Epistrophe
Encyclopedia
Epistrophe also known as epiphora (and occasionally as antistrophe), is a figure of speech
and the counterpart of anaphora. It is the repetition of the same word or words at the end of successive phrase
s, clause
s or sentences. It is an extremely emphatic device because of the emphasis
placed on the last word in a phrase or sentence.
Juno sings her blessings on you. [. . .]
Scarcity and want shall shun you,
Ceres' blessing so is on you." — Shakespeare, The Tempest
(4.1.108-109; 116-17)
Figure of speech
A figure of speech is the use of a word or words diverging from its usual meaning. It can also be a special repetition, arrangement or omission of words with literal meaning, or a phrase with a specialized meaning not based on the literal meaning of the words in it, as in idiom, metaphor, simile,...
and the counterpart of anaphora. It is the repetition of the same word or words at the end of successive phrase
Phrase
In everyday speech, a phrase may refer to any group of words. In linguistics, a phrase is a group of words which form a constituent and so function as a single unit in the syntax of a sentence. A phrase is lower on the grammatical hierarchy than a clause....
s, clause
Clause
In grammar, a clause is the smallest grammatical unit that can express a complete proposition. In some languages it may be a pair or group of words that consists of a subject and a predicate, although in other languages in certain clauses the subject may not appear explicitly as a noun phrase,...
s or sentences. It is an extremely emphatic device because of the emphasis
Emphasis
Emphasis or emphatic may refer to:* Emphasis , intentional alteration of the amplitude-vs.-frequency characteristics of the signal to reduce adverse effects of noise...
placed on the last word in a phrase or sentence.
Examples
- Where affections bear rule, their reason is subdued, honesty is subdued, good will is subdued, and all things else that withstand evil, for ever are subdued. — Thomas Wilson
- ... this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. — Abraham LincolnAbraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
in the Gettysburg AddressGettysburg AddressThe Gettysburg Address is a speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and is one of the most well-known speeches in United States history. It was delivered by Lincoln during the American Civil War, on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery... - When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child. — The Apostle Paul, in the BibleBibleThe Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, 1 Cor 13:11 (King James Translation) - Senator Mike MansfieldMike MansfieldMichael Joseph Mansfield was an American Democratic politician and the longest-serving Majority Leader of the United States Senate, serving from 1961 to 1977. He also served as United States Ambassador to Japan for over ten years...
's funeral oration for John F. Kennedy used the phrase "And she took a ring from her finger and placed it in his hands" five times. - "EpistrophyEpistrophy"Epistrophy" is a jazz standard composed by Thelonious Monk and Kenny Clarke in 1942. It has been called "the first classic, modern jazz composition."Its 'A' section is based on a pattern of alternating chords a semitone apart....
," a Thelonious MonkThelonious MonkThelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
tune that uses an epistrophe of notes. - "There is no Negro problem. There is no Southern problem. There is no Northern problem. There is only an American problem." Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon B. JohnsonLyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
in "We Shall Overcome" - " These sitters had been tongueless, earless, eyeless convenciences all day long." -Their Eyes Were Watching God ( Zora Neale Hurston)
- "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny compared to what lies within us." — Ralph Waldo EmersonRalph Waldo EmersonRalph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
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"Hourly joys be still upon you!
Juno sings her blessings on you. [. . .]
Scarcity and want shall shun you,
Ceres' blessing so is on you." — Shakespeare, The Tempest
The Tempest
The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
(4.1.108-109; 116-17)