[1] A similar device, antimetabole, also involves a reversal of grammatical structures in successive phrases or clauses in an A-B-B-A configuration, but unlike chiasmus, presents a repetition of words.
[2] Chiasmus balances words or phrases with similar, though not identical, meanings: But O, what damned minutes tells he o'er Who dotes, yet doubts; suspects, yet strongly loves.
Chiasmus was particularly popular in the literature of the ancient world, including Hebrew, Greek, Latin and K'iche' Maya,[7] where it was used to articulate the balance of order within the text.
[12] Conceptual chiasmus utilizes specific linguistic choices, often metaphors, to create a connection between two differing disciplines.
This is made apparent in the central 8th stanza: "Oh David, thou soughtest shelter from King Saul's tyranny.