia sed UTILITAS AMICITIAM consecuta est
CORRESPONDENCE:
1: accusative object
2: nominative subject
PAIRS:
A1-A2: utilitatem amicitia
B1-B2: AMICITIAM UTILITAS
REVERSAL:
B2-B1 UTILITAS AMICITIAM
Comments: This example is especially elegant because the reversed correspondence is grammatical, and the resulting pattern now has a lexical correspondence.
Example 4
a cultu atque humanitate provinciae longissime absunt, MINIMEque AD EOS mercatores saepe commeant
CORRESPONDENCE:
1: prepositional phrase
2: adverb
PAIRS:
A1-A2: a cultu atque humanitate longissime
B1-B2: AD EOS MINIME
REVERSAL:
B2-B1 MINIME AD EOS
Comments: This example shows that a considerable number of words can intervene between the pairs, and also between the individual items of each pair. Note also that it is possible to have many patterns operating at once in a complex sentence like this; the adverbs are also involved in an anaphora construction involving the adverb-verb pairs in the sentence: longissime absunt... minime commeant
Example 5: A1-B2-A2-B1
It is also possible, although not common, for the pairs to be interwoven, while the inversion takes place. To see how that works, let's look at this example, which according to Allen and Greenough combines synchesis (interlocking order) with chiasmus (inverted pair). Here is the example given by Allen and Greenough:
arma nondum EXPIATIS uncta CRUORIBUS
CORRESPONDENCE
1: noun (A1: arma; B1: cruoribus)
2: modifier (A2: uncta, B2: expiatibus)
PAIRS:
A1-A2: arma uncta
B1-B2: CRUORIBUS EXPIATIS
REVERSAL
B2-B1 EXPIATIS CRUORIBUS
INTERLOCKING
Now, with interlocking (synchesis) of the phrases, we get this result:
A1-B2-A2-B1
arma EXPIATIS uncta CRUORIBUS
Comments: Note that A1-A2 and B2-B1 are still here; the only difference from a typical chiasmus is that they are now interwoven (a process called synchesis). You can also think about the process unfolding by this simple process:
A1-A2-B2-B1 (chiasmus)
Advance the A2 term one position in the chain:
A1-B2-A2-B1 (chiasmus with synchesis)
Example 6: A1-B2-B1-A2.
Allen and Greenough do not provide an example of the one other theoretically possible reversal pattern which can be created, when the pairs are not interlocked, but instead one pair wraps around the other. That would yield:
A1-B2-B1-A2
[paragraph removed: I thought there was an example of this provided in one of the emails to the LatinTeach listserve; but I stand corrected! Does anybody know of an example of this type of chiasmus that could be cited here? The absence of any ready examples of this type seems to me to further undermine the contention of the AP Board below that ABBA is the general type which can stand for all chiastic structures; see below.]
The AP Question in Question
Let's now look at the AP Question:
provenient causa carmina digna sua
The two pairs are clearly the phrases causa sua and carmina digna. In what way is there a correspondence between these two noun phrases?
causa: starts with letter c; ablative singular feminine; noun; complement to digna
sua: starts with letter s; ablative singular feminine; modifier; complement to digna
carmina: starts with letter c; nominative plural neuter; noun; subject of verb
digna: starts with letter d; nominative plural neuter; modifier; subject of verb
There is only one way in which these two phrases correspond:
1: noun
2: modifier
So the pairs are
A1-A2: causa sua
B1-B2: CARMINA DIGNA
This, then, is the analysis of the AP Question in question - the red items appear at the end, which is not a chiastic pattern.
causa CARMINA DIGNA sua
A1-B1-B2-A2
There is no reversal of order because in both phrases, 2 follows 1. The pattern A1-B1-B2-A2 consists of two pairs, A1-A2, and B1-B2, with A1-A2 wrapped around B1-B2. The order is parallel, 1-1-2-2.
The chiastic arrangement of these words would be:
causa sua DIGNA CARMINA
A1-A2 causa sua
B2-B1 digna carmina
If that chiastic structure were interlocked:
causa DIGNA sua CARMINA
A1-B2-A2-B1
If that chiastic structure were wrapped:
causa DIGNA CARMINA sua
A1-B2-B1-A2
The argument given by the AP examiners is that "causa carmina digna sua" is an example of chiasmus because of the ABBA structure. This is simply a misunderstanding of the symbols used in ABBA.
If by ABBA they mean a chiastic structure AB-BA, that would be all well and good. That would be exactly the same as the 12-21 structure which you find in the most basic chiastic pattern, 1-2-2-1 (A1-A2-B2-B1): causa sua digna carmina.
But the line reads: causa carmina digna sua.
If that were analyzed as AB-BA (= A1-A2-B2-B1), then the first phrase would be "causa carmina" which is nonsensical as a phrase ("digna sua" is workable as an ablative-complement phrase, but the nonsensical "causa carmina" renders that a moot point).
[this paragraph added in response to an email query] If that were analyzed as A-BB-A (= A1-B2-B1-A2), then the first phrase would be "causa sua" and the second phrase would be "digna carmina." I suppose this is what has misled the examiners: both of these are grammatically correct phrases, but they are not corresponding phrases; instead, they are already inverted phrases: "noun-modifier" and "modifier-noun."
So it looks like the AP examiners have confused AB-BA (= A1-A2-B2-B1, basic chiasmus) with A-BB-A (not necessarily chiasmus, UNLESS the B2-B1 shows a reversal of the correspondences on which the pair is based, A1-B2-B1-A2).
[this paragraph added in response to a LatinTeach post] This same confusion is also apparently found in the 2001 Latin AP Teacher's Guide which offers this supposed definition of chiasmus, "Arrangement of words, usually adjectives and nouns, in the pattern ABBA" - a definition that simply ignores the definition of chiastic in the Allen & Greenough, where there is indeed an ABBA pattern but one formed on the reversal of correspondences. Pity the poor student who actually relied on Allen & Greenough in learning about chiasmus! Allen & Greenough is apparently not a reliable reference for the AP Exam - an ominous sign indeed. In the example provided in the Teacher's Guide, there is, as in the test question, no reversal of the correspondences:
innumeris TUMIDUM PYTHONA sagittis,
CORRESPONDENCE:
1: modifier
2: noun
PAIRS:
A1-A2 innumeris sagittis
B1-B2 TUMIDUM PYTHONA
The three chiastic arrangements WOULD be:
innumeris sagittis PYTHONA TUMIDUM
innumeris PYTHONA sagittis TUMIDUM
innumeris PYTHONA TUMIDUM sagittis
Chiasmus must involve, according to Allen & Greenough, corresponding pairs AND a reversal of order in the correspondences. The AP question in question involves corresponding pairs, but there is no reversal of order in the correspondences. Therefore, there is no chiasmus in the question in question. So too in the example cited from the Teacher's Guide.
I would urge the AP folks to take heed of this chiastic proverb from Publilius Syrus:
invitat culpam qui PECCATUM PRAETERIT.
CORRESPONDENCE:
1: verb
2: object
PAIRS:
A1-A2: invitat culpam
B1-B2: PRAETERIT PECCATUM
REVERSAL:
B2-B1 PECCATUM PRAETERIT
I will take heed of the same warning, so if I have made an error here, or neglected an important type of chiasmus, please let me know! You can add a comment to the post below.
ADDENDUM 1: Gildersleeve and Lodge
Gildersleeve and Lodge provide this definition in section 682:
When pairs are contrasted, the second is put in the same order as the first, but often in inverse order. The employment of the same order is called Anaphora (repetition). The inverse order is called Chiasmus, or crosswise position, and gives alternate stress.
Example 7: A1-A2-B2-B1
Ante videmus fulgorem quam SONUM AUDIAMUS.
CORRESPONDENCE:
1: verb
2: object
PAIRS:
A1-A2: videmus fulgorem
B1-B2: AUDIAMUS SONUM
REVERSAL:
B2-B1: SONUM AUDIAMUS
ADDENDUM 2: Madvig (Woods)
Madvig (Woods) provide this definition in section 473b:
If two coordinate propositions or two series of connected words form an antithesis, in which the separate words correspond, the second proposition or series is sometimes inverted, instead of repeating the same arrangement, in order to make the antithesis more striking; so that the word which stands at the beginning of the first member finds its counterpart at the end of the last (Chiasmus).
Example 8: A1-A2-B2-B1
Cum summa testificatione tuorum in se officiorum et AMORIS erga te SUI.
CORRESPONDENCE:
1: modifiers
2: noun
PAIRS:
A1-A2: tuorum officiorum
B1-B2: SUI AMORIS
REVERSAL:
B2-B1: AMORIS SUI
Comment: This is an especially artful arrangement, with the parallel prepositional phrases, "in se" and "erga te," inserted into the corresponding phrases.
Example 9
ratio nostra consentit, REPUGNAT ORATIO.
CORRESPONDENCE:
1: noun
2: verb
PAIRS:
A1-A2: ratio nostra consentit
B1-B2: ORATIO REPUGNAT
REVERSAL:
B2-B1: REPUGNAT ORATIO
Example 10: A1-A2-A3-B3-B2-B1
Clariorem inter Romanos deditio Postumium quam PONTIUM INCRUENTA VICTORIA INTER SAMNITES fecit.
CORRESPONDENCE:
1: prepositional phrase
2: nominative noun
3: accusative noun - I have made that GREEN
PAIRS:
A1-A2-A3: inter Romanos deditio Postumium
B1-B2-B3: INTER SAMNITES INCRUENTA VICTORIA PONTIUM
REVERSAL:
B3-B2-B1: PONTIUM INCRUENTA VICTORIA INTER SAMNITES
Comments: This is a lovely example of a chiastic pair based on a triple correspondence.
ADDENDUM 3: Harkness
Harkness provides this definition in section 666.
Two groups of words may be made prominent and emphatic either by Anaphora or by Chiasmus.
1. Anaphora. Here the order of words in the second group is identical with that in the first.
2. Chiasmus. Here the order of the words in the first group is reversed in the second.
Example 11: A1-A2-B2-B1
fragile corpus ANIMUS SEMPITERNUS movet.
CORRESPONDENCE:
1: modifier
2: noun
PAIRS:
A1-A2: fragile corpus
B1-B2: SEMPITERNUS ANIMUS
REVERSAL:
B2-B1: ANIMUS SEMPITERNUS
Example 12
satis eloquentiae, SAPIENTIAE PARUM.
CORRESPONDENCE:
1: adjective (quantity)
2: partitive genitive
PAIRS:
A1-A2: satis eloquentiae
B1-B2: PARUM SAPIENTIAE
REVERSAL:
B2-B1: SAPIENTIAE PARUM
ADDENDUM 4: Sonnenschein
Sonnenschein provides this definition in section 601:
When two similar groups of words are contrasted, the order may be either (i), the same (Anaphora), or (ii) the opposite (Chiasmus). Anaphora and Chiasmus have been called "the two chief forces which control the order of the Latin sentence." (Nagelsbach.)
Example 13: A1-A2-B2-B1
multos defendi, LAESI NEMINEM
CORRESPONDENCE:
1: accusative object
2: verb
PAIRS:
A1-A2: multos defendi
B1-B2: NEMINEM LAESI
REVERSAL:
B2-B1: LAESI NEMINEM
Example 14
oratio pugnat , REPUGNAT RATIO.
CORRESPONDENCE:
1: nominative subject
2: verb
PAIRS:
A1-A2: oratio pugnat
B1-B2: RATIO REPUGNAT
REVERSAL:
B2-B1: REPUGNAT RATIO
ADDENDUM 5: Chase
Chase provides this definition in section 260:
5. Contrasted and kindred words are put next to one another.
6. Contrasted pairs of words are often put with the words in one pair in a reverse order to that of the other pair; two of the contrasted words still often being together as by last rule. This figure is called chiasmus, i.e. crossing, from the Greek letter X.
Example 15: A1-A2-B2-B1
cum spe vincendi simul abiecisti CERTANDI etiam CUPIDITATEM
CORRESPONDENCE:
1: noun
2: genitive of gerund
PAIRS:
A1-A2: spe vincendi
B1-B2: CUPIDITATEM CERTANDI
REVERSAL:
B2-B1: CERTANDI CUPIDITATEM
Example 16
cedere alius, ALIUS OBTRUNCARI
CORRESPONDENCE:
1: infinitive
2: alius
PAIRS:
A1-A2: cedere alius
B1-B2: OBTRUNCARI ALIUS
REVERSAL:
B2-B1: ALIUS OBTRUNCARI
ADDENDUM 6: Hale and Buck
Hale and Buck provide this definition in section 628:
When two pairs of words are in contrast with each other, the members may be arranged either in Parallel Order or in Cross Order (called chiasmus, from the Greek letter X, in which the lines are crossed).
Example 17: A1-A2-B2-B1
pro vita hominis nisi HOMINIS VITA reddatur
CORRESPONDENCE:
1: vita
2: hominis
PAIRS:
A1-A2: vita hominis
B1-B2: VITA HOMINIS
REVERSAL:
B2-B1: HOMINIS VITA
ADDENDUM 7: Bennett
Bennett provides this definition in section 350.11.c:
Chiasmus (so named from a fancied analogy to the strokes of the Greek letter X, chi), which consists in changing the relative order of words in two antithetical phrases.
Example 18: A1-A2-B2-B1
horribilem illum diem aliis, NOBIS faustum
CORRESPONDENCE:
1: adjective (modifier of diem)
2: dative
PAIRS:
A1-A2: horribilem aliis
B1-B2: faustum NOBIS
REVERSAL:
B2-B1: NOBIS faustum
ADDENDUM 8: Burton
Burton provides this definition in section 1067:
Emphasis is secured in the following ways:
1067. By reversing the order of words in the second pair, when one pair is contrasted with another. This is called Chiasmus. The use of the same order in the second pair is called Anaphora.
Example 19: A1-A2-B2-B1
finis et Gallis territandi et PAVENDI fuit ROMANIS
CORRESPONDENCE:
1: dative
2: genitive (of gerund)
PAIRS:
A1-A2: Gallis territandi
B1-B2: ROMANIS PAVENDI
REVERSAL:
B2-B1: PAVENDI ROMANIS
ADDENDUM 9: D'Ooge
D'Ooge provides this definition in section 934. Emphasis is secured by putting words in unusual positions, as follows:
f. By reversing the order of words in the second of two contrasted expressions. This is called chiasmus and is very common. Chiasmus is named from the Greek letter chi (X), in which the lines are crossed.
Example 20: A1-A2-B2-B1
quam diu vixit, VIXIT IN LUCTU
CORRESPONDENCE:
1: adverbial phrase
2: vixit
PAIRS:
A1-A2: quam diu vixit
B1-B2: IN LUCTU VIXIT
REVERSAL:
B2-B1: VIXIT IN LUCTU
