How we change what others think, feel, believe and do

Epistrophe

Techniques > Use of language > Figures of speech > Epistrophe

Method | Example | Discussion | See also

Description

Epistrophe is where a set of lines, phrases, clauses, or sentences end with same word or words.

Example

Looking good, feeling good.

Are you hot? I am.
Are you raging? I am.
Are you ready? I am.

The time is now, the need is now, We must act, now!

Discussion

Repetition creates a pattern and hence the comfort of familiarity. It also causes attention to the repeated words, which may be used to hammer home a point.

Words at the end of a phrase or line may also benefit from the recency effect, where more recent items are more likely to be remembered.

Epistrophe is often combined in a triple, with a point being repeated three times.

This powerful final emphasis makes it popular with speech-writers, who may use it towards the end of the presentation to build up and the end on the key point.

Epistrophe is sometimes called antistrophe, although this word also has other meanings. It is also called epiphora.

Classification: Repetition