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Repetition Definition

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

Repetition is a literary device in which a word or phrase is repeated two or more times. Repetition occurs in so many different forms that it is usually not thought of as a single figure of speech . Instead, it's more useful to think of repetition as being a category that covers a number of more specific figures of speech, all of which use repetition in different ways.

Some additional key details about repetition:

• Figures of speech that employ repetition usually repeat single words or short phrases, but some can involve the repetition of sounds while others might involve the repetition of entire sentences.
• Repeating information has been scientifically shown to increase the likelihood of changing people's minds. The persuasive power of repetition is one of the reasons it is so common.

Repetition Pronunciation

Here's how to pronounce repetition: rep-ih- tish -un

Figures of Speech that Use Repetition

There are many different figures of speech that use repetition, all in different ways. These figures of speech can vary in the things they repeat (sounds, words, phrases, etc.) as well as in the specific order in which the repeated words appear in clauses or sentences. The most common repetition figures of speech are:

• Alliteration : The repetition of the same sound in a group of words, such as the “b” sound in: “Bob brought the box of bricks to the basement.” The repeating sound must occur either in the first letter of each word, or in the stressed syllables of those words.
• Anadiplosis : Occurs when a word or group of words located at the end of one clause or sentence is repeated at or near the beginning of the following clause or sentence. This line from the novelist Henry James is an example of anadiplosis: "Our doubt is our passion, and our passion is our task."
• Anaphora : The repetition of words at the beginning of successive clauses, phrases, or sentences. For example, Martin Luther King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech contains anaphora: "So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania..."
• Antanaclasis : A repetition of a word or phrase in which the that word or phrase means something different each time it appears. A famous example of antanaclasis is Benjamin Franklin's statement that: "We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately."
• Antimetabole : The repetition of a phrase, but with the order of words reversed. John F. Kennedy's words, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country," is a famous example of antimetabole.
• Assonance : The repetition of the same vowel sound within a group of words. An example of assonance is the repetition of the "oo" sound in: "Who gave Newt and Scooter the blue tuna? It was too soon!"
• Consonance : The repetition of the same consonant sound within a group of words. An example of consonance is the repetition of the "f" sound in: "Traffic figures to be tough on July Fourth."
• Diacope : The repetition of a word or phrase with a small number of intervening words. The repetition of "unhappy" in the first line of Anna Karenina is an example of diacope, "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way," is an example of diacope.
• Epanalepsis : Occurs when the beginning of a clause or sentence is repeated at the end of that same clause or sentence, with words intervening. The sentence "The king is dead, long live the king!" is an example of epanalepsis.
• Epistrophe : In epistrophe, one or more words repeat at the end of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences. In his Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln urged the American people to ensure that, "government of the people, by the people, for the people,shall not perish from the earth." His repetition of "the people" at the end of each clause is an example of epistrophe.
• Epizeuxis : The repetition of a word or phrase in immediate succession, with no words in between. When the character Kurtz in Heart of Darkness says, "The horror, the horror," that's an example of epizeuxis.
• Polysyndeton : Occurs when coordinating conjunctions—words such as "and," "or," and "but" that join other words or clauses in a sentence into relationships of equal importance—are used several times in close succession, particularly where conjunctions would normally not be present at all. For instance, the following sentence contains polysyndeton: "We ate roast beef and squash and biscuits and potatoes and corn and cheese and cherry pie."
• Polyptoton : Occurs when words that share the same root, but are not identical, are repeated. The question, "Who shall watch the watchmen?" is an example of polyptoton.
• Refrain : In a poem or song, a refrain is a line or group of lines that regularly repeat, usually at the end of a stanza in a poem or at the end of a verse in a song. In a speech or other prose writing, a refrain can refer to any phrase that repeats a number of times within the text.

Repetition Examples

Here are additional examples from literature for each of the most common figures of speech that use repetition.

Repetition Example from Literature: Alliteration

This example from lines 5-6 of the Prologue of Romeo and Juliet has two sets of alliteration, one with “f” sounds and one with “l” sounds.

