Look up anaphora in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

In rhetoric, an anaphora (Greek: ἀναφορά, "carrying back") is emphasizing words by repeating them at the beginnings of neighboring clauses. In contrast, an epiphora is repeating words at the clauses' ends. See also other figures of speech involving repetition. Rhetoric (from Greek , rhêtôr, orator, teacher) is generally understood to be the art or technique of persuasion through the use of oral, visual, or written language; however, this definition of rhetoric has expanded greatly since rhetoric emerged as a field of study in universities. ... Anaphora may refer to: Anaphora (rhetoric), a rhetoric term Anaphora (linguistics), a linguistic term Anaphora (liturgy) a part of the Divine Liturgy in Eastern Christianity Anaphora (retreat), a retreat centre located outside Cairo, Egypt, created by Coptic Orthodox Bishop Thomas of al-Qusiyah in the late 1990s This is... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 151 languages. ... Rhetoric (from Greek , rhêtôr, orator, teacher) is generally understood to be the art or technique of persuasion through the use of oral, visual, or written language; however, this definition of rhetoric has expanded greatly since rhetoric emerged as a field of study in universities. ... This figure of speech is the counterpart of anaphora, because the repetition of the same word or words comes at the end of successive phrases, clauses or sentences. ... For other uses, see Repetition (disambiguation). ...

One figure well-known for his use of Anaphora is Charles Dickens (seen in quote below). Some of his best known works constantly portray their themes through use of this literary tool.

Examples

Strike as I would

Have struck those tyrants!

Strike deep as my curse!

Strike! and but once

— Byron

Mad world! Mad kings! Mad composition!

— (William Shakespeare, King John, II, i)

We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender.

— (Winston Churchill)

What the hammer? what the chain?

In what furnace was thy brain?

What the anvil? what dread grasp

Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

— (William Blake, from "The Tyger")

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state, sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.

— Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky. Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever. Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never.

— Elie Wiesel, Night

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way …

— Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

The poet George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron is often referred to simply as Byron. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... The Life and Death of King John is one of the Shakespearean histories, plays written by William Shakespeare and based on the history of England. ... The We shall fight on the beaches speech was a famous speech made by Sir Winston Churchill to the House of Commons of the British Parliament on 4 June 1940. ... Churchill redirects here. ... William Blake (November 28, 1757 – August 12, 1827) was an English poet, visionary, painter, and printmaker. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: The Tyger William Blakes original plate for The Tyger. ... The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr, Ph. ... Elie Wiesel (born Eliezer Wiesel on September 30, 1928)[1] is a Hungarian-French-Jewish novelist, political activist, Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor. ... Night is a work by Elie Wiesel based on his experience, as a young Orthodox Jew, of being sent with his family to the German death camp at Auschwitz, and later to the concentration camp at Buchenwald. ... Dickens redirects here. ... For other uses, see A Tale of Two Cities (disambiguation). ...

References

• Smyth, Herbert Weir (1920). Greek Grammar. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, p. 673. ISBN 0-674-36250-0. 

External links

• Audio illustrations of anaphora