Anaphora is a rhetorical device that describes a speaker repeating the same words at the start of sentences or clauses that come one after the other. This figure of speech is often associated with elevated forms of oratory.
The danger of using it is that it might come across as “doing too much.” A famous example of anaphora used effectively is Martin Luther King’s speech, “I Have a Dream.” To get away with using this oratory style, the speech has to fit the occasion or substance of the argument.
A famous classic example of anaphora from literature is from the beginning pages of Charles Dickens's novel, A Tale of Two Cities (1859):
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness.
The constant repetition at the beginning of a series of independent clauses emphasizes the complicated and tumultuous nature of the era in which Dickens set his novel—namely, The French Revolution.
There are two main reasons for using anaphora:
Hammering your point home
Establishing a rhythm that is pleasant to the ear
Hammering your point home means that you repeat something to ensure that your listeners don’t miss your point. Establishing a rhythm means that you impress your readers with a pleasant rhythm and you may go on to either continue the pattern you establish or even disrupt it for dramatic effect.
Below, I provide examples of each.
1. Hammering your point home
Below is an excerpt from the bible—Exodus 15:9:
The enemy said, “I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; My desire shall be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, My hand shall destroy them.”
The point being hammered home is the determination of the enemy to destroy the pursued. The context here is the victory of the Hebrews over Ancient Egyptians pursuing them through the sands of a parted Red Sea, only to be destroyed.
The excerpt is from a hymn or praise song celebrating the Hebrew victory over the pursuing Egyptians. By emphasizing the determination of the enemy, the eventual victory over the Egyptians is shed an even more impressive light.
2. Establishing a rhythm
This figure of speech is quite effective in arousing emotion from a crowd and can be quite popular among politicians and activists because of the kind of staccato rhythm it can evoke. A second example is quite different from the first. It’s from Judas and the Black Messiah, based on the life of Fred Hampton.
Fred Hampton was the leader of the Black Panther movement and was fully aware of the possibility of being killed for his political struggles. But he was undeterred by it:
I don't believe I'm gonna die in no car wreck! I don't believe I'm gonna die slippin' on no ice! I don't believe I'm gonna die 'cause I got a bad heart! I believe I'm gonna die doing what I was born for! I believe I'm gonna die high off the people! I'm gonna die for the people, 'cause I live for the people! I live for the people, 'cause I love the people!
This works on several levels. There are three patterns of rhetoric here. The first is anaphora with the group of sentences that begins with "I don’t believe I’m gonna die.”
Then, it switches to a second pattern of anaphora with “I believe I’m gonna die” before ending with “I live for the people, ‘cause I love the people,” which is not anaphora, but symploce, which will be discussed later.
This provides the opportunity to mention that rhetorical devices are typically not used alone by themselves. They are often most effective when used in association with other figures of speech.
Cite this EminentEdit article |
Antoine, M. (2024, September 09). Anaphora. https://www.eminentediting.com/post/anaphora |
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