Literary Techniques of Repetition
Repetition in poetry (and literature) is a rhetorical device of using ideas, words, sounds, lines, or stanzas more than once in one poem. Literary Techniques of Repetition are used to increase: emphasize, enhance rhythm, deepen meaning, produce a powerful sound effect, increase memorability.

Poetic Examples of Literary Techniques of Repetition
Amplification
This literary technique involves repeating a statement or idea, intending to describe it or give more details about it. Amplification is used to clarify an idea and for emphasis.
example of poetry: Poems by Alice Eaglefeather
Freedom matters
Yes, Freedom matters
But no one knows if she breathes.
Is Freedom free to choose,
Free to go
Free to love
Free to be
Free to vote
Free to die
Free to debate?
And I want to reiterate
Freedom of the Press
Of course, Freedom matters
But does she live?
Sweet will be the day Freedom is
Free from bias
Free from prejudice
Free from the past
Free from clutter
Free from anxiety
Free from debt
If only Freedom was rent-free
Alas, Greed has her cold wicked blade
Pressed against Freedom’s throat
Greed is jealous, and at times, vile.
She has blood on her shoes
Those possessed by Greed are treacherous
They care not for their kin
“Pay for your beloved Freedom!” Greed howls-
Far away from the war, in some grand old hall
And you will. Because it is an honor to live and die
Fighting for the day Freedom rules
Symploce
This is a combination of anaphora and epistrophe. That means one word or phrase is repeated at the beginning of a line and another at the end.
Look at you now
Look at you,
Now that you’ve lost me.
Just look at you now.
What a pity!
You didn’t listen to me. You didn’t care enough to know
Belittled my love, made me hate loving you. I bet you wish you hadn’t done that
What a crying shame. No really, it’s too bad.
Now you’re the one suffering. And I’ve moved on, my heart has a new love.
And you can do whatever you want! You’re no longer my concern
You put my love aside. You tore my dreams apart.
You were unkind. You broke my heart.
You stepped on all my sandcastles. You threw away the burning passion. It’s too late now
What a pity! What a shame, love.
Today, you’re the one crying. Now that it’s too late.
Just look at the state of you
What are you doing here? Who would’ve thought we’d be here?
Oh, now you’re ready to listen
Fine, I’ll tell you. It’s not my fault that you made a mistake.
No, don’t say his name. He has nothing to do with this.
You see that door? It’s open. You can leave now.
No, I don’t need to tell you what he has that you don’t.
But here’s the truth. He was happy to take my hand when you let go
He accepted me and my flaws. He was there to dry my tears after you left.
He helped me up when all you did was put me down.
And I am with him now.
Read about other Types of poems here:
Common literary devices of repetition
The following is an alphabetical list of various forms of literary devices of repetition:
- alliteration
- amplification
- anadiplosis
- anaphora: “I have a dream” is repeated in eight successive sentences, and is one of the most often cited examples of anaphora in modern rhetoric. In rhetoric, an anaphora (Greek: ἀναφορά, “carrying back”) is a rhetorical device that consists of repeating a sequence of words at the beginnings of neighboring clauses, thereby lending them emphasis. In contrast, an epistrophe (or epiphora) is repeating words at the clauses’ ends.
- antanaclasis
- antistasis
- assonance
- chiasmus
- consonance
- diacope
- diaphora
- envelope
- epanalepsis
- epimone
- epiphora