repetition figure of speech sentence

Definition of Repetition

Repetition is a literary device that involves intentionally using a word or phrase for effect, two or more times in a speech or written work. For repetition to be noticeable, the words or phrases should be repeated within close proximity of each other. Repeating the same words or phrases in a literary work of poetry or prose can bring clarity to an idea and/or make it memorable for the reader.

For example, in the statement “What you own ends up owning you,”  own is repeated in two different ways. This repetition gives greater clarity to the meaning of the statement as a whole. Consumers often believe that they have power over what they acquire since they own it. However, the power of ownership over things is misleading in that often our things have power over us. What we acquire can limit and influence our lives in negative ways, such that our things are owning us. Therefore, repetition in this statement creates a clear meaning of the concept as well as making it memorable for the reader.

Common Examples of Repetition

Many common phrases in conversation and writing contain repetition. Here are some familiar examples of repetition:

• Time after time
• Heart to heart
• Boys will be boys
• Hand in hand
• Get ready; get set; go
• Hour to hour
• Sorry, not sorry
• Over and over
• Home sweet home
• Smile, smile, smile at your mind as often as possible.
• Alone , alone at last
• Now you see me; now you don’t
• Rain , rain go away
• All for one and one for all
• It is what it is

Examples of Repetition in Movie Lines

Many of the most famous quotes from movies contain repetition as a device. Here are some examples of repetition in movie lines:

• “Hey! I’m walking here! I’m walking here!” ( Midnight Cowboy )
• “You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me? Then who the hell else are you talkin’ to? You talkin’ to me? Well, I’m the only one here.” ( Taxi Driver )
• “You don’t understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could’ve been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am .” ( On the Waterfront )
• “Bond. James Bond.” (James Bond films)
• “Wax on. Wax off.” ( The Karate Kid )
• “You is smart . You is kind. You is important.” ( The Help )
• “Stupid is as stupid does.” ( Forrest Gump )
• “Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.” ( Back to the Future )
• “The first rule of Fight Club is: You do not talk about Fight Club.” ( Fight Club )
• “You’re out of order! You’re out of order! The whole trial is out of order! They’re out of order!” ( And Justice for All )

Famous Examples of Repetition

Think you haven’t heard of any famous examples of repetition? Here are some instances of repetition in famous speeches, writings, and quotations:

• Ashes To Ashes , dust to dust ( English Book of Common Prayer )
• The sad truth is that the truth is sad. (Lemony Snicket)
• The horror ! The horror! ( Heart of Darkness )
• And the Raven , never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting ( The Raven )
• And that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth ( Gettysburg Address )
• O Captain! my Captain! ( O Captain! My Captain! )
• Think and wonder, wonder and think (Dr. Seuss)
• Water, water everywhere, / Nor any drop to drink ( The Rime of the Ancient Mariner )
• Words, words, words ( Hamlet )
• Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day.   Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. ( Proverb )

Differences Between Repetition of Sounds

In addition to using repeating words and phrases as a literary device, writers may use repetition of sounds as well. Overall, the repetition of sound can provide rhythm , pacing , and musicality to a work of poetry or prose. These types of repeated sounds are consonance , assonance , and alliteration .

Consonance is the repetition of a consonant sound in a group of words, such as there is little butter in the bottle . Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds, such as  this lake takes the cake.  Alliteration is the repetition of a sound in the initial letter of a group of words, such as selling sails is somewhat silly .

Though repetitions of sounds are also effective literary devices , in general, the literary term repetition refers to the intentional use of recurring words and phrases in poetry or prose. However, in a broad sense, repetition as a literary device includes repeating sounds through consonance, assonance, and alliteration as well.

Writing Repetition

Repetition, as a literary device, functions as a means of reinforcing a concept, thought, or idea for a reader by repeating certain words or phrases. Writers that utilize repetition call attention to what is being repeated. This can generate greater focus on a particular subject and intensify its meaning.

