What is the effect of repetition in the poem How does it contribute to its tone and meaning?

Table of Contents Show

II. Example of Repetition
III. Common Types of Repetition
a. Epizeuxis
b. Anaphora
c. Mesodiplosis
d. Epistrophe
IV. Importance of Repetition
V. Examples in Literature
VI. Examples of Repetition in Pop Culture
VII. Related Terms
Alliteration
Repetition Definition
10 Types of Repetition in Literature
1. Anadiplosis—Repetition in Successive Clauses
2. Anaphora—Repetition at the Beginning of Lines or Clauses
3. Antanaclasis—Successive Repetition of a Word, In Which Each Use Has a Different Meaning
4. Antimetabole—Phrases or Sentences Repeated in Reverse Grammatical Order
5. Antistrophe—Repetition at the Ends of Lines or Clauses
6. Chiasmus—Phrases or Sentences Repeated in Reverse Order
7. Epimone—Repetition for the Purpose of Dwelling
8. Epizeuxis—Words Repeated in Quick Succession
9. Polyptoton—The Inclusion of Multiple Words with the Same Root
10. Symploce—Repetition at Both the Beginnings and Ends of Clauses
What is the Effect of Repetition?
Wield Repetition at Writers.com

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

Example 1

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.

Example 2

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

Example 1

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”:

Martin Luther King, Jr. I Have A Dream Speech

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.

Example 2

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

When Harry Met Sally... (11/11) Movie CLIP - Harry Loves Sally (1989) HD

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.

Assonance

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

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.

What is repetition? At its simplest, repetition is a word or phrase used multiple times in a text, for the purpose of emphasizing an emotion or idea. It might seem counterintuitive to repeat, repeat, repeat, but when wielded correctly, the repetition of words and phrases has powerful effects in literature.

You’re most likely to find examples of repetition in poetry, but both poetry and prose utilize the same devices, like epizeuxis, anadiplosis, and chiasmus. We’ll dive into those strange Greek words in a minute, but before dissecting the types of repetition, let’s properly define repetition in literature. What is repetition?

Repetition Definition

When a writer utilizes repetition, they’re putting multiple iterations of a word or phrase in close proximity to each other. In other words, a word or phrase is repeated to provide clarity and emphasis, highlighting deeper meanings in the text.

Repetition is an instance where a word or phrase is repeated to provide clarity and emphasis, highlighting deeper meanings in the text.

Now, repetition can be both subtle and obvious, and writers can get very creative about what those repeating words signify. For example, take this excerpt from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”:

In 11 words, “alone” is repeated 4 times, while “all” and “wide” are repeated twice each. Each word contributes its own importance to the poem. “All” emphasizes the intensity of the speaker’s aloneness, and while the word “alone” highlights the speaker’s solitude, “wide” highlights the vast amount of space between the speaker and anything else. The repetition here evokes the image of an insignificant dot floating in an endless nothingness—a loneliness without end.

It’s easy to find examples of repetition in poetry and in prose, but it’s much easier to execute repetition in poetry. Because poetry has greater freedom in syntax and structure, poets have more tools at their disposal to repeat themselves effectively.

Now, let’s take a look at the types of repetition in literature—both prose and poetry—before looking at more repetition examples in each genre.

10 Types of Repetition in Literature

Repetition literary devices have existed since the dawn of literature, and they were especially prominent in both Ancient Greece and Rome. These devices exist partially because of their emphatic value, and partially because literature was often retold orally, so repetition helped storytellers remember “what comes next” as they recited their work.

As such, the following devices all have Greek names. For the modern English speaker, this makes remembering each device a bit confusing—how am I supposed to know my antistrophe from my antanaclasis?

As such, we’ve defined each device next to the word itself, making these types of repetition easier to navigate. In addition to using these devices in your writing, you can also impress your friends by telling them what they just said is an antimetabole.

Repetition examples in literature are included with each device below.

1. Anadiplosis—Repetition in Successive Clauses

Anadiplosis is when a word or phrase is repeated in successive clauses. Usually, the phrase shows up at the end of one clause and the beginning of the next.

