RHETORIC

: REPE

TITI

ON

L EX

I CO

N,

P AR

T T

HR

EE

REPETITION

Repetition is a useful rhetorical tool because it adds emphasis and rhythm.

If people hear something enough, they begin to believe it.

I love calculus!

Parallel Structure is a repetition of grammatical structure.

That means that specific words may not be repeated.

She was careful to pack her trusty flashlight, warm jacket, and cuddly bear.

A REMINDER ABOUT PARALLEL STRUCTURE

ANAPHORA

D E F I N I T I O N

The first word or set of words in one sentence, clause, or phrase is repeated one or more times at the beginning of successive sentences, clauses, or phrases.

Repetition at the beginning

E F F E C T

Repetition provides emphasis

This technique links similar ideas together and holds the audience’s focus

ANAPHORA EXAMPLES

"We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with

growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be,

we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we

shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in

the hills; we shall never surrender."

We don't want handouts for people who refuse to help themselves, and we don't

want bailouts for banks that break the rules.   We don't

think government can solve all our problems.   But we

don't think that government is the source of all our problems - any more than are welfare

recipients, or corporations, or unions, or immigrants, or

gays, or any other group we're told to blame for our troubles.

It began with a financial crisis.  It

ends with a job crisis. It began with a

housing crisis they alone didn't cause.  It ends with a housing

crisis they didn'tcorrect.

EPISTROPHE

D E F I N I T I O N

The Last word or set of words in one sentence, clause, or phrase is repeated one or more times at the end of successive sentences, clauses, or phrases

Repetition at the end

E F F E C T

Repetition provides emphasis

This technique links similar ideas together and holds the audience’s focus

Because it is at the end, it often forcibly presents a conclusion

EPISTROPHE EXAMPLES

"I said you're afraid to bleed. [As] long as the white man sent you to

Korea, you bled. He sent you to Germany, you

bled. He sent you to the South Pacific to fight the Japanese, you bled. You bleed for white people.

“What lies behind us and

what lies before us are tiny

compared to what lies within

us.“

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

EPANALEPSIS

D E F I N I T I O N

Repetition at the end of a clause of the word that occurred at the beginning of it.

E F F E C T S

Uses the two strongest places in a sentence to draw attention to word

Often uses two clauses with the second providing a profound contrast to the first

EPANALEPSIS EXAMPLES

“Mankind must put an end to war--or

war will put an end to mankind.”

"Rejoice in the Lord always:

and again I say, Rejoice."

ANADIPLOSIS

D E F I N I T I O N

Repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the following clause.

E F F E C T S

Often emphasizes a transition or relationship, sometimes building to a climax

Often gives text sense of beauty or logic

ANADIPLOSIS EXAMPLES

"Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to

suffering. I sense much fear in you."

"The general who became a slave. The slave who became a

gladiator. The gladiator who defied an emperor.

Striking story!"

CLIMAX

D E F I N I T I O N

Arrangement of words/phrases/clauses in order of importance

This is not necessarily repetition, but is often used with anadiplosis, so I put it here

E F F E C T

Creates a logical and emotional build up to what will be perceived as the most significant point

CLIMAX EXAMPLES“I came, I saw, I

conquered.”

"Nothing has been left undone to cripple their

minds, debase their moral stature, obliterate all traces

of their relationship to mankind."

Narrative of the Life of

an Americ

an Slave

CHIASMUS

D E F I N I T I O N

Repetition of words in successive clauses; in reverse grammatical order in the second

E F F E C T S

Often produces an unexpected and aesthetically pleasing reversal

Often uses two clauses with the second providing a profound contrast to the first

CHIASMUS EXAMPLES“I am stuck on Band-Aid, and

Band-Aid’s stuck on

me!”

"My job is not to represent

Washington to you, but to

represent you to Washington." "I had a teacher I

liked who used to say good fiction's

job was to comfort the

disturbed and disturb the

comfortable." - David Foster

Wallace

POLYPTOTON

D E F I N I T I O N

Repetition of words derived from the same root

E F F E C T S

Often creates a profound reversal

Catches audience’s attention and slows their pace to account for nuances in meaning

POLYPTOTON EXAMPLES

“Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; To be understood as

to understand;To be loved as to love”

"Love is an irresistible

desire to be irresistibly desired."

- Robert Frost

"The things you own end up owning

you."