It’s essential that writers bear in mind that their audience may experience fatigue if repetition is overused. As a literary device, repetition should be used deliberately and not just for the sake of repeating a word or phrase. However, when used properly, repetition can be an influential device in writing.

Here are some ways that writers benefit from incorporating repetition into their work:

Sense of Rhythm

Repetition of sounds, words, or phrases allows for a sense of rhythm in a literary work. This is particularly effective when it comes to poetry and speeches. Rhythm affects the pacing and musicality of wording and phrasing. Therefore, repetition creates a sense of rhythm that can change the experience a reader and/or listener has with a literary work.

Create Emphasis

Repeating a word or phrase in a work of poetry or prose calls attention to it on behalf of the reader. This creates emphasis by highlighting the importance of the word or phrase. Therefore, the reader is more likely to consider the meaning of the word or phrase in a deeper way. Additionally, such emphasis on a concept, a thought, or an idea can be persuasive on behalf of the reader by underscoring its significance.

Purpose of Repetition in Literature

As far as the purpose of repetition in literature is concerned, it has three specific functions that the writers and poets have in their minds when they use repetitions.

• The first one is the stress upon some point so that it could reach its intended audiences.
• The second is to create intended impacts on the audiences by repeating the same phrase such as “I have a dream ” in the speech of the same title by Martin Luther King. This repetition also serves the purpose of persuading the audience or readers.
• The third is to use repetition for melody and rhythm. It happens mostly in poetry though some prose writers such as Charles Dickens have used repetitions in prose for rhythm.

Use of Repetition in Sentences

• I have talked to all and talked in full that they would have to do their work on time .
• Most of the time and I say most of the time which means the maximum time you should spend on your studies.
• Whether you take it literally or you take it seriously or whatever you take it non-seriously, it is necessary to stop driving at this moment.
• Sometimes birds fly away and fly away so fast and so suddenly that it surprises the people.
• Whether you leave this place or leave that place, the important point is you must leave right now.

Examples of Repetition in Literature

Repetition is a commonly used literary device. Here are some examples of repetition and how it adds to the value of well-known literary works:

Example 1: Macbeth (William Shakespeare)

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow , Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death.

In this Shakespearean soliloquy , Macbeth is lamenting the death of his wife and repeats the word “tomorrow” three times. Macbeth’s repetition of this word calls attention to the fact that his wife no longer has any tomorrow, and that the tomorrows Macbeth has remaining will be a repetition of life without her.

The rhythm established by the repetition of tomorrow also serves to highlight a sense of futility and mundanity in a word that typically connotes the expectation of change or something new. Instead, the repetition of the word renders it meaningless and without the promise of hope. Therefore, just as Macbeth has accumulated nothing in the play , his accumulation of tomorrows also represents nothing.

 Example 2: A Dog Has Died (Pablo Neruda; translated by Alfred Yankauer)

My dog has died. I buried him in the garden next to a rusted old machine. Some day I’ll join him right there, but now he’s gone with his shaggy coat, his bad manners and his cold nose, and I, the materialist, who never believed in any promised heaven in the sky for any human being, I believe in a heaven I’ll never enter. Yes, I believe in a heaven for all dogdom where my dog waits for my arrival waving his fan-like tail in friendship.

In this poem , Neruda uses repetition of the word “heaven,” both as a place and a concept. This demonstrates the grief the poet feels for how death has separated him from the friendship of his dog. This is an interesting use of repetition as a literary device in that it is the separation of the poet from his dog through death that is emphasized, more than the dog’s actual death.

Neruda achieves this through the poet stating that he does not believe in a heaven for humans, but he does believe in a heaven for dogs. The fact that the poet will “never enter” this heaven for “dogdom” indicates his realization that the dog’s death means a permanent separation of their friendship. Through this repetition of heaven as a concept for dogs but not humans, the reader gains an even greater sense of the grief the poet must be experiencing. The image of the dog waiting for his human’s arrival in heaven is therefore even more heartbreaking.

