Repetition
Literary term · say it rep-uh-TISH-un
Repetition is the use of the same word, phrase, sound, or pattern more than once in a text. It can draw attention to an idea, establish a rhythm, or show a feeling that a character cannot escape.
Three ways repetition appears
Repeated words or phrases
A word or phrase returns close together, giving a thought or feeling extra weight.
In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth repeatedly urges an imagined bloodstain to disappear while she walks in her sleep. The repeated command reveals the guilt she cannot wash away.
In Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Anaphora
The same word or phrase begins several nearby sentences, clauses, or lines. This repeated opening can link ideas and give them a steady beat.
At the opening of A Tale of Two Cities, a series of opposing descriptions begins with the same words. The pattern presents the period as full of contradictions.
In A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Refrain
A line or phrase returns at intervals, often at the ends of stanzas in a poem or song.
In The Raven, the bird repeatedly gives the same one-word reply. As the speaker asks about his lost Lenore, that unchanged answer becomes increasingly painful.
In The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe
How to spot repetition
- Look for words, sounds, or sentence patterns that return.
- Notice where each return falls in a sentence or stanza.
- Ask which idea or feeling gains weight each time.
What is the difference between repetition and a refrain?
A refrain is a particular form of repetition: a phrase or line that returns at intervals, usually in a poem or song. Repetition is the broader term and also covers repeated sounds, individual words, and sentence patterns.
Is repetition always a mistake?
Repetition is not always a mistake; it can give a passage emphasis, rhythm, or emotional force. A useful test is to ask what changes when the words return. They may become more urgent, more comforting, or more troubling in their new context.
Related terms
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