Meaning & use
anaphora
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Meanings
noununcountableliterarytechnical
The deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of nearby clauses, sentences, or lines.
Grammar: Usually uncountable in rhetoric; mention an example of anaphora rather than many anaphoras.
Patterns
- use anaphora for emphasis
- anaphora in a speech
- anaphora across lines
The speech used anaphora: we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds.
Poets use anaphora to build rhythm and urgency.
Repeating the same opening word in three questions is anaphora.
noununcountabletechnical
The grammatical use of a word or expression to refer back to something already mentioned.
Grammar: A technical grammar term; related to anaphoric reference.
Patterns
- anaphora in grammar
- anaphoric reference
- use a pronoun as anaphora
In the sentence Maya smiled because she won, the pronoun she is anaphora referring back to Maya.
Anaphora helps avoid repeating a noun too often.
The student learned that anaphora can be shown by pronouns and repeated noun phrases.
Common combinations
- use anaphora
- The writer used anaphora to make the final paragraph sound like a chant.
- anaphora in poetry
- Anaphora in poetry often appears at the start of successive lines.
- anaphora for emphasis
- For emphasis, the coach used anaphora in the halftime talk.
- anaphoric reference
- The phrase the former intern is anaphoric reference only if the earlier text names the person.
Word family
- anaphoric adjective
- Referring back to something mentioned earlier.
Commonly confused: anaphora or epistrophe? anaphora or repetition?
anaphora vs epistrophe
Anaphora repeats words at the beginnings of clauses; epistrophe repeats words at the ends.
anaphora vs repetition
Repetition is the general device; anaphora is repetition at the start of neighboring units.
Practice
Which sentence is the clearest example of rhetorical anaphora?
Choose one answer.
Rhetorical anaphora repeats an opening phrase across nearby clauses, as We will does. Ending every clause with the same word is epistrophe, and the other options show ordinary repetition or contrast but not opening repetition.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “anaphora”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.