The only way the poet can “join” his dog again is by dying and being buried in the same garden. However, this juxtaposition in burial is as meaningless as the “rusted old machine” next to them; it represents earthly decay rather than the promised afterlife of heaven and togetherness.

Example 3: The Ballad of the Sad Cafe (Carson McCullers)

But the hearts of small children are delicate organs. A cruel beginning in this world can twist them into curious shapes. The heart of a hurt child can shrink so that forever afterward it is hard and pitted as the seed of a peach. Or again, the heart of such a child may fester and swell until it is a misery to carry within the body, easily chafed and hurt by the most ordinary things.

In this passage, McCullers repeats the words “heart” and “child.” This repetition is an effective literary device in that it reinforces for the reader that the heart is both impressionable and vulnerable in children, just as a child is impressionable and vulnerable as well. By linking and repeating these words, McCullers provides clarity for readers that what is done to a child will affect their heart, and therefore affect their capacity for love and emotion for the remainder of their lives. Through repetition, McCullers conveys to the reader that the heart as an “organ” and a child are subject to the same pain and lasting consequences.

Synonyms of Repetition

There are several words that come very close to repetition in meanings such as reiteration, repeat, repeating, restatement, rephrasing, retelling, iteration, recital, recap, reprise, echo, echoing, copy, copying, and quoting.

Related posts:

• Examples of Repetition in Poetry
• Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow

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• Literary Terms
• Definition & Examples
• When & How to Use Repetition

I. What is Repetition?

Quite simply, repetition is the repeating of a word or phrase. It is a common rhetorical device used to add emphasis and stress in writing and speech. Repetition is widely used in both poetry and prose; throughout all genres and forms of literature and oral tradition. Aside from helping stress or highlight important thoughts and points, repetition can be a key tool for authors and speakers in developing style, tone, and rhythm.

II. Example of Repetition

Read the short passage below:

The big stairs led up to a big house with a big front door. Breathe, breathe, breathe, I told myself. I only have to stay for one second, be afraid for one second, not scream for one second. I can do it. I can win the bet. I can prove I’m brave.

The passage above uses several different styles of repetition to show the narrator’s anxiety. By repeating what the character thinks and sees, the author makes the situation more interesting.

III. Common Types of Repetition

There are many types of repetition in rhetoric, but below are some of the most common.

a. Epizeuxis

Epizeuxis is the repetition of a word in sequence. For example, “ Why , why , why ?!”

b. Anaphora

Anaphora is the repetition of a word at the beginning of each phrase or clause. For example, “She looked to the left, she looked to the right, she looked straight ahead.”

c. Mesodiplosis

Mesodiplosis is the repetition of a word in the middle of each phrase or clause. For example, “One, but not two; three, but not four; five, but not six.”

d. Epistrophe

Epistrophe is the repetition of a word at the end of each phrase or clause. For example, “Every day I’m happy because you love me , I’m more fulfilled because you love me , I have everything because you love me .”

IV. Importance of Repetition

Repetition is an important literary device because it allows a writer or speaker to place emphasis on things they choose as significant. It tells the reader or audience that the words being used are central enough to be repeated, and lets them know when to pay special attention to the language. Furthermore, repetition has historically been an important technique for oral tradition, as it helped storytellers remember details and lines that may have otherwise been difficult to repeat.

V. Examples in Literature

Celebrated classic children’s author Dr. Seuss frequently uses repetition in his quirky and eccentric stories. Below is a selection from One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish that demonstrates Dr. Seuss’s well-known, one-of-a-kind style:

One fish, Two fish, Red fish, Blue fish, Black fish, Blue fish, Old fish, New fish. This one has a little car. This one has a little star. Say! What a lot of fish there are. Yes. Some are red, and some are blue. Some are old and some are new. Some are sad, and some are glad, And some are very, very bad.

Dr. Seuss uses a combination of repetition and rhyming to craft this catchy story that everyone knows. One of the reasons his books are so unique is that he makes use of several types of repetition, which together create a whimsical, silly sounding style.

