You can use figures of speech to accentuate your writing skill. There are different types of figures of speech that you can use to improve your English skills. In this article, we will particularly talk about repetition and its use in literary work.

So keep reading this article till the end you will get an idea of how to use repetition figures of speech to amplify your work.

Also Read: Daily Routine English Conversation: Make Your Communication Skills Effective

What is Repetition?

Repetition is a figure of speech where a word or phrase is repeated more than one time to put emphasis. It attracts the attention of the readers to the specific phrase.

Types of Repetition

There are different types of repetition. Let us discuss them one by one:

#1. Epizeuxis: this is a repetition of words in a sequence such as “why why why”.

#2. Anaphora: this is a repetition of words in the beginning of each phase. For example, you should look left, you should look right, you should look straight while walking.

#3. Mesodiplosis: This is a repetition of words in the middle of any phrase and clause. For example, You should dance but not sing, cook but not eat, draw not sit.

#4. Epistrophe: In this type, the repetition of words at the end of each phrase. For example, I am so happy because you are with me, I am satisfied because you are with me, I am loving this because you are with me.

Also Read: Modern English Words Used in Conversation: Let’s Learn Effective English Speaking Ethics!

Importance of Repetition

Reputation is an important literary device because it allows writers and poets to put emphasis on the phrases that they choose. It attracts the attention of The reader or audience and helps them to understand the central idea of that phrase. Moreover, it is an important technique for oral tradition as there were a number of details a storyteller repeated.

Common Example

# I am thankful to my mother, I am thankful to my father, I am thankful to my friends and family for their constant support.

# I was scared about your safety, I was scared about his safety, I was scared about the safety of you all.

# I think I should start dancing, I think I should start hip-hop, I think I should also open an academy.

# Don’t worry about them, I will not worry about them.

# Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday to you.

# She was startled at his reaction and she continuously asked,”why, why, why.”

# I think I should start a diet, and you should start exercising.

Also Read: Hyperbole Figure of Speech: Get to Know the Definition, Uses and Examples

Literature Example

“Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

“Oh, woeful, oh woeful, woeful, woeful day!”

–Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

“And miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep.”

–Robert Frost “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”

“A horse is a horse, of course, of course,

And no one can talk to a horse of course,

That is, of course, unless the horse is the famous Mr. Ed.”

–Theme Song from Mr. Ed, television show

“My conscience hath a thousand several tongues,

And every tongue brings in a several tale,

And every tale condemns me for being a villain.”

–Shakespeare, Richard III

” We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have

prostrated ourselves before the tyrannical hands of the ministry and

parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have

produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been

disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne.”

–Patrick Henry to the Virginia Convention

“The art of losing isn’t hard to master;

so many things seem filled with the intent

to be lost that their loss is no disaster…

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster

of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.

The art of losing isn’t hard to master

though it may look like (Write it!) like a disaster.”

–One Art by Elizabeth Bishop

“It was many and many a year ago,

In a kingdom by the sea,

That a maiden there lived whom you may know …

I was a child and she was a child,

In this kingdom by the sea,

But we loved with a love that was more than love —

I and my Annabel Lee …”

–Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe

“Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light…

And you, my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

–Do not go gentle into that good night by Dylan Thomas

“My dog has died.

I buried him in the garden

next to a rusted old machine.

Some day I’ll join him right there,

but now he’s gone with his shaggy coat,

his bad manners and his cold nose,

and I, the materialist, who never believed

in any promised heaven in the sky

for any human being,

I believe in a heaven I’ll never enter.

Yes, I believe in a heaven for all dogdom

where my dog waits for my arrival

waving his fan-like tail in friendship.”

–A Dog has Died by Pablo Neruda.

Also Read: Simile Figure of Speech: Examples of Simile Figure of Speech

Conclusion

I hope you got a clear grasp of the repetition figure of speech. If you want to improve your English skills further and for related articles, visit The Fluent Life. This website is a perfect solution for all your worries.

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