F rom f orth the f atal l oins of these two f oes A pair of star-cross'd l overs take their l ife;

Repetition Example from Literature: Anadiplosis

In Lolita , the morally bankrupt Humbert Humbert defends his relationship to the young Lolita to an imagined jury. Here, he reveals that what he presented as another person's letter was actually written by him, ostensibly from memory.

What I present here is what I remember of the letter , and what I remember of the letter I remember verbatim (including that awful French.)

A tactic of his deceit involves convincing the jury of the improbable—that is, that he remembers a letter verbatim—and his use of anadiplosis as a persuasion tool reflects both his charming and incredibly slimy personality.

Repetition Example from Literature: Anaphora

In this short excerpt from The Great Gatsby , F. Scott Fitzgerald uses anaphora in a description of the apartment that Tom Buchanan keeps as a secret location for his extramarital affair. The anaphora emphasizes the smallness of this gaudy apartment, which also reflects the pettiness of the affair.

The apartment was on the top floor— a small living-room, a small dining-room, a small bedroom, and a bath.

Repetition Example from Literature: Antanaclasis

Shakespeare often used antanaclasis in his plays. For instance, in Act V of Henry V a character named Pistol promises to sneak off to England and there engage in crime:

To England will I steal, and there I'll steal.

Repetition Example from Literature: Antimetabole

The dashing trio's rallying cry in The Three Musketeers is a famous example of antimetabole. The saying has remained in circulation until today—in part because antimetabole makes it so memorable.

All for one and one for all !

Repetition Example from Literature: Assonance

In these lines from Book XII of Lattimore's translation of Homer's Iliad the assonance helps reinforce the lulling effect of the winds' sleep:

"When Zeus ... st i lls the w i nds asleep i n the sol i d dr i ft ..."

Repetition Example from Literature: Consonance

In this line from chapter 9 of Moby-Dick , the " s " and " h " sounds mirror the activity of the scene—singing—by making the prose musical.

Nearly all joined in s inging thi s h ymn, which s welled h igh about the h owling of the s torm ...

Repetition Example from Literature: Diacope

In Othello , just before he kills Desdemona in Act V, Othello utters this line that contains the repetition of diacope:

Put out the light , and then put out the light .

It's worth noting that Othello's line here is also an example of antanaclasis, as he is using "put out the light" to mean two different things.

Repetition Example from Literature: Epanalepsis

In this excerpt from a speech by Ralph Nader, the repetition of "minimum wage" underscores its role as a major concern in both his speech and his political priorities.

A minimum wage that is not a livable wage can never be a minimum wage .

Repetition Example from Literature: Epistrophe

In this example from Chapter 28 of the The Grapes of Wrath , Steinbeck's use of epistrophe in Tom Joad's farewell dialog with his mother emphasizes Joad's desire both to provide her with some reassurance and continue to be there for her:

Wherever they's a fight so hungry people can eat, I'll be there . Wherever they's a cop beaten' up a guy, I'll be there ...I'll be in the way guys yell when they're mad an'—I'll be in the way kids laugh when they're hungry and they know supper's ready. An' when our folk eat the stuff they raise n'live in the houses they build—why, I'll be there .

Joad's repetition of his presence wherever poor people need help also emphasizes his dedication to the cause he believes in, and turns him into an almost mythological or godly presence who is always there to protect and support the downtrodden.

Repetition Example from Literature: Epizeuxis

One of the most famous examples of epizeuxis occurs in Hamlet , as Hamlet is speaking to (and mocking) Polonious in Act 2. When Polonius asks Hamlet what he's reading, Hamlet responds:

Words, words, words.

Here Hamlet both mocks what he sees as the stupidity of Polonious's question, but at the same time the repetition communicates a kind of awful weariness, in which Hamlet can't bring himself to care about the meaning of the words.