In the famous opening to A Tale of Two Cities , Charles Dickens utilizes repetition to add stress and emphasis to the positives and negatives of the time.

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, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—

Dickens’ famous words “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” remain some of the most celebrated lines in literature to this day. The way he repeats the phrase “it was” makes his words stronger, more memorable, more effective, and more convincing.

VI. Examples of Repetition in Pop Culture

Repetition is a very popular way of adding stress and power when delivering a speech. Throughout history, people have used repetition to make sure that their audiences will remember and repeat their phrases and ideas; for example Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream”:

By repeating “I have a dream” throughout his speech, Martin Lurther King Jr. connects himself to these words and makes them stick in the audience’s minds.

In the classic romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally , Harry uses repetition to strengthen his grand New Year’s Eve speech to Sally:

By repeating the words “I love that…” over and over again, Harry is placing emphasis on the fact that he loves everything about Sally, good and bad. He repeats these words over and over with the hopes that she will realize that what he is saying is real and true, and that she will return his love.

VII. Related Terms

Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds, which creates rhyme. For example, “ the black cat had the rat’s bag;” “how now brown cow?” “do you do voodoo?”

Consonance is the repetition of a consonant sound at the middle or end of a word. For example, “ the cook broke his back;” “the duck struck some luck.”

• Alliteration

Alliteration is the repetition of a consonant sound at the beginning of a word. For example, “Lucy lacked love,” “the sand sizzled under the strong sun;” “the fox fixed the fax.” Alliteration is perhaps the most used form of sound repetition. One of the most popular examples is Mother Goose’s well-known nursery rhyme—

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers; A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked; If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

Oftentimes, writers use some combination of the three types of sound repetition. For instance, “Splish splash splish splash” uses assonance, consonance, and alliteration all at once.

List of Terms

• Amplification
• Anachronism
• Anthropomorphism
• Antonomasia
• APA Citation
• Aposiopesis
• Autobiography
• Bildungsroman
• Characterization
• Circumlocution
• Cliffhanger
• Comic Relief
• Connotation
• Deus ex machina
• Deuteragonist
• Doppelganger
• Double Entendre
• Dramatic irony
• Equivocation
• Extended Metaphor
• Figures of Speech
• Flash-forward
• Foreshadowing
• Intertextuality
• Juxtaposition
• Literary Device
• Malapropism
• Onomatopoeia
• Parallelism
• Pathetic Fallacy
• Personification
• Point of View
• Polysyndeton
• Protagonist
• Red Herring
• Rhetorical Device
• Rhetorical Question
• Science Fiction
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
• Synesthesia
• Turning Point
• Understatement
• Urban Legend
• Verisimilitude
• Essay Guide
• Cite This Website

A powerful tool to govern even the King

Figures of speech are literary devices which are used to convey ideas that go beyond their literal meaning.

In English, there are more than 200 different  types of figures of speech .  Repetition is one of them.

Repetition Meaning

Repetition is a figure of speech where a word or phrase within a sentence is repeated. It is done for emphasis or for poetic effect. It is a very frequently used figure of speech.

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• I searched and searched and searched. (The act of searching is highlighted and emphasised.)
• He came, He saw, He conquered. (The pronoun ‘He‘ is repeated thrice for emphasis.)

Repetition Examples

Following are some popular examples of Repetition:

“I‘m nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody too?” —Emily Dickinson, I’m Nobody! Who are You?

