---
title: "Repetition"
description: "Repetition Repetition as a stylistic device is a direct successor of repetition as an expressive lan..."
author: "yesbulatova_nargiz"
published: "2013-04-27T13:33:18+00:00"
modified: "2013-04-27T13:33:18+00:00"
locale: "ru"
canonical_url: "https://yvision.kz/post/repetition-345811"
markdown_url: "https://yvision.kz/post/repetition-345811/markdown"
site_name: "Yvision.kz"
---

# Repetition

> Repetition Repetition as a stylistic device is a direct successor of repetition as an expressive lan...

Repetition

Repetition as a stylistic device is a direct successor of repetition as an expressive language means, which serves to emphasize certain statements of the speaker, and so possesses considerable emotive force.

It is not only a single word that can be repeated but a word combination and a whole sentence too.

As to the position occupied by the repeated unit in the sentence or utterance, we shall mention four main types, most frequently occurring in English literature:

1) **anaphora** - the repetition of the first word of several succeeding sentences or clauses (a …, a …, a …)

"*I want her to* live. *I want her to* breathe. *I want her to* aerobicize." (*Weird Science*, 1985)

 

2) **epiphora** - the repetition of the final word (… a, … a, … a)

"She's safe, *just like I promised*. She's all set to marry Norrington, *just like she promised*. And you get to die for her, *just like you promised*." (Jack Sparrow, The Pirates of the Caribbean)

 

3) **anadiplosis or catch repetition** - the repetition of the same unit (word or phrase) at the end of the preceding and at the beginning of the sentence (…a, a …)

"My conscience hath a thousand several *tongues*, And every *tongue* brings in a several *tale*, And every *tale *condemns me for a villain."

The combination of several catch repetitions produces a chain repetition.

4) **framing or ring repetition** - the repetition of the same unit at the beginning and at the end of the same sentence (a …, … a).

"*Swallow*, my sister, O sister *swallow*" (Algernon Charles Swinburne, "Itylus")

Stylistic functions of repetition are various and many-sided. Besides emphasizing the most important part of the utterance, rendering the emotions of the speaker or showing his emotive attitude towards the object described, it may play a minor stylistic role, showing the durability of action, and to a lesser degree the emotions following it.

Repetition, deliberately used by the author to better emphasize his sentiments, should not be mixed with pleonasm - an excessive, uneconomic usage of unnecessary, extra words, which shows the inability of the writer to express his ideas in a precise and clear manner.

Morphological repetition, that is the repetition of a morpheme, is to be included into the stylistic means.

e.g. I might as well face facts: good-bye, Susan, good-bye a big car, good-bye a big house, good-bye power, good-bye the silly handsome dreams.

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Source: [https://yvision.kz/post/repetition-345811](https://yvision.kz/post/repetition-345811)