I just listened to RFM's podcast about chiasmus. If you haven't heard it, he reviews one of his own podcasts and finds it filled with chiasms. He concludes that he must be an Israelite from 600BC.
I decided to look for chiasms elsewhere with the help of ChatGPT. Here are a few I found:
Donald Trump:
A. Problem statement / losses
B. Promise of change / looking forward
C. “America First” / putting citizens first
D. Reclaiming strength, protection, action
C′. Reiterating “America First” / benefit to citizens
B′. Vision of rebuilding / restoring prosperity
A′. Return to unity / national greatness together
A. Declaring new beginning / golden age
B. Core priorities: reclaim sovereignty, restore safety, justice
C. Identifying challenges / crisis (trust, establishment, decay)
D. Solutions / commitments: America first, free speech, law & order, merit, etc.
C′. Reassurance & overcoming the challenges
B′. Vision for America: greater, strong, exceptional
A′. Call to unity; national pride; optimism for future
Martin Luther King:
I have a dream speech:
A. With this faith … hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope
B. With this faith … transform the jangling discords … into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood
C. With this faith … work together, pray together, struggle together … knowing that we will be free one day
D. This will be the day when all of God’s children … from every mountainside, let freedom ring
C′. (reflection) … work together, pray, struggle … together … free one day
B′. (echo) … symphony of brotherhood … transform discord → brotherhood
A′. Heaping hope from despair; vision of freedom ringing (faith realized)
Other America Speech:
A. One America is beautiful: prosperity, education, culture, freedom, dignity, opportunity
B. But there is another America: daily ugliness … hope → fatigue of despair
C. Detailed suffering: no jobs, slums, inferiority in children, shattered dreams
D. Moral awakening / call to see the truth / recognize injustice
C′. (echo) The suffering detailed again / exposure of hardship
B′. Rejection of complacency; call to action against despair
A′. Vision of justice / equality for all; affirmation of moral duty and hope
Beyond Vietnam speech:
A. Critique: spending on military > social uplift → spiritual death
B. Hope: necessity to recapture revolutionary spirit; oppose poverty, racism, militarism
C. Call to commitment & action: challenge status quo, speed day of justice (“valleys exalted … hills made low”)
D. Vision of the redeemed world: transformation of society landmarks (valleys, mountains)
C′. Action: rededicate ourselves to long & bitter but beautiful struggle
B′. Moral responsibility; hope grounded in justice and struggle
A′. Renewal of purpose; turning away from spiritual death toward uplift and justice
Satanic Bible:
A. Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it
B. instead of love wasted on ingrates
C. [implicit contrast of value, merit vs waste]
B′. (return to notion of love/affection, but qualified)
A′. (return to kindness / moral reciprocity)
Harvey Milk:
Without Hope speech:
A. Without hope — multiple marginalized groups giving up
B. The insufficiency: you can’t live on hope alone
C. The moral claim: without hope, life is not worth living
D. Central call: you’ve got to give them hope
C′. Life without hope is not worth living
B′. You can’t live on hope alone (but…)
A′. Give hope to those who need it
My name is Harvey Milk speech:
A. Introduction of self & recruitment
B. The threat: bigotry / constitutionalized intolerance
C. Refusal to remain silent / passive
D. Active declaration: coming out, fighting lies & myths
C′. Coming out to tell the truth
B′. Rejecting distortions / myths
A′. Stand up; participate; recruit others
Adolph Hitler:
A. Past Germany: fragmentation, lack of unity, political weakness
B. Suffering: emigration, exile, bloodshed, sacrifice
C. Recognition of long struggle and bitter efforts
D. Present‑Unity / Accomplishment: Greater Germany, fulfillment of centuries’ dream
C′. Acknowledgement that the struggle was harsh, fight was real
B′. Sacrifices and support from “the people”, those who toiled, who bore the brunt
A′. Vision of unity and pride in renewed Germany; claim to historical continuity and destiny
The Quran:
Sura Yusuf (12)
A. Joseph’s dream (vv. 4‑6)
B. His brothers plot against him and betray him (vv. 7‑22)
C. Joseph in Potiphar’s house: temptations (vv. 23‑29)
D. Egyptian women’s false accusation / trial (vv. 30‑34)
E. Joseph imprisoned (vv. 35‑42)
F. The king’s dream → a turning point (vv. 43‑44)
E′. Interpretation and its aftermath; Joseph released (vv. 45‑57)
D′. Women’s confession and vindication (vv. 51‑57)
C′. Joseph’s role restored, tested (forgiveness, etc.) (vv. 58‑99)
B′. Brothers’ realization, reconciliation (vv. 100‑101)
A′. Fulfillment of Joseph’s dream (vv. 100‑101)
Ayat al-Kursi (2:255)
A. Allah — none has the right to be worshiped but Him; the Ever‑Living, the Sustainer
B. Neither slumber nor sleep overtake Him
C. To Him belongs whatever is in heaven and earth
D. Who is it that can intercede in His presence except by His permission?
C′. He knows what is before them and what is behind them
B′. His Throne extends over heavens and earth; guarding them does not burden Him
A′. He is the Most High, the Great
Surah Al-Baqara
A. Allah — none has the right to be worshiped but Him; the Ever‑Living, the Sustainer
B. Neither slumber nor sleep overtake Him
C. To Him belongs whatever is in heaven and earth
D. Who is it that can intercede in His presence except by His permission?
C′. He knows what is before them and what is behind them
B′. His Throne extends over heavens and earth; guarding them does not burden Him
A′. He is the Most High, the Great