“If you think you can win, you can win.” — William Hazlitt

“Because I do not hope to turn again Because I do not hope Because I do not hope to turn…” —T. S. Elliot, Ash-Wednesday

“To the swinging and the ringing of the bells, bells, bells Of the bells, bells, bells, bells Bells, bells, bells” —Edgar Allan Poe, The Bells

“And my father sold me, while yet my tongue Could scarcely cry “‘weep! ‘weep! ‘weep! ‘weep!” —William Blake, The Chimney Sweeper

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Home » Shakespeare's Works » Elements » Figures of Speech » Figures of Speech By Type » Repetition

Scholars joke that the three R's of rhetoric are repetition, repetition and repetition. An orator's success in part depends on an auditor's ability to understand and remember what the orator said. That is enhanced if an orator adheres to the old adage, “Tell them what you're you're going to say, say it, and then tell them what you said.” From this principle, a plethora of rhetorical devices evolved rooted in the art of repetition.

Examples include:

Alliteration.

Alliteration (al-lit’-er-a’-shen) is the repetition of an initial, stressed consonant sound for two or more words. “When to the sessions of sweet silent thought…” Sonnet 30.  Alliteration is different from consonance , which is the repetition of a consonant sound on stressed or unstressed syllables that are not always at the beginnings of words. The repetition of “s” sounds, alliterative or consonant, is called sibilance.

Anadiplosis

Anadiplosis (an’-a-di-plo’-sis) is the repetition of a word or phrase that ends one clause and begins the next. “Though Nature hath given us wit to flout at Fortune, hath not Fortune sent in this fool to cut off the argument?” As You Like It , 1.2.31 . Extended anadiplosis is called gradatio .

Anaphora (an-af’-o-ra) is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences. “O, cursèd be the hand that made these holes; / Cursèd the heart that had the heart to do it; / Cursèd the blood that let this blood from hence.”   Richard III, 1.2.1 See also mesodiplosis , the repetition of words in the middle, and epistrophe , the repetition of words at the end.

Antanaclasis

Antanaclasis (an’-ta-na-cla’-sis) is the repetition of a word with a shift of meaning. “In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, / From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, / Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.” Romeo and Juliet . 1.1.1.  Related to  adnominatio,   paronomasia  and  polyptoton .

Antimetabole

Antimetabole (an’-ti-me-ta’-bo-lee) is the repetition of words or phrases in an inverted or reverse order in which the phrases suggest opposing meanings. “How  /  much better is it to weep at joy than to joy at weeping!” Much Ado About Nothing. 1.1.13 . Antimetabole is a type of  chiasmus , which is a similar inversion but of actual words whose meanings are not necessarily opposite.  Chiasmus  is similar to  epanados,  which also repeats the terms after presenting them.

Assonance (ass’-o-nance) it the repetition or similarity of the same internal vowel sound in words of close proximity. “ Beauty’s ensign yet / Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks.” Romeo and Juliet. 5.3.73

Chiasmus (ki-az’-mus) is the repetition of two corresponding phrases arranged in a parallel inverse order. The second half is balanced against the first but with the parts reversed. “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” Macbeth 1.1.1 .  Related to antimetabole , in which the two pairs suggest opposing or opposite meanings. Also similar to  epanados , which also repeats the terms after presenting them.

Consonance is the repetition of a consonant sound, but unlike alliteration the consonant does not always occur on the stressed syllable at the beginning of the word. “Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, / Or to take arms against a sea of troubles / And, by opposing, end them.” Hamlet, 3.1.64 .  The “s” sounds occur at the beginning, middle and ends of words, both stressed and unstressed. The repetition of an “s” sound in lines like this is also called sibilance.

Diacope (di-a’-co-pee) is the close repetition of words broken by one or two intervening words. “ Done like a Frenchman: turn and turn again.” Henry VI Pt. 1, 3.3.17 .

Epanados (e-pan’-o-dos) is the repetition of the chief points in a discourse, especially in reverse order of that in which they were previously treated. “Mine eye and heart are at a mortal war / How to divide the conquest of thy sight. / Mine eye my heart thy picture’s sight would bar, / My heart mine eye the freedom of that right. / My heart doth plead that thou in him dost lie, ” Sonnet 46 . It is a type of  chiasmus , which is the inversion of the verbal structure of phrases using the same words. Also similar to  antimetabole , in which the two phrases are not just inverted but suggest opposing meanings.

