PARALLELISM

Le Thi Hue
1. WHAT IS PARALLELISM?
Parallelism in sentences refers to matching grammatical Structures. Elements in a
sentence that have the same function or express similar ideas should be grammatically
parallel, or grammatically matched. Parallelism is used effectively as a rhetorical device
throughout litereture and in speechs, advertising copy, and populars songs.
Parallelism (also called Parallel structure) is the repetition of a chosen
grammatical form within a sentence (words, phrases, or sentences). By making each
compared item or idea in your sentence follow the same grammatical pattern, you create
a parallel construction.
Parallelism refers to balance and equality. In order for the reader to understand
what the writer means, the words must make sense in time and space. If you start talking
about one thing one way, you cant mid-sentence switch to talking about something
else a different way.
Ex: I love dogs, I love cats.
I am stupid, and crazy.
Function of Parallelism
The use of parallel structures in speech or writing allows speakers and writers to
maintain a consistency within their work and create a balanced flow of ideas. Moreover,
it can be employed as a tool for persuasion as well because of the repetition it uses.
2. USING PARALLEL STRUCTURE.

a) Use parallel structure with elements joined by coordinating conjunctions
(With Coordinating Conjunctions).
- When you connect two or more clauses or phrases with a coordinating
conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, or so), use parallel structure.
Ex: I like dog, cat, and rabbit.

b) Use parallel structure with elements in lists or in a series (With Lists).
- When you are comparing items in a list, use parallel structure.
Ex: John Taylor Gatto criticizes public schools because they require students to
attend, receive money from the government, and destroy students' humanity.

c) Use parallel structure with elements being compared (With Phrases or
Clauses of Comparison).
- When you connect two clauses or phrases with a word of comparison, such
as than or as, use parallel structure.
Ex: I prefer listening than speaking.

d) Use parallel structure with elements joined by a linking verb or a verb of
being.

e) Use parallel structure with elements joined by a correlative conjunction
(With Correlative Conjunctions).
- When you connect two clauses or phrases with a correlative conjunction
(not onlybut also, eitheror, neithernor, ifthen, etc.), use parallel
structure.
Ex: I like not only love but also money.

3. FAULTY PARALLELISM

Faulty parallelism is an error in which two or more parts of a sentence are
parallel in meaning, but not parallel in form. Below are some guidelines to help
you avoid faulty parallelism.

When listing a series of things, actions, or ideas, the items in
the list should be expressed in a similar manner. Words such as by,
to, that, and because should be repeated in order to signal
parallelism.
Ex:
Wrong: The werewolf went to the hairdressers, visited the butcher
shop, and stopped off at the movie theatre.
Right: The werewolf went to the hairdressers, to the butcher shop,
and to the movie theatre.

When linking two words or two word groups by and, each
word or word group must have the same grammatical function.

When making comparisons using the words than or as, be
sure that the things you compare are similar logically as well as
grammatically.
Ex:
Wrong: The girls in Ontario are prettier than California.
Right: The girls in Ontario are prettier than the girls in California.

When using correlative conjunctions (not only but also;
both and; neither nor; either or), the construction that
follows the first half of the pair should be exactly balanced by the
construction that follows the second half of the pair.
Ex:
Wrong: He is either a mad man or he is a fool.

Right: He is either a madman or a fool.

Be sure not to omit words that are necessary to balance your
sentence.
Ex:
Wrong: Homer always has and always will eat dinner in front of the
TV.
Right: Homer always has eaten and always will eat dinner in front of
the TV.

Examples of Parallelism in Literature
Example 1:
Antithesis is a kind of parallelism in which two opposite ideas are put together in
parallel structures. Alexander Pope in his An Essay on Criticism uses antithetic parallel
structure:
To err is human; to forgive divine.
Imperfection is a human trait and God is most forgiving. Through these
antithetical but parallel structures, the poet wants to say that God is forgiving because his
creation is erring.
Example 2:
We find parallelism in John Donnes poem Community,
Good we must love, and must hate ill,
For ill is ill, and good good still;
But there are things indifferent,
Which we may neither hate, nor love,
But one, and then another prove,
As we shall find our fancy bent.
Contrasting ideas of good and ill, love and hate are placed together in
parallel structures to emphasize the fact that we love good because it is always good and
we hate bad because it is always bad.
Example 3:
We see the repetition of parallel structures in the following lines from A Tale of
Two Cities by Charles Dickens:
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it
was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of
incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the
spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.
By repeating It was in the passage, the readers are prompted to focus on the
traits of the age they will read about in the succeeding passages.
Example 4:
We see William Blake employ Parallelism in his poem The Tyger:
What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?
The use of parallel structures, starting with what, creates a beautiful rhythm in the
above lines.
Example 5:
Parallelism takes form of Diazeugma in which a single subject is connected with
multiple verbs. Read the following lines from the speech of Norfolk in Willia
Shakespeare Henry VIII, Act 3, Scene 2:
My lord, we have
Stood here observing him: Some strange commotion
Is in his brain: he bites his lip, and starts;
Stops on a sudden, looks upon the ground,
Then, lays his finger on his temple; straight,
Springs out into fast gait; then, stops again,
Strikes his breast hard; and anon, he casts
His eye against the moon: in most strange postures
We have seen him set himself.
The use of multiple verbs in the above lines creates a dramatic effect in the speech of
Norfolk that makes his description vivid.
Source :http://literarydevices.net/parallelism/



Exercise:
Correct the faulty parallelism in the following sentences.
1. This tour bus may seat eight people comfortably or it fits twenty
people uncomfortably.
2. Angrily, bitterly, and with tears in his eyes, Jean Cretien finally
retired.
3. This summer, Ed visited Italy, France, and he also went to his
mothers house in Spain.
4. If Janick were given the choice of dong the laundry or a movie,
he would choose the movie.
5. Bruce not only enjoys singing, he enjoys playing the guitar as
well.
6. Vampires are advised to avoid garlic, drink blood regularly, and
stay out of the sun.
8. Rod either works at his home office, or an office at Sanctuary
Towers each day.
9. Warren believes and is an advocate of werewolves rights.
10. Kathie Lee is not only are highly annoying, but also she is the
proud mother of two perfectly awful children.
Answers Exercise:
1. This tour bus may seat eight people comfortably, or twenty
people uncomfortably.
2. Angrily, bitterly, and tearfully, Jean Cretien finally retired.
3. This summer, Ed visited Italy, France, and his mothers house in
Spain.
4. If Janick were given the choice of dong the laundry or seeing a
movie, he would choose the movie.
5. Bruce not only enjoys singing, but also enjoys playing the guitar.
6. Vampires are advised to avoid garlic, to drink blood regularly,
and to stay out of the sun.
7. Football is more popular in Europe than in North America.
8. Rod works either at his home office, or at his office in Sanctuary
Towers each day.
9. Warren believes in and is an advocate of werewolves rights.
10. Kathie Lee is not only highly annoying, but also is the proud
mother of two perfectly awful children.