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parallel structure

What is Parallel Structure? Definition, Usage, and Literary Examples

Parallel Structure Definition

Parallel structure (peh-ruh-LEL STRUHK-churr) is a synonym for parallelism: a grammatical and rhetorical term for creating a sense of linguistic balance by repeating elements within a sentence, over the course of several sentences, or in a longer work or speech.

In grammar, it refers to ensuring agreement in elements like number, verb tense, and adjective types. Maintaining this balance keeps writing clean, concise, and comprehensible. The rhetorical definition involves using this balance as a device to make speeches and works of literature more impactful.

Quick Examples of Parallel Structure

You may recognize some of these common sayings, all of which contain parallel structure:

  • “What you see is what you get.”
  • “Easy come, easy go.”
  • “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
  • “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”

Literary Devices that Use Parallel Structure

  • Anaphora: This device uses repetition at the beginning of each phrase or sentence. Consider this example: “I forgave you when you lost my cat, I forgave you when you left me at the airport, and I forgave you when you threw out my favorite stuffed animal.” The repeated use of I forgave you when you is parallel structure.
  • Antithesis: This is parallel structure that relies on opposites. “That curry is heaven on the tongue but hell in the tummy” plays on the oppositional dichotomy of the concepts of heaven and hell.
  • Epistrophe: This is like anaphora, except the repetition occurs at the end of phrases or sentences. By using the phrase eating pancakes repeatedly, this example achieves both epistrophe and parallel structure: “I love eating pancakes, my partner feels like eating pancakes, and we just saw a commercial where people were happily eating pancakes.”
  • Isocolon: This is a sequential repetition of words, clauses, or phrases with the same (or at least very similar) syllable count and rhythm, in addition to grammatical identity. Essentially, isocolon is intense parallel structure. A famous example is one attributed to Julius Caesar: “Veni, vidi, vici.” In Latin, this is a perfect example of isocolon. However, its English translation, “I came, I saw, I conquered,” cannot be considered isocolon because while I came and I saw each have two syllables, I conquered has three. Isocolon with two elements is bicolon, tricolon has three elements, and tetracolon has four.
  • Symploce: This is a combination of anaphora and epistrophe, so parallel structure is created by using a repeated element at the beginning of phrases and a different repeated element at the end of the phrases. “Man created religion, man questioned religion, man attacked religion, and man defended religion.” Each phrase begins with the word man and ends with a past tense verb and the word religion.

Examples of Parallel Structure in Literature

1. James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

In this dense example of isocolon/bicolon, Joyce has his protagonist (as well as his audience) wrestle with thoughts of human helplessness:

Pity is the feeling which arrests the mind in the presence of whatsoever is grave and constant in human sufferings and unites it with the sufferer. Terror is the feeling which arrests the mind in the presence of whatsoever is grave and constant in human sufferings and unites it with the secret cause. [bold for emphasis]

2. Dr. Martin Luther King, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”

Dr. King was famous for his impactful writing and speaking. In this letter to his fellow clergymen, he expresses his disappointment in white people who are neither overtly racist nor active in antiracist causes. He uses anaphora effectively here, repeating the phrase “I had hoped that the white moderate” (or slight variations thereof) to begin six sentences throughout the letter:

I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and that when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress. I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that the present tension in the South is a necessary phase of the transition from an obnoxious negative peace, in which the Negro passively accepted his unjust plight, to a substantive and positive peace, in which all men will respect the dignity and worth of human personality.

Further Resources on Parallel Structure

Parallel structure is common in the Christian Holy Bible. StudyLight.org provides a list of instances of different types of parallel structure from the Holy Bible.

Cole Porter’s “Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall in Love)” playfully uses epistrophe to make a catchy song. Listen to Ella Fitzgerald sing it in this YouTube video to hear how her voice and the melody emphasize the repeated words even more.