Antithesis, literally meaning "opposite," is the juxtaposition of two contrasting ideas within a parallel grammatical structure. Indeed, literally, to use antithesis is to posit two theses (ideas) that seem to oppose each other: anti-theses. When used as a rhetorical device, antithesis employs similar grammatical structures to draw attention to, and thus amplify, the contrast between the two theses.
In King's letter, written during his incarceration in Birmingham Jail at the time of the 1963 Birmingham Campaign, antithesis is used to express King's key concern that there is one rule in America for whites, and another for blacks, with King's peaceful protest being met with harsh rebukes. Indeed, because King felt that treatment of blacks ran antithetical to that of whites, the rhetorical device suits his purpose well. For example: "freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." The antithesis here is very much marked, with "given" opposing "demanded," while "oppressor" counteracts "oppressed."
Another example in the same vein is "justice too long delayed is justice denied." The antithesis here serves to underline the hypocrisy inherent in the system: in King's view, to "delay" justice is no better than to deny it outright, as delaying justice is an injustice in itself.
We can also see some examples of extended parallelism in this letter, utilising anaphora (repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of several sentences or clauses within sentences) to amplify the antithetical effect. For example,
So I, along with several members of my staff, am here because I was invited here. I am here because I have organizational ties here.
But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here.
Here, the paragraph break serves as a caesura or dramatic pause, hugely amplifying the effect of the antithesis as it illuminates how the "basic" reason seems to contrast to the other, more mundane ones that precede it.
Antithesis is the opposition or contrast of ideas or words in parallel structure. Parallelism occurs when structures within sentences or parts of a sentence take the same form. Parallelism is a grammatical repetition.
One of King's most quoted lines is an example of antithesis: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." First, one must understand how this sentence is in parallel form. If one were to break the sentence down to its parts of speech, it would follow this structure: noun, adverb, verb, adjective, noun, preposition, noun, adverb. The two parts that are underlined show the two structures that are repeated, so one knows this is an example of parallelism. Looking at those two parts in the sentence ("Injustice anywhere" and "justice everywhere"), one can see that the phrases are opposites of one another.
So what is the reason for antithesis? King wants to show his audience (particularly the eight clergymen who sent him the letter to which he is responding) that his purpose in being in Birmingham is greater than Birmingham; it is about rooting out injustices across the country to protect and elevate justice for all. It is not a Black or White issue; it is the country's issue.
Some other examples of antithesis (with the parallelism underlined):
"Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly." (para. 5)
"...the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood." (para. 10)
"We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." (para. 13)
"One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws." (para. 15)
"Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust." (para. 16)
"An unjust law is a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself. This is difference made legal. By the same token, a just law is a code that a majority compels a minority to follow and that it is willing to follow itself. This is sameness made legal." (para. 17)
"Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection."
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