Anaphora
Pronounced uh-NAF-er-uh.
Anaphora: Repeating the same word or phrase at the start of successive clauses or lines.
Anaphora turns a list into a drumbeat: each clause restarts from the same words and pushes further, which is why it powers the most quoted passages in oratory.
Anaphora examples
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness..."
— A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
"I have a dream - repeated eight times across the speech's climax."
— Martin Luther King Jr., March on Washington, 1963
"We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets."
— Winston Churchill, House of Commons, 1940
"Every morning she checked the door. Every morning the chain was on. Every morning she told herself that proved something."
— original example
Spot the Anaphora
Score: 0/0Repeating the same word or phrase at the start of successive clauses or lines.
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness..."
Which work is this from?
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Anaphora: common questions
What is anaphora in literature?
Repeating the same word or phrase at the start of successive clauses or lines. Anaphora turns a list into a drumbeat: each clause restarts from the same words and pushes further, which is why it powers the most quoted passages in oratory.
What is an example of anaphora?
A classic example is "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness..." (A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens).
What is the difference between anaphora and epistrophe?
Anaphora repeats the opening words of successive clauses ('It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...'); epistrophe repeats the closing words ('of the people, by the people, for the people'). Used together they are called symploce.
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