This month we’re going to continue our discussion from last month (Repeating Yourself 1) about repetition. If done correctly, the echo readers hear will resonate within them, making them remember your words all the more. The styles covered in this post are about words that repeat at the beginning or end of phrases. Both can be powerful…if used correctly. See if you can find a way to include either or both in your writing.
Epistrophe
From the Greek meaning ‘return’, this repetitive style uses the same word or phrase at the ends of a series. We already know that the end of a sentence, the end of a paragraph, the end of a story are the most powerful places for your ideas. Well, here we make certain the reader knows what that is. See these examples:
- The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth
- A government of the people, by the people, and for the people
- See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil
- When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child
- What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny compared to what lies within us
If you really want your readers to take away an idea, repeat it…but carefully.
Anaphora
Here the Greek root means ‘carry back’, and similar to an epistrophe, this form also repeats, but this time at the beginning of a collection of phrases.
- With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right
- We cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground
- This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England
- Maybe it’s the way the mountains reach the clouds, maybe it’s the way the waterfalls dive off every cliff, maybe it’s the way everything is peaceful and quiet, or maybe it’s all of that combined
- Every day, every night, in every way, I am getting better
- I came, I saw, I conquered
Extreme Examples
- It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair. (Probably the most famous example)
- A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. (Probably the longest example)
Not quite as powerful as epistrophe (according to some) but still very useful in getting your point across.
Symploce
Interestingly enough, if you combine anaphora and epistrophe, you get repetition at both ends of a phrase: symploce from the Greek ‘to weave together’. Here are a few examples:
- For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the message was lost.
For want of a message the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail. - Let England have its navigation and fleet
Let Scotland have its navigation and fleet
Let Wales have its navigation and fleet
Let Ireland have its navigation and fleet - I say it.
I voice it.
I proclaim it.
And I care not who in heaven or hell opposes it. - If there is a mountain, we climb it.
If there’s a frontier, we cross it.
If there’s a challenge, we tame it.
If there’s an opportunity, we seize it. - I could not,
I will not,
I cannot betray their trust.”
Well, that pretty much covers all the types of repetition that you may come across…there are more…lots more…but we’re going to leave it at this…for now. If we have some discussion about the various types, we may post a few more. Keep at it!