Epanalepsis

Epanalepsis is the repetition at the end of a clause of the word that occurred at the beginning of the clause. Repetition of words after intervening words for emphasis, or the repetition of words at beginning and end of line, phrase, clause, or sentence. “ Romans, countrymen, and lovers, hear me for my cause, and be silent, that you may hear. Believe me for mine honor, and have respect to mine honor, that you may believe.” Julius Caesar, 3.2.14

Epimone (e-pi’-mo-nee) is the repetition of a phrase or question; dwelling on a point. “Remember thee? / Ay, thou poor ghost, whiles memory holds a seat / In this distracted globe. Remember thee?” Hamlet, 1.5.99.

Epistrophe (e-pis’-tro-fee) is the repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive clauses, lines, or sentences. “Is it possible he should know what he is, and be that he is ?” All’s Well That Ends Well,   4.1.45 . See also anaphora , the repetition of words at the beginning, and mesodiplosis , the repetition of words in the middle.

Epizeuxis (e-pi-zook’-sis) is the repetition of words or phrases without intervening words. “ O horror, horror, horror! / Tongue nor heart cannot conceive nor name thee! Macbeth, 2.3.73.

Isocolon (i-so-co’-lon) is a generic term for two or more clauses of equal length and parallel syntax and rhythm. When there are more than two, the figure can be more specifically named (though they are not in the quotes on this website) tricolons, tetracolons, etc . “ My gorgeous palace for a hermitage, / My gay apparel for an almsman’s gown, / My figured goblets for a dish of wood, / My scepter for a palmer’s walking-staff, / My subjects for a pair of carvèd saints.” Richard II, 3.3.148. This quote from Richard II strings five clauses of parallel syntax in sequence and, because the clauses all begin with the same word, this is also an example of anaphora .

Mesodiplosis

Mesodiplosis (mes-o-dip-lo’-sis) is the repetition of the same word or words in the middle of successive sentences or phrases. “But till that time / Come not thou near me. / And when that time comes, \ Afflict me with thy mocks, pity me not, / As till that time I shall not pity thee.” As You Like It, 3.5.39. See also anaphora , the repetition of words at the beginnings, and epistrophe , the repetition of words at the end.

Polyptoton is word play for words derived from the same root or cognate. Repeating words in different case forms. “ Love is not love / Which alters when it alteration finds, / Or bends with the remover to remove.” Sonnet 116 .  Related to antanaclasis ,  adnominatio  and paronomasia .

Polysyndeton

Polysyndeton is the repetition of conjunctions in a series of coordinate words, phrases, or clauses. “ Nor stony tower, nor walls of beaten brass, / Nor airless dungeon, nor strong links of iron, / Can be retentive to the strength of spirit.” Julius Caesar, 1.3.92.    See asyndeton , which omits all conjunctions between words or phrases in a series.

Pysma (pys’-ma) is the asking of a series of questions successively, usually rhetorically .  “Wherefore rejoice? What conquest brings he home? / What tributaries follow him to Rome, / To grace in captive bonds his chariot-wheels?” Julius Caesar, 1.1.36   Also see hypophora.

Rhyme is the repetition of vowel/consonant sounds that differ only in their initial consonant sounds, e.g., find, kind, mind. “She red and hot as coals of glowing fire,  / He red for shame, but frosty in desire.” Venus and Adonis, Line 35

Symploce is the repetition of a sentence with one or two words in the middle changed, e.g.  Saint Paul wrote, “Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I,” (2 Corinthians 11:22)

Synonymia is the stringing together a series of synonyms to emphasise a point. “How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable / Seem to me all the uses of this world!” Hamlet, 1.2.133

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Repetition Figure of Speech: Know How to Use this Figure of Speech?

You can use figures of speech to accentuate your writing skill. There are different types of figures of speech that you can use to improve your English skills. In this article, we will particularly talk about repetition and its use in literary work.

So keep reading this article till the end you will get an idea of how to use repetition figures of speech to amplify your work.

