Yin yang, from literally meaning dark and bright, is often represented as opposing forces, but realistically they cannot exist without each other. In an excerpt from Lectures on the English Comic Writers, nineteenth-century British author, William Hazlitt, discusses his views on mankind’s sense of humor. Hazlitt utilises a variety of devices of mainly a intrigued tone and parallel structure to illustrate and elaborate on his point of view that the relationship of “laughter and tears” or “tragedy and comedy” are rudimentary essentials in the course of each human life.
Hazlitt 's tone leads one to believe that he is intrigued and passionate about the topic. He notes that “We weep at what thwarts or exceeds our desires in serious matters: we laugh at what only disappoints our expectations in trifles.” This means we cry when things don
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Hazlitt’s repetitive use of parallel structure solidifies the perspective that a tragedy and a comedy are two sides of the same coin. Hazlitt states, “We weep...we burst into laughter...We shed tears...we burst into laughter….” This anaphora unifies the view saying "we" to include everyone. This experience isn 't applicable to certain people, but to mankind who will experience all this. He also phrases with similar syntax such as "laughs and weeps," "unreasonable and unnecessary," "sad or merry," and "vanity or weakness." These reoccurring phrases are juxtaposed to support the idea that they are inseparable. The parallel structure like the multiple cases of commas also aids in the pacing of the excerpt creating a faster and exciting tempo. Hazalitt 's usage of parallel structure stresses the importance of how a tragedy and a comedy must coexist to have the other.
With his tone and parallel structure, William Hazlitt’s lecture establishes his viewpoint that “laughter and tears” or “tragedy and comedy” are two parts of a whole that doesn’t exist without the other. Without one you cannot have the other. It is a balance embedded within