Epistrophe, a rhetorical pattern that repeats words or phrases at the end of consecutive sentences or clauses, emphasizes an idea or point. It creates familiarity, unity, and helps drive home a point. Abraham Lincoln used it in his Gettysburg Address to underline the speech’s purpose.
A rhetorical pattern, an epistrophe repeats words or phrases at the end of consecutive sentences or clauses. Also called an epiphora, the epistrophe is used to place emphasis on an idea or point. The term derives from the Greek and means “to address”, indicating the same word or words “return to” at the end of each sentence. The epistrophe is often used in speech and poetry, but can also be seen in prose. The opposite of the epistrophe is the anaphora, which repeats the same word or phrase at the beginning of consecutive sentences.
Like all rhetorical patterns, the epistrophe relies on the syntax and word order of a sentence or group of sentences to help make a point and add interest to a piece. Repetition usually creates uninteresting, predictable, and sometimes boring writing and should therefore be avoided. Rhetorical patterns using repetition, however, turn these weaknesses into strengths. When used well, the epistrophe can create a sense of familiarity and connection between the piece and the audience due to the predictability of the repeated words. That repetition also helps drive home a point by forcing the audience’s attention on those words.
Also, the epistrophe can create a sense of unity with the repeated words serving as a common thread throughout the sentences or phrases in which they appear. The scheme also plays on the idea that the last thing heard is often the most clearly remembered. Therefore, by placing the repeating key phrase at the end of the sentence, the audience is more likely to remember that phrase most clearly. While the keyword or phrase is often repeated exactly three times in the epistrophe, it can be repeated any number of times.
One of the most famous uses of the epistrophe in history is by US President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War in his 1863 Gettysburg Address. In the last sentence of the address, Lincoln states: “It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task before us…and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Lincoln’s repetition of “the people” underlined the speech’s purpose, which was not only to honor the men who died at the Battle of Gettysburg, but to remind its citizens that the Civil War was being fought to help secure democratic liberty on which the United States was founded. The emphasis on “the people” focused the public’s attention on the primary aspect of democracy and created a sense of unity and connection between the public and that idea.
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