epistrophe
Repeated phrase endings
Epistrophe is a rhetorical device in which successive phrases or clauses end with the same word or words.
It is the mirror image of anaphora, which repeats at the beginning.
Lincoln's "government of the people, by the people, for the people" demonstrates the technique.
Epistrophe creates emphasis through rhythmic repetition and is common in speeches, poetry, and persuasive writing where the repeated element gains cumulative force.
Repeated opening words
- chiasmusInverted parallel construction
- parallelismMatching structural elements
- tricolonThree-part rhetorical structure
- polysyndetonExcessive conjunction use
climax · antithesis · conduplicatio · prosody · syntactical · cadence · stylistics · discourse
Abstain from acting
- recurrenceReturn of something previous
- iterationRepeated procedural pass
- reiterationSaying something again
- echoReflected sound wave
reprise · restatement · chorus · cycle · loop · resonance · return · callback
Stress given to something
- amplificationIncrease in intensity
- reinforcementAdding support or encouragement
- convictionFirmly held belief
- impactForceful contact or consequence
argument · assertion · crescendo · accumulation · insistence · hammering · memorability · climactic
Crafting formal spoken remarks
- MLKCivil rights initials
- ChurchillManitoba's northern port
- ObamaForty-fourth president's family name
- LincolnMidwestern state capital
declamation · address · sermon · oration · keynote · rhetoric · podium · pulpit
Unversified language
- poetryMetrical literary composition
- verseMetered poetic passage
- stanzaPoem's line grouping
- coupletTwo successive verse lines
Dickens · Shakespeare · biblical · liturgical · incantation · lyric · ballad · sonnet
anaphora
Repeated opening words
- chiasmusInverted parallel construction
- parallelismMatching structural elements
- tricolonThree-part rhetorical structure
polysyndeton · climax · antithesis · conduplicatio · prosody · syntactical · cadence · stylistics · discourse · scheme
refrain
Abstain from acting
- recurrenceReturn of something previous
- iterationRepeated procedural pass
- reiterationSaying something again
echo · reprise · restatement · chorus · cycle · loop · resonance · return · callback · duplication
emphasis
Stress given to something
- amplificationIncrease in intensity
- reinforcementAdding support or encouragement
- convictionFirmly held belief
impact · argument · assertion · crescendo · accumulation · insistence · hammering · memorability · climactic · peroration
speechwriting
Crafting formal spoken remarks
Lincoln · declamation · address · sermon · oration · keynote · rhetoric · podium · pulpit · inaugurals
prose
Unversified language
couplet · Dickens · Shakespeare · biblical · liturgical · incantation · lyric · ballad · sonnet · dramatic