Never Let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You: Chiasmus and a World of Quotations That Say What They Mean and Mean What They Say (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780142000571)

What do Mae West, John F. Kennedy, Victor Hugo, and H. L. Mencken have in common? They all indulged in chiasmus-a literary device in which word order is reversed to hilarious or poignant effect. When Mae West said, "It's not the men in my life, it's the life in my men," she was using chiasmus; when John F. Kennedy said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country," he was doing the same. Dr. Mardy Grothe has compiled hundreds of examples of chiasmus in this whimsically illustrated collection, bringing this witty and thought-provoking device out of obscurity and into the public imagination.

Author: Mardy Grothe
ISBN-10: 0142000574
ISBN-13: 9780142000571
Publisher: Penguin Books
Language: English
Published: 02/26/2002
Pages: 144
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.26lbs
Size: 7.72h x 5.46w x 0.40d