Parallel Structure Examples

Example 1 – Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar “Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears!”

Example 2- Martin Luther King Jr’s I have a dream speech. "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.' I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood... I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

Example 3 – Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

Example 4 – Barack Obama’s inauguration speech “My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors.”

Example 5 – Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s How do I Love Thee? “I love thee freely, as men strive for right. I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.”

Reference “Parallelism”. literarydevices.net, 2017. Retrieved from: https://literarydevices.net/parallelism/