Anaphora

Anaphora is a figure of speech that is often associated with elevated forms of oratory. The most famous example of this is Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream speech.

Martin Luther King Jr. addresses a crowd from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial where he delivered his famous, “I Have a Dream,” speech during the Aug. 28, 1963, march on Washington, D.C. "I Have a Dream" is arguably the most popular example of anaphora in popular culture.

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. 

What is anaphora?

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. 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: 

1. Hammering your point home

2. 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. 

Examples of Anaphora

1. Martin Luther King, I Have a Dream (1963):

There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the colored citizen is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the colored person’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating “for white only.” We cannot be satisfied as long as a colored person in Mississippi cannot vote and a colored person in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote.

The repetition of "We can never/not be satisfied" is a less famous example of anaphora in this speech.

2. Churchill, radio address (1940):

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.

The anaphora here does a good job of expressing Churchill's determination to fight.

Lawrence, Snake (1923):

Was it cowardice, that I dared not kill him?

Was it perversity, that I longed to talk to him?

Was it humility, to feel so honoured?

I felt so honoured.

In this poem, Lawrence encounters a snake, and he uses erotema (rhetorical questions) and anaphora to recount how mysterious the encounter was.

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Cite this EminentEdit article

Antoine, M. (2024, September 09). Anaphora. EminentEdit. https://www.eminentediting.com/post/anaphora