Rhetorical Devices: Anaphora

This is my fifth article on rhetorical devices.  In this, we discuss anaphoras.  In grammar, an anaphora is the use of a word referring back to a word used earlier in the text or conversation, to avoid repetition.  In rhetoric, it is simply the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses.  An anaphora is a rhetorical device that consists of repeating a sequence of words at the beginnings of neighbouring clauses, lending them emphasis.  The opposite of an anaphora, which will be discussed in its own article, is the epiphora, or epistrophe.  An epiphora is repeating words at the end of clauses.

The combination of anaphora and epistrophe results in symploce.  In rhetoric, symploce is a figure of speech, in which a word, or phrase, is used successively, at the beginning of two, or more, clauses or sentences, and another word, or phrase, with a similar wording, is used successively at the end of the clauses.  It derives from the Greek word, meaning “interweaving”.

The term “anaphora” is itself derived from the Greek “ana”, which means, “back”, and “pherein” which means, “to bear”.  In Greek, “anaphora” (ἀναφορά) literally means, “repetition”.  It arrived in the English through Latin.

Aside from the obvious function of emphasising ideas, an anaphora is a rhetorical device which adds rhythm to a word, making it more pleasurable to read and easier to remember.  The repetition at the beginning of a sentence creates emphasis.  Anaphoras may also create an artistic effect to a passage.  It is also used to appeal to the emotions of the audience in order to persuade, to inspire, and to move them for, or against a position.

The following are three examples of anaphoras.  In each, there is an emphasis on a certain theme.  For Charles John Huffam Dickens, it was about the complexities of the time.  For Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, the emphasis was martial spirit and resistance to the Nazis.  And for Martin Luther King Jr., it was an expansive call to action, for unity.

Charles Dickens wrote , in “A Tale of Two Cities”, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way ...”  This is one of the best literary passages utilising anaphoras to juxtapose contrast.

Winston Churchill, in his famous “Never Surrender” speech, said, “We shall not flag or fail.  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.”

Finally, this is an excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have Dream Speech”: Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.  I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream.  It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed, ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state, sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.”