Paradiastole


Paradiastole, in a trope sense, is the reframing of a vice as a virtue, often with the use of euphemism, for example, "Yes, I know it does not work all the time, but that is what makes it interesting." It is often used ironically.
Paradiastole has been described as "the rhetorical technique of evaluative redescription — more popularly known as euphemism and dysphemism ― designed to enlarge or reduce the moral significance of something". It can be distinguished from mere euphemism when a contrast is juxtaposed that has an aim to be tangibly optimistic, such as banally referring to manual labour as a "workout". In the popular adage within computer science, "It's not a bug; it's a feature!", the distinction is made both euphemistically and literally, as many features in software originated as bugs.
In ethics, paradiastole takes the form of advice. For example, the aphorism "all that glitters is not gold" is an ironic illustration that although a thing may have some positive qualities, it may still be undesirable.
In rhetoric, it forms a semantic argument. It can be compared with antithesis except that in paradiastole there is a contrast between two terms, not two ideas.
In narrative, it can be contrasted with dramatic irony, in which characters for their part are unaware of there being a dichotomy; and it can contribute to direct characterization for the purpose of character development.

Usage to describe a list

In studies on classical antiquity, it has come to mean the repetition of disjunctive words in a list.
In biblical studies, paradiastole is a type of anaphora. Paradiastole uses certain words—either, or, neither, not, and nor—as disjunctions. A disjunction differs from a conjunction in that it separates things, whereas a conjunction joins them.
An example of this technique can be found in the Gospel of John, clarifying the meaning of τέκνα θεοῦ :
In this passage, οὐκ and οὐδὲ function as the disjunctions. The paradiastole emphasizes that those who believed and became "God's children" were not
physically born again, but divinely.
The French Enlightenment writer Voltaire remarked sardonically: "This agglomeration which was called and which still calls itself the Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire."

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Category:Figures of speech
Category:Rhetoric
Category:Euphemisms