You’ll find anadiplosis often in classic literature, and this device is especially prevalent in the Bible. Take this excerpt from the Book of Genesis (1:1-2):

In this passage, “the earth” ends the first sentence and starts the second. This puts the earth at the center of the text, emphasizing its importance and outsized presence in Genesis.

Anadiplosis can also be used to offer a sense of placement. Take this example, from the poem “The Isles of Greece” by Lord Byron:

In this excerpt, the reader can view the arrangement of the landscape. We see Marathon literally situated between the mountains and the sea, because it’s situated that same way in the text, which also emphasizes Marathon’s importance to the poem itself.

2. Anaphora—Repetition at the Beginning of Lines or Clauses

For the most part, anaphora is an example of repetition in poetry. This device involves the repeated use of a word or phrase at the beginning of each line in a poem, or each sentence in prose.

Let’s look at repetition examples for each. In poetry, anaphora is present in the piece “The Delight Song of Tsoai-talee” by N. Scott Momaday. Read this poem at our article Literary Devices in Poetry.

In prose, consider this sentence from the novel Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler:

The repeating phrase “I needed” highlights the narrator’s desperation, especially since each need is a luxury only afforded to the wealthy and comfortable. The following sentence, which describes the narrator’s belongings, offers insight into the narrator’s psyche and behavior—we know his needs and what he has to obtain those needs.

3. Antanaclasis—Successive Repetition of a Word, In Which Each Use Has a Different Meaning

One word can have many different meanings, especially in the English language. Did you know that the word “set” has 430 different usages described in the Oxford English Dictionary?

Antanaclasis harnesses this facet of language so that each repetition of words has a different meaning.

Take this example from Robert Frost’s poem “Stopping by Woods on Snowy Evening.”

The repetition of the last line, and particularly the phrase “I sleep,” clues the reader towards two different meanings. The first “I sleep” is clearly referring to rest, while the second “I sleep” probably refers to the speaker’s death. This double meaning of “sleep” suggests the speaker has much more work to do before he can comfortably rest, both at night and at the end of his life.

4. Antimetabole—Phrases or Sentences Repeated in Reverse Grammatical Order

Antimetabole is when phrases or sentences are repeated in reverse order, with the intent of juxtaposing different meanings. In both clauses, the grammatical structure is exactly the same. This device is closely related to chiasmus, but with a slight difference that we explain later below.

This repetition literary device is much easier to demonstrate than to define. See the below examples, each of which uses inverted word order to emphasize a certain point:

This quote, spoken by Festes in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, repeats “wit” and “fool” in inverse order. The effect is that Festes underlines the importance of wit, and that foolishness and wit are not mutually exclusive: a “fool” or clown can be witty, which is far better than actually being a foolish person.

Here’s another example of antimetabole, from Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God:

Hurston’s novel frequently dwells on the themes of gender and society, and this quote sums up the novel’s attitude nicely. At a time when women were viewed as subservient to their husbands, Hurston is saying that women are fully in control of their fate, feelings, and thoughts, defying the typical gender roles of that era. The antimetabole of “forget” and “remember” reinforces that sense of control.

5. Antistrophe—Repetition at the Ends of Lines or Clauses

Antistrophe—also known as epistrophe or epiphora—is the repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive lines or clauses. Like anaphora, the effect of antistrophe is the emphasis of a recurring idea.

You’ll find an example of antistrophe in the short poem “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks:

The word “We” starts each sentence, but ends each line—except the last line. This repetition emphasizes two things. First, it shows the reader the speaker’s lack of identity: he can only identify as a weak “we,” and that “we” centers itself around youthful rebellion.

Second, it highlights the poet’s attitude towards the boys. There is no “we” after the phrase “die soon,” which underscores the poem’s finality and the poet’s belief that the boys will ruin their own lives.

6. Chiasmus—Phrases or Sentences Repeated in Reverse Order

Chiasmus, like antimetabole, is the repetition of a phrase in reverse order. By inverting a phrase, the writer juxtaposes different or opposite meanings.

Unlike antimetabole, a chiasmus does not have to invert a phrase grammatically. The two clauses can have different lengths and structures. As such, antimetabole is often viewed as a stricter form of chiasmus.