Repetition Example from Literature: Polysyndeton

Bob Dylan won the nobel prize for literature for the genius of his lyrics. His song "Masters of War" shows how polysyndeton can be used to build a specific emotion:

" And I hope that you die And your death'll come soon I will follow your casket In the pale afternoon And I'll watch while you're lowered Down to your deathbed And I'll stand over your grave 'Til I'm sure that you're dead"

Anger and disgust are palpable in the final lines of this song of protest against the politicians behind the Vietnam War. By using polysyndeton, Dylan continues to add phrase after phrase, far beyond where listeners might expect him to stop, to fully communicate the depth of his fury and his hatred for the politicians he calls the "masters of war."

Repetition Example from Literature: Polyptoton

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;

Repetition Example from Literature: Refrain

These are the first two stanzas of a song from Shakespeare's play, Twelfth Night . This poem actually contains a "double refrain," because it has two lines that repeat as refrains in each stanza.

When that I was and a little tiny boy, With hey, ho, the wind and the rain, A foolish thing was but a toy, For the rain it raineth every day. But when I came to man’s estate, With hey, ho, the wind and the rain, ’Gainst knaves and thieves men shut their gate, For the rain it raineth every day.

Why Do Writers Use Repetition?

Given the large number of figures of speech that use repetition, it stands to reason that writers use repetition for all sorts of different reasons. That said, it's possible to describe some general reasons that writers might choose to use repetition:

• Emphasis: The repetition of a word or phrase naturally serves to highlight it's importance within a text and as a thing or idea.
• Persuasion: Scientific studies have shown that simply repeating something is one of the most effective ways to convince people of its truth. Figures of speech that use repetition are common in speeches for just this reason.
• Contrast: Sometimes by repeating the same thing in slightly different contexts it is possible to illuminate contrasts. For instance, in the sentence, "What you own ends up owning you," the repetition of "own" highlights the contrast or twist in the sentence, which argues that the things you buy to improve your life can end up limiting and influencing your life choices.
• Rhythm: Repetition creates a natural rhythm, like beats of a drum, within a sentence. Repetition, then, is not just valuable for how it can allow a writer to control the meaning of sentences. It also can help a writer to affect the feel of those sentences.

Other Helpful Repetition Resources

• Wikipedia entry on repetition : A pretty basic discussion of repetition as a device.
• Youtube video on repetition : This video covers the basics of repetition.

• Alliteration
• Anadiplosis
• Antanaclasis
• Antimetabole
• Epanalepsis
• Figure of Speech
• Polysyndeton
• Blank Verse
• Slant Rhyme
• Juxtaposition
• End-Stopped Line
• Deus Ex Machina
• Climax (Figure of Speech)
• Tragic Hero
• Protagonist

• Quizzes, saving guides, requests, plus so much more.

Definition of Repetition

Common examples of repetition, examples of repetition in movie lines, famous examples of repetition, differences between repetition of sounds, writing repetition, sense of rhythm, create emphasis, purpose of repetition in literature, use of repetition in sentences, examples of repetition in literature, 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.

 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.

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.

Synonyms of Repetition

Related posts:, post navigation.

• 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
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Repetition : Figure of Speech

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Literary Devices

Literary devices, terms, and elements, definition of repetition.

Repetition consists of repeating a word, phrase, or sentence, and is common in both poetry and prose. It is a rhetorical technique to add emphasis, unity, and/or power. Due to this definition of repetition, it is a common technique for orators to use. There have been examples of repetition throughout the course of human history, as it is a good way to help remember a story, particular lines of a story, or a story in song form. Thus, repetition has been an essential part of oral storytelling and can be found in legends, folk tales, and religious texts.

Different Types of Repetition

There are unique terms for many different types of repetition, most of them from Greek origin.