Also Read: Daily Routine English Conversation: Make Your Communication Skills Effective

What is Repetition?

Repetition is a figure of speech where a word or phrase is repeated more than one time to put emphasis. It attracts the attention of the readers to the specific phrase.

Types of Repetition

There are different types of repetition. Let us discuss them one by one:

#1. Epizeuxis: this is a repetition of words in a sequence such as “why why why”.

#2. Anaphora: this is a repetition of words in the beginning of each phase. For example, you should look left, you should look right, you should look straight while walking.

#3. Mesodiplosis: This is a repetition of words in the middle of any phrase and clause. For example, You should dance but not sing, cook but not eat, draw not sit.

#4. Epistrophe: In this type, the repetition of words at the end of each phrase. For example, I am so happy because you are with me, I am satisfied because you are with me, I am loving this because you are with me.

Also Read: Modern English Words Used in Conversation: Let’s Learn Effective English Speaking Ethics!

Importance of Repetition

Reputation is an important literary device because it allows writers and poets to put emphasis on the phrases that they choose. It attracts the attention of The reader or audience and helps them to understand the central idea of that phrase. Moreover, it is an important technique for oral tradition as there were a number of details a storyteller repeated.

Common Example

# I am thankful to my mother, I am thankful to my father, I am thankful to my friends and family for their constant support.

# I was scared about your safety, I was scared about his safety, I was scared about the safety of you all.

# I think I should start dancing, I think I should start hip-hop, I think I should also open an academy.

# Don’t worry about them, I will not worry about them.

# Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday to you.

# She was startled at his reaction and she continuously asked,”why, why, why.”

# I think I should start a diet, and you should start exercising.

Also Read: Hyperbole Figure of Speech: Get to Know the Definition, Uses and Examples

Literature Example

“Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. “Oh, woeful, oh woeful, woeful, woeful day!” –Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet “And miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep.” –Robert Frost “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” “A horse is a horse, of course, of course, And no one can talk to a horse of course, That is, of course, unless the horse is the famous Mr. Ed.” –Theme Song from Mr. Ed, television show “My conscience hath a thousand several tongues, And every tongue brings in a several tale, And every tale condemns me for being a villain.” –Shakespeare, Richard III ” We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the tyrannical hands of the ministry and parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne.” –Patrick Henry to the Virginia Convention “The art of losing isn’t hard to master; so many things seem filled with the intent to be lost that their loss is no disaster… Lose something every day. Accept the fluster of lost door keys, the hour badly spent. The art of losing isn’t hard to master though it may look like (Write it!) like a disaster.” –One Art by Elizabeth Bishop “It was many and many a year ago, In a kingdom by the sea, That a maiden there lived whom you may know … I was a child and she was a child, In this kingdom by the sea, But we loved with a love that was more than love — I and my Annabel Lee …” –Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe “Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light… And you, my father, there on the sad height, Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray. Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” –Do not go gentle into that good night by Dylan Thomas “My dog has died. I buried him in the garden next to a rusted old machine. Some day I’ll join him right there, but now he’s gone with his shaggy coat, his bad manners and his cold nose, and I, the materialist, who never believed in any promised heaven in the sky for any human being, I believe in a heaven I’ll never enter. Yes, I believe in a heaven for all dogdom where my dog waits for my arrival waving his fan-like tail in friendship.” –A Dog has Died by Pablo Neruda.

Also Read: Simile Figure of Speech: Examples of Simile Figure of Speech

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Polyptoton Definition

What is polyptoton? Here’s a quick and simple definition:

Polyptoton is a figure of speech that involves the repetition of words derived from the same root (such as "blood" and "bleed"). For instance, the question, "Who shall watch the watchmen?" is an example of polyptoton because it includes both "watch" and "watchmen."

Some additional key details about polyptoton:

• Polyptoton is common in both Latin and Old English poetry. It is less common today, but still appears in poetry, prose, and in speeches.
• The comic book character Dr. Strange's secret lair, the Sanctum Sanctorum ("holy of holies"), is an example of polyptoton.

