Figures of balance
Figures of balance may be divided between those that are schemes (the artful arrangements of words), and those that are figures of thought (addressing the subject matter, not the manner of expression). Some figures cross over between the two types, such as the figure antithesis. These figures are commonly used by advocates given that a case will usually hinge on different perspectives on the facts or the law, where justaposing two different ideas is commonly done.
Figures of Balance - Schemes
These figures often rely upon various kinds of parallel and antithetical structures :
Parallelism - Similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses. (See Figures of Parallelism)
Isocolon - A kind of a parallelism in which a series of similarly structured elements all have the same length.
Tricolon - Three parallel elements of the same length occurring together.
Antithesis - Juxtaposition of contrasting ideas (often in parallel structure).
Climax - Generally, the arrangement of words, phrases, or clauses in an order of increasing importance, often in parallel structure.
Figures of Balance - Subject Matter
Dirimens Copulatio - A figure by which one balances one statement with a contrary, qualifying statement.
Antithesis - Juxtaposition of contrasting ideas (often in parallel structure).
In Utrumque Partes - Arguing both sides of an issue.
Acknowledgement
The above information on individual rhetorical techniques is reproduced from the website “Silva Rhetoricae” (www.rhetoric.byu.edu ) under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence. Credit for this content lies with Professor Gideon O Burton of Brigham Young University.