Parallelism is often referred to as one of the basic principles of grammar and rhetoric, and you’ll see its use throughout literature. Parallelism has slightly different meanings, depending on the context, but it’s about balancing the weight or structure of ideas and phrases. In rhetoric, parallelism means balancing two or more ideas or arguments that are equally important. In grammar, it means using phrasing that is grammatically similar or identical in structure, sound, meaning, or meter. As you can see from literary examples, this technique adds symmetry, effectiveness, and balance to the written piece.