Let’s look at an example of each, side-by-side. The following, from Shakespeare’s Macbeth, is an example of both chiasmus and antimetabole, because each inverted clause preserves the same grammatical structure:

Now, this next quote, from Aeschylus, is an example of chiasmus, but not of antimetabole, because each inverted clause has a different grammatical structure:

To summarize: a chiasmus is also an antimetabole, but not every antimetabole is a chiasmus.

7. Epimone—Repetition for the Purpose of Dwelling

Epimone, a device most often used in dialogue, occurs when the speaker repeats themselves for the purpose of dwelling on a point. This repetition doesn’t contribute anything new to the speaker’s argument, but it often shows us how the speaker truly feels.

Here’s an example from Romeo & Juliet:

In addition to several epizeuxis examples (defined below), this quote has several examples of epimone. The repeating “woeful,” “O day,” and “O woeful day” phrases don’t contribute anything new to what the nurse is saying, but it does underscore how terrible the day is for her.

Epimone is best used as an element in dialogue to humanize characters. In real life, people repeat themselves for emphasis, and using epimone reflects this human tendency.

8. Epizeuxis—Words Repeated in Quick Succession

Epizeuxis, also known as diacope, is the repetition of words in quick succession.

There are countless repetition examples of epizeuxis in the poem “The Bells” by Edgar Allan Poe. Each stanza ends with some variation of the following:

Here, the immediate repetition of “bells” is an epizeuxis. Try to read this stanza as though each iteration of “bells” was a bell jingling: the stanza becomes vibrant, exciting, and perhaps even overwhelming, as it is both figuratively and literally consumed by the bells.

9. Polyptoton—The Inclusion of Multiple Words with the Same Root

Polyptoton is the use of two or more words that, though different, share the same root. The words “bare & barely” have the same root; so do the word pairs “battle & embattled” and “lunar & lunatic.”

Polyptoton was a common facet of Latin and Greek poetry, since one word has hundreds of forms in each language. However, modern literature has examples of polyptoton, too. Take this excerpt from T. S. Eliot’s poem “The Dry Salvages”:

There are four examples of polyptoton here: “wither & withering”, “pain & painless”, “drift & drifting”, and “prayer, prayable, & Prayer.”

What is the effect of repetition with polyptoton? By using different forms of the same word, the writer can suggest an evolving relationship between those words. The flowers, withered, are still withering; the sea, which drifts, brings drifting wreckage. Polyptoton adds dimension to the meanings of words, providing contrast and emphasis to what those words signify.

10. Symploce—Repetition at Both the Beginnings and Ends of Clauses

Symploce occurs when a writer uses both anaphora and antistrophe at the same time. By using symploce, the writer highlights nuances of meaning and the differences between the two repeating phrases.

Because symploce happens at both the beginning and end of a line or sentence, it most often occurs as repetition in poetry. Here’s an example of a poem, “Sonnet 62” by Bartholomew Griffin, that has symploce in each line:

“Sonnet 62” uses an anaphora with “most true” and an antistrophe with “love.” Each line slightly alters the relationship between truth and love, presenting a series of juxtapositions and paradoxes that complicates the speaker’s relationship to Fidessa. By writing this sonnet as a perfect symploce, Griffin is able to capture that complexity and his evolving relationship to love itself.

What is the Effect of Repetition?

Repetition in literature offers a variety of powerful rhetorical strategies. In the above repetition examples, we’ve seen this device do the following:

Emphasize key themes and ideas
Underscore the relationship between ideas
Emulate sounds and experiences
Invert ideas for emphasis
Juxtapose ideas to challenge the reader
Play with multiple meanings and ambiguities
Situate an important setting in the text, both figuratively and literally
Suggest a character’s interiority

Repetition can do all of the above, and much more. What makes repetition in poetry and prose so powerful is that it emphasizes other devices and ideas in the text.

Since the main effect of repetition is emphasis, writers should harness the repetition of words to underscore what their work is trying to accomplish. By skillfully repeating words and phrases, writers can clue the reader towards what they’re trying to say in their work, using the tools of rhetoric in artistic and literary ways.

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Repetition is a powerful literary device, but if you have too many repeating words and phrases, your work can lose its impact. Writers.com can help! Become a part of our community: Take a look at our upcoming courses or join our Facebook group, and receive caring feedback on your work and repetition.