Anaphora
Literary term · say it uh-NAF-uh-ruh
Anaphora is the repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginnings of nearby clauses, sentences, or lines. It can give a passage a steady beat, connect ideas, or make a feeling more urgent.
Where anaphora shows up
In prose
Repeated beginnings can link a series of statements and give each one extra weight. They can also make contrasts easier to hear.
At the opening of A Tale of Two Cities, successive clauses repeat the same beginning while describing opposite conditions, including good and bad times, wisdom and foolishness.
In A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
In poetry
Repeated beginnings can give successive lines a strong rhythm. Each line adds another image or thought to the pattern.
In the poem London in Songs of Experience, several lines in the second stanza begin with the same phrase as the speaker describes cries and voices throughout the city.
In Songs of Experience by William Blake
How to spot anaphora
- Look for nearby clauses, sentences, or lines with matching beginnings.
- Check that the repeated words start each unit rather than appear anywhere within it.
- Notice how each new unit adds a contrast, image, or feeling.
What is the difference between anaphora and repetition?
Anaphora is a particular kind of repetition that happens at the beginnings of nearby clauses, sentences, or lines. Repetition is the broader term: it can include repeated sounds, words, phrases, or whole passages in other positions.
What is the difference between anaphora and parallelism?
Anaphora repeats opening words, while parallelism repeats a grammatical pattern. A passage can use both at once, but parallel clauses do not need to begin with the same words, and anaphora does not require identical sentence structures.
Related terms
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