To provide a foil for this
Does "To provide a foil for this" mean "to increase this poignancy and damaging order" or "to decrease this poignancy and damaging order"?
Context:
In her series of photographs with accompanying text Scarred for Life (1994), Moffatt creates a sense of biographical documentation, using a similar combination of text and image to that adopted in the Empathy campaign, although the text is much shorter and far more poignant and speaks of an experience of a far more damaging order. To provide a foil for this, the voice is more neutral, describing the scene in the third person (Art and Advertising by Joan Gibbons).
Top answer
Given the definition of 'foil' (below), technically it could go either way, but saying "more neutral" after "far more poignant" and "far more damaging" suggests "to decrease this poignancy and damaging order". foil: A person or thing that contrasts with and so emphasizes and enhances the qualities of another. ‘the earthy taste of grilled vegetables is a perfect foil for the tart bite of creamy goat cheese’ (Oxford Dictionary) CJ
- Given the definition of 'foil' (below), technically it could go either way, but saying "more neutral" after "far more poignant" and "far more damaging" suggests "to decrease this poignancy and damaging order".
- foil: A person or thing that contrasts with and so emphasizes and enhances the qualities of another.
- ‘the earthy taste of grilled vegetables is a perfect foil for the tart bite of creamy goat cheese’ (Oxford Dictionary) CJ
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Given the definition of 'foil' (below), technically it could go either way, but saying "more neutral" after "far more poignant" and "far more damaging" suggests "to decrease this poignancy and damaging order".
foil: A person or thing that contrasts with and so emphasizes and enhances the qualities of another.
‘the earthy taste of grilled vegetables is a perfect foil for t
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