• Anaphora : Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several subsequent lines. Martin Luther King Junior’s speech “I Have a Dream” is a famous example, as he repeats “I have a dream” at the beginning of several lines.
• Mesodiplosis : Repetition of a word in the middle of every line of clause. For example: “we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.”
• Epistrophe : Repetition of a word at the end of every line or clause. For example: “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny compared to what lies within us.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
• Symploce : A combination of anaphora and epistrophe, symploce is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of a line and the repetition of another phrase at the end of the line. For example, symploce occurs in the following statement from Bill Clinton: “When there is talk of hatred, let us stand up and talk against it. When there is talk of violence, let us stand up and talk against it.”
• Antanaclasis : From the Greek for “bending back,” this is repetition of the same word, but with different denotations or connotations, often as a type of pun. For example, “Marriage is a wonderful institution, but who wants to live in an institution?” (Groucho Marx)
• Antistasis : More extreme than antanaclasis, this is the repetition of words in opposite senses. For example: “We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.” (Benjamin Franklin)
• Negative-Positive Restatement : Repetition of an idea in a negative way first, and then in a positive way. An example is JFK’s famous line “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”
• Epizeuxis or palilogia : Repetition of the same word or phrase without any words in between. For example, the first three words of the folk song “Row, row, row your boat.”
• Diacope : Similar to epizeuxis, this is the repetition of a word or phrase with only one or two words between the repeated words. “Diacope” comes from the Greek for “to cut in two.” The famous line from Shakespeare’s rendition of the St. Crispin’s Day speech in Henry V is an example: “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.”
• Conduplicatio : Repetition of one word in different places throughout a line or paragraph. Elie Weisel used this technique in his  The Perils of Indifference : “I am filled with a profound and abiding gratitude to the American people. Gratitude is a word that I cherish. Gratitude is what defines the humanity of the human being.”
• Anadiplosis or gradatio : Repetition of the last word of one line as the first word of the next. For example, the proverb “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
• Epanalepsis : Repetition of the first word or words of a line also at the end of that line. For example, “Nothing can be created out of nothing.” (Lucretius)
• Diaphora : Repetition of a name to refer to the person and then to the meaning of the name. The colloquialism “Boys will be boys” is an example of diaphora.
• Epimone : Repetition of a phrase question for emphasis or to dwell on a point. From the Greek for “delay.” An example of epimone is Sojourner Truth’s speech from the Women’s Convention in 1851 where she repeated the rhetorical question “And ain’t I a woman?” several times over.
• Polyptoton : Repetition of words with the same root but different forms. For example, “With eager feeding, food doth choke the feeder.” (William Shakespeare, Richard II )

Poetic Forms that Use Repetition

The following poetic forms include repetition as necessary to their structure:

• Villanelle : A nineteen-line poem in which two lines four times each in a specific pattern. See this example of repetition below (Example #3).
• Sestina : A complex thirty-nine line poem broken into six stanzas of six lines each and one final stanza with three lines. Each line ends with one of six words, and these six words rotate in order. The final stanza includes all six words (with only three of them acting as the final words of the lines). Therefore, each word is repeated a minimum of seven times throughout the poem.
• Triolet : An eight-line poem wherein the first, fourth, and seventh lines are identical, as are the second and eighth. Therefore, the first two lines and final two lines are identical couplets.
• Ghazal : Originating in 6 th -century Arabic verse, a ghazal is made up of five or more couplets where the final word of every couplet is the same.

Repetition Examples from Literature

But for now Anders can still make time. Time for the shadows to lengthen on the grass, time for the tethered dog to bark at the flying ball, time for the boy in right field to smack his sweat-blackened mitt and softly chant, They is, They is, They is .

(“Bullet to the Brain” by Tobias Wolff)

This excerpt of Wolff’s “Bullet to the Brain” contains the final two lines of the short story. The types of repetition represented here are anadiplosis, anaphora, and epizeuxis. The protagonist of the story has been reflecting on a grammatical error he heard as a young boy, and now in the last few moments of his life the phrase keeps repeating itself in his head. The effect in the story is to mimic the protagonist’s thought pattern as his brain starts to shut down.

I’ve known rivers: I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins. My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

(“The Negro Speaks of Rivers” by Langston Hughes)

Hughes uses different types of repetition here, including anaphora and conduplicatio. The effect of repetition in this poem is to make the poem sound as though it’s coming from a storyteller.

