Definition:
A rhetorical term for the repetition of a word or phrase at the start of successive clauses. For the grammatical term, see anaphora (grammar). Adjective: anaphoric. Compare with epiphora. See also:
- Anaphora in Bryson's "Neither Here Nor There"
- Anaphora in Giovanni's "View of Home"
- "I Have a Dream," by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Etymology:
From the Greek, "carrying up or back"Examples:
- "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, speech to the House of Commons, June 4, 1940) - "I want her to live. I want her to breathe. I want her to aerobicize."
(Weird Science, 1985) - "Brylcreem, a little dab'll do ya,
Brylcreem, you'll look so debonair!
Brylcreem, the gals'll all pursue ya!"
(1950s advertising jingle) - "It's the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs; the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores; the hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta; the hope of a millworker's son who dares to defy the odds; the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too."
(Barack Obama, "The Audacity of Hope," July 27, 2004) - "I'm not afraid to die. . . . I'm not afraid to live. I'm not afraid to fail. I'm not afraid to succeed. I'm not afraid to fall in love. I'm not afraid to be alone. I'm just afraid I might have to stop talking about myself for five minutes."
(Kinky Friedman, When the Cat's Away)
Pronunciation: ah-NAF-oh-rah
Also Known As: epanaphora, iteratio, relatio, repetitio, report