How to Pronounce Polyptoton

Here's how to pronounce polyptoton: puh- lip -toe-tahn

Polyptoton Across Longer Texts

Polyptoton most often appears within a single sentence, as in the example given earlier: "Who shall watch the watchmen?" In fact, some rhetoricians would argue that polyptoton can only occur if the repeated words are in close proximity to each other.

However, some literary critics treat polyptoton as something that can occur over longer stretches of text, whether a paragraph, an essay, or even a book. The example given most often for this sort of polyptoton is the novel Frankenstein . In the book, Mary Shelley describes the monster that Frankenstein creates as a wretch, and then carefully uses words with the same root (wretched, wretchedly, wretchedness) throughout the book.

Polyptoton Examples

Polyptoton is found in literature of all sorts, from Shakespeare's plays to 20th century poetry, from speeches to witty remarks.

Polyptoton in Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida

In Shakespeare's play Troilus and Cressida , the character Troilus uses polyptoton three times in two lines. In all three cases, the repetition emphasizes the might of the Greeks:

The Greeks are strong and skillful to their strength , Fierce to their skill and to their fierceness valiant;

Polyptoton in Shakespeare's Richard II

Shakespeare also uses polyptoton in Richard II. In the line below, he uses three different versions of words with the same root as "food."

With eager feeding food doth choke the feeder .

In this case, the presence of all of these different versions of "food" connects to the idea of "eager feeding" in the sentence. Just reading all the different versions of "food" so close together feels a bit like choking.

Polyptoton in a Famous Quote from Lord Action

Lord Acton was an English politician, writer, and historian. While he lived a remarkable life, he is best known today for his famous and insightful quote about the nature of power. The quote also happens to be an excellent example of polyptoton:

Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely .

Note that the statement also uses other forms of repetition (repeating both "power" and "corrupt"), but only the repetition of "absolute" and "absolutely" is polyptoton.

Polyptoton in John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address

Though there is much debate about JFK's quality as a president, he was generally admired as an orator. In this line from his inaugural address, he uses polypton to acknowledge that the United States was in a cold war with the USSR while also calling on American citizens to act for reasons beyond that battle:

Not as a call to battle , though embattled we are.

Polyptoton in T.S. Eliot's The Dry Salvages

T.S. Eliot's "The Dry Salvages" is a long poem written during World War II. At one point, in just six lines of the poem he uses four different examples of polyptoton. Through the repetition the poem emphasizes the meaninglessness and emptiness that Eliot saw in British and Western culture as well as the destruction of the war.

There is no end of it, the voiceless wailing, No end to the withering of withered flowers, To the movement of pain that is painless and motionless, To the drift of the sea and the drifting wreckage, The bone’s prayer to Death its God. Only the hardly, barely prayable Prayer of the one Annunciation.

Why Do Writers Use Polyptoton?

Depending on the context of how it's used, polyptoton can offer writers a variety of different effects:

• Emphasis: As with all repetition, the repetition of polyptoton emphasizes and puts the focus on the repeated words.
• Contrast: Because it offers repetition even as the repeated words are subtly changed, polyptoton can give writers the ability to contrast the different words.
• Change: The different forms of the repeated word can also suggest something more subtle than contrast; it can suggest change from one state to another, just as the repeated word changes from one form to another.
• Connection: By flexibly repeating a word, polyptoton can also provide a connection between different parts of a sentence, different ideas in a paragraph, or different scenes in a book.

More broadly, then, polyptoton offers a writer a way to imply both connection and difference simultaneously.

Other Helpful Polyptoton Resources

• The Wikipedia entry on Polyptoton : A simple entry with some good examples.
• Repetition and Polyptoton : A blog entry on repetition figures of speech, including polyptoton.
• Polyptoton on Youtube : A video that sets a basic and mildly humorous explanation of polyptoton to music.

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