RHETORIC: REPETITION LEXICON, PART THREE

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 DEFINITION 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 EFFECT 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't correct.

EPISTROPHE DEFINITION 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 EFFECT 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 DEFINITION Repetition at the end of a clause of the word that occurred at the beginning of it. EFFECTS 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 DEFINITION Repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the following clause. EFFECTS 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 DEFINITION Arrangement of words/phrases/clause s in order of importance This is not necessarily repetition, but is often used with anadiplosis, so I put it here EFFECT 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."

CHIASMUS DEFINITION Repetition of words in successive clauses; in reverse grammatical order in the second EFFECTS 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 DEFINITION Repetition of words derived from the same root EFFECTS 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."