The Isocolon: How Parallels Improve Your Writing

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Isocolon blog post image

Some phrases or sentences are beautiful because of their structure. It’s why sonnets, with their rhyme scheme, quatrains and iambic pentameter, are so fun to read or recite. They just feel right!

One figure of speech that emphasizes structure is called isocolon. And while you’re not familiar with the word, you’ve definitely encountered a lot of its examples.

What is an Isocolon?

An isocolon is a rhetorical device where a succession of sentences, phrases, or clauses are equal in length and structure. This parallelism may be expressed through the number of syllables, meter, rhythm, and sound.

An example of an isocolon is the Latin expression “Veni, vidi, vici”, where there are three equal parts to consider. Each part is classified as a colon (plural, cola), which is a clause that is grammatically but not logically, complete.

The name isocolon comes from the Greek “isos”, meaning equal, and “kolon”, meaning member or clause. Its plural forms are isocola and isocolon.

Types of Isocolons

Isocolons are further divided into three different types depending on their number of cola. Check them out below.

Bicolon

Bicolons consist of two dramatically equal structures. Many taglines and slogans are done this way. Some examples are:

  • American by Birth. Rebel by Choice.
  • Eat Healthy. Think Better.
  • Buy One. Get One.
  • Roses are red. Violets are blue;
  • You’ve got a lot to live, and Pepsi’s got a lot to give.
  • Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.
  • Thy kingdom come, thy will be done;
  • Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.
  • The bigger they are, the harder they fall
  • Finders, keepers; losers, weepers
  • Grande taste. Loco value.
  • More saving. More doing.

Tricolon

Tricolons have three equal structures occurring sequentially. You’ll find that many notable figures frequently use this in their speeches. This is probably because things that come in threes are more interesting and satisfying to the brain.

Some examples are:

  • “We cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow—this ground Government of the people, by the people, for the people.”
  • “with malice toward none, with charity toward all, with firmness in the right…”
  • “It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children.“
  • “And when the night grows dark, when injustice weighs heavy on our hearts, when our best-laid plans seem beyond our reach…”
  • “I actually feel rather good about this. I think we’ve all arrived at a very special place, eh? Spiritually, ecumenically … grammatically.”
  • “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”
  • Food, folks, and fun.
  • Grace…space…pace.
  • Stop, Look, and Listen.
  • Drop, Cover, and Hold.
  • Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite.

Tetracolon

Tetracolons, sometimes also called quatrains, are made up of four equal structures. Some examples are:

  • “I write humor the way a surgeon operates, because it is a livelihood, because I have a great urge to do it, because many interesting challenges are set up, and because I have the hope that it may do some good.“
  • “The same government that you go abroad to fight for and die for is the government that is in a conspiracy to deprive you of your voting rights, deprive you of your economic opportunities, deprive you of decent housing, deprive you of decent education.“
  • Fear leads to anger; anger leads to hatred; hatred leads to conflict; conflict leads to suffering.
  • “It was raw mortar, and then it was terra cotta, and then it seemed like bronze, and now it is a living thing.“

Examples in Literature

1. The Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum

“You are talking to a man who has laughed in the face of death, sneered at doom, and chuckled at catastrophe.”

2. The Tyger by William Blake 

What the hammer? what the chain,
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp,
Dare its deadly terrors clasp!

3. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

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.

4. Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis

"Nothing that's beautiful hides its face. Nothing that's honest hides its name."

5. Richard II by William Shakespeare

"I’ll give my jewels for a set of beads,
My gorgeous palace for a hermitage,
My gay apparel for an almsman’s gown,
My figured goblets for a dish of wood."

Why Use an Isocolon?

An isocolon establishes parallels that make a language much more powerful. By using the same type of structure multiple times, you make sure that your audience knows exactly what you mean or feel.

Because of its use of equal lengths and sounds, an appealing visual and aural rhythm is made. And because these structures are balanced and symmetrical, your words smoothly flow from one cola to another. So not only does an isocolon provide a technical function, but also an artistic one.

This is why a lot of advertisers, politicians, and writers use isocolons in their respective fields. You can take advantage of an isocolon’s rhythm and repetition to make your words memorable and persuasive.

Of course, not every sentence needs an isocolon. Too much use will make it sound and feel forced. So look for opportunities where you think an idea or concept needs reinforcement. This way, the parallelism you use will have its desired effect.

What’s your favorite example of an isocolon? Share it in the comments below!

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