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. Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into that good night. Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, Do not go gentle into that good night. Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, 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)

Dylan Thomas’s poem “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” is one of the most famous villanelles ever written. The repeated lines “Do not go gentle into that good night” and “Rage, rage against the dying of the light” continue to build intensity throughout the poem until the power of the final couplet.

How the danger sinks and swells, By the sinking or the swelling in the anger of the bells, Of the bells, Of the bells, bells, bells, bells, Bells, bells, bells— In the clamor and the clangor of the bells!

(“The Bells” by Edgar Allen Poe)

This famous poem by Edgar Allen Poe features many different repetition examples, including epizeuxis, conduplicatio, and polyptoton. The word “bells” is repeated 62 times throughout the poem, often without words in between (epizeuxis). This particular type of repetition helps to make the poem sound much like the tolling of bells.

Test Your Knowledge in Repetition

1. Which repetition definition fits most aptly with the term anaphora? A.  A repeated word or phrase at the beginning of several lines. B.  A repeated word in the middle of every line or clause. C.  A repeated word at the end of every line or clause. [spoiler title=”Answer to Question #1″] Answer: A is correct.[/spoiler]

2. Consider the following line from “The Bells”:

How the danger sinks and swells,— By the sinking or the swelling in the anger of the bells

What definition of repetition is this an example of?

A . Epizeuxis B.  Conduplicatio C.  Polyptoton [spoiler title=”Answer to Question #2″] Answer: C is correct. The repeated words here are “sinks” to “sinking” and “swells” to “swelling.” These have the same roots but different endings. A and B can be found elsewhere in the poem, but not in these two lines.[/spoiler]

3. Look again at Dylan Thomas’s villanelle “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.” Using that poem as a guide, which of the following structures is correct for the villanelle form? (Note: capital letters are used to note the repeated lines and lowercase letters to express the rhymes).

A.  A b C / d e F / g h I / j k L / m n O / p q R S B.  A1 b A2 / a b A1 / a b A2 / a b A1 / a b A2 / a b A1 A2 C.  A1 b C1 / d e A2 / f g C2 / h i A3 / j k C3 / l m A4 C4 [spoiler title=”Answer to Question #3″] Answer: B is correct. A and C don’t accurately express the rhyme structure.[/spoiler]

Definition of Repetition

Repetition is a literary device that repeats the same words or phrases a few times to make an idea clearer and more memorable. There are several types of repetition commonly used in both prose and poetry.

As a rhetorical device, it could be a word, a phrase, or a full sentence, or a poetical line repeated to emphasize its significance in the entire text. Repetition is not distinguished solely as a figure of speech , but more as a rhetorical device.

Types of Repetition

The following examples of repetition are classified according to the different types of repetition used, both in literature and in daily conversations.

• Anadiplosis : Repetition of the last word in a line or clause.
• Anaphora : Repetition of words at the start of clauses or verses.
• Antistasis : Repetition of words or phrases in opposite sense.
• Diacope : Repetition of words broken by some other words.
• Epanalepsis : Repetition of the same words at the beginning and the end of a sentence.
• Epimone : Repetition of a phrase (usually a question) to stress a point.
• Epiphora : Repetition of the same word at the end of each clause.
• Gradatio : A construction in poetry wherein the last word of one clause becomes the first of the next, and so on.
• Negative-Positive Restatement : Repetition of an idea first in negative terms, and then in positive terms.
• Polyptoton : Repetition of words of the same root, with different endings.
• Symploce : A combination of anaphora and epiphora , in which repetition is both at the end and at the beginning.

Short Examples of Repetition in Poetry

• If you think you can do it , you can do it .
• The boy was a good footballer , because his father was a footballer , and his grandfather was a footballer .
• The bird said, “I don’t sing because I am happy , I am happy because I sing .”
• The politician declared, “ We will fight come what may, we will fight on all fronts, we will fight for a thousand years.”
• The judge commanded, stamping his mallet on the table, “ Order in the court , order in the court .”
• The refugees were crossing into the neighboring country when they saw blood all around — blood on the passageways, blood on the fields, blood on the
• When they came out of the cinema hall they all agreed, the film was a waste of money, it was a waste of time and energy.
• The boy was terrified when he was taken to the hospital; he shuddered at the least sound, and he shuddered at the least breath of air into the room.
• The president said, “ Work, work, and work ,” are the keys to success.
• The orator said, “ Good morning to the old, good morning to the young, good morning to each and every one present.”
• The team captain reiterated his resolve to win the match, win the tournament, and win the hearts of his people.
• The general said to his army, “Men — You must fight for the life of your people , your family , and your country .”
• The boss repeated his routine advice, “ Don’t come late, don’t leave early, and don’t delay your work.”
• The students chanted to raise the spirits of their team during the match, “ We will win , we will win .”
• The new boss says that, in this organization, the wrong person was appointed for the wrong job , following the wrong procedure , but this will not happen again.

Examples of Repetition in Literature

Example #1: one art (by elizabeth bishop).

“ 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 disaster.”

In this example, the poet has repeatedly used the refraining line “The art of losing isn’t hard to master” throughout the poem . This refraining line creates rhythm , and emphasizes the idea. Notice that this line, however, varies slightly in the final stanza , yet is still considered to be a refrain .

Example #2: Annabel Lee (By Edgar Allan Poe)

“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 …”

The poet is using the refraining line “In a kingdom by the sea.” This appears in the second line of each stanza , and recurs in the final line of the third stanza , drawing readers’ attention, and contributing to its meter and rhythm .

Example #3: Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night (By Dylan Thomas)

“ 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 .”

This is very a famous poem using repetitions of the refrain , “Do not go gentle into that good night,” and “Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” These refrains make the poem catchy and easy to remember.

Example #4: Stopping by Woods On a Snowy Evening (By Emily Dickinson)

“The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep , And miles to go before I sleep .”

Frost has used a repeated refrain in only the last stanza , as he  utters, “And miles to go before I sleep.” It gives rhythm to the poem , and lays emphasis on this idea of doing many things before dying.

Example #5: Excelsior (By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)

“The shades of night were falling fast… A banner with the strange device, Excelsior! There in the twilight cold and gray, Lifeless, but beautiful, he lay… A voice fell like a falling star, Excelsior! “

The poet makes use of refrain “Excelsior!” throughout the entire poem , creating rhythm and drawing the attention of readers.

Example #6: The Properly Scholarly Attitude (By Adelaide Crapsey)

“The poet pursues his beautiful theme ; The preacher his golden beatitude … Of the properly scholarly attitude — The highly desirable, the very advisable, The hardly acquirable, properly scholarly attitude .”

In this poem , Crapsey uses the refrain , “properly scholarly attitude ” to highlight the theme of being a poet having proper scholarly attitude .

Example #7: O Captain! My Captain! (By Walt Whitman)

“ O Captain ! my Captain ! rise up and hear the bells; Rise up — for you the flag is flung — for you the bugle trills…”

The poet uses refrain throughout this poem to emphasize the mournful theme . See the repetition of the words “captain,” “rise up,” and “for you” in just these two lines. This theme continues throughout.

Example #8: 1940 Speech to House of Commons (By Winston Churchill)

“ We shall not flag or fail. 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.”

This is a beautiful example of repetition in prose , where the speaker has repeated “we shall,” and “we shall fight” several times.

Example #9: I Have a Dream speech (By Martin Luther King, Jr.)

“ I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification – one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.”

In this famous speech by American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., he repeats the phrase “I have a dream” a number of times. This makes the speech very powerful and memorable.

Function of Repetition

Refrain is purely a poetic device, and the most important function that a refrain may serve in poetry is to lay emphasis and create rhythm . When a line or phrase recurs in a poem , or a piece of literature, it becomes noticeable to the readers. By using refrain , poets can make their ideas memorable, and draw the attention of readers toward a certain idea. This is done by using a single line recurrently throughout a poetic work, allowing readers to take a pause each time they come upon such repetition.