Editing Chiastic structure (section)

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{{short description|Literary technique in narrative motifs and other textual passages}}
{{other uses of|ring structure|Ring structure (disambiguation)}}
{{other uses of|ring theory|Ring theory (disambiguation)}}
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'''Chiastic structure''', or '''chiastic pattern''', is a [[literary technique]] in [[motif (narrative)|narrative motif]]s and other textual passages.  An example of chiastic structure would be two ideas, A and B, together with variants A' and B', being presented as A,B,B',A'.  Chiastic structures that involve more components are sometimes called "ring structures" or "ring compositions". These may be regarded as [[chiasmus]] scaled up from words and clauses to larger segments of text.

[[File:Ring structure in the Quran.jpg|thumb|Example of a ring structure in the Quran]]

These often [[symmetric]]al patterns are commonly found in ancient literature such as the [[epic poetry]] of the ''[[Iliad]]'' and the ''[[Odyssey]]''. Classicist Bruno Gentili describes this technique as "the cyclical, circular, or 'ring' pattern (''ring composition''). Here the idea that introduced a compositional section is repeated at its conclusion, so that the whole passage is framed by material of identical content".<ref>Gentili, Bruno, ''Poetry and Its Public in Ancient Greece: From Homer to the Fifth Century'', trans. A. Thomas Cole (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1988), 48</ref> Meanwhile, in classical prose, scholars often find chiastic narrative techniques in the ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|Histories]]'' of [[Herodotus]]:

{{blockquote|Herodotus frequently uses ring composition or 'epic regression' as a way of supplying background information for something discussed in the narrative. First an event is mentioned briefly, then its precedents are reviewed in reverse chronological order as far back as necessary; at that point the narrative reverses itself and moves forward in chronological order until the event in the main narrative line is reached again.<ref>Boedeker, Deborah. "Epic Heritage and Mythical Patterns in Herodotus." Published in ''Companion to Herodotus'', ed. Egbert J. Bakker, Irene J. F. de Jong, and Hans van Wees (Brill, 2002), 104–05.</ref>}}

Various chiastic structures are also seen in the [[Hebrew Bible]], the [[New Testament]], the [[Book of Mormon]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Alma 36: 3-27|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/alma/36?lang=eng|access-date=10 January 2018}}</ref> and the [[Quran]].