I need to choose which 5 of these are antithesis. Please tell me if i'm correct. I put a star next to them.
*A little learning is a dangerous thing, drinking deep or taste not the pierian spring
*be not the first by whom the new are tried, nor yet the last to lay the old aside
*true ease in writing comes from art, not chance as those move easiest who have learned to dance.
be thou the first true merit to befriend, his praise is lost, who stays till all commend.
*good nature and good sense must ever join; to err is human, to forgive, divine.
hope springs eternal in the human breast; man never is, but always to be blest.
'tis education forms the common mind, just as the twig is bent, the tree's inclined
*but when to mischief mortals bend their will, how soon they find fit instruments of ill!
Definition:
a figure of speech in which an opposition or contrast of ideas is expressed by parallelism of words that are the opposites of, or strongly contrasted with, each other, such as “hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins”
also http://literarydevices.net/antithesis/
Check these through again. I agree with some but not all your choices.
To determine if these phrases are antitheses, we need to identify if they present contrasting or opposite ideas. An antithesis involves the use of contrasting concepts, words, or ideas in a parallel grammatical structure.
Let's go through each phrase to determine if it contains an antithesis:
1. "A little learning is a dangerous thing, drinking deep or taste not the Pierian spring."
This phrase does not contain an antithesis. It warns against the dangers of having only a small amount of knowledge, but does not present contrasting ideas.
2. "Be not the first by whom the new are tried, nor yet the last to lay the old aside."
This phrase does include an antithesis. It contrasts being the first to try new things with being the last to let go of old things. Thus, it could be marked with a star.
3. "True ease in writing comes from art, not chance as those move easiest who have learned to dance."
This phrase does not contain an antithesis. It contrasts writing with dancing as two different skills, but it does not present contrasting ideas.
4. "Be thou the first true merit to befriend, his praise is lost, who stays till all commend."
This phrase does include an antithesis. It contrasts being the first to befriend someone of true merit with waiting for everyone to commend before showing praise. Thus, it could be marked with a star.
5. "Good nature and good sense must ever join; to err is human, to forgive, divine."
This phrase does include an antithesis. It contrasts human beings' tendency to make mistakes with the divine act of forgiveness. Thus, it could be marked with a star.
6. "Hope springs eternal in the human breast; man never is but always to be blest."
This phrase does not contain an antithesis. It expresses a hopeful outlook on life but does not present opposing ideas.
7. "’Tis education forms the common mind, just as the twig is bent, the tree's inclined."
This phrase does include an antithesis. It contrasts the formation of the mind through education with the bending of a twig to influence the growth of a tree. Thus, it could be marked with a star.
8. "But when to mischief mortals bend their will, how soon they find fit instruments of ill!"
This phrase does not contain an antithesis. It warns about the consequences of mischief but does not present contrasting ideas.
Based on the analysis, the phrases marked with stars (*) correctly contain antitheses:
- "Be not the first by whom the new are tried, nor yet the last to lay the old aside."
- "Be thou the first true merit to befriend, his praise is lost, who stays till all commend."
- "Good nature and good sense must ever join; to err is human, to forgive, divine."
- "’Tis education forms the common mind, just as the twig is bent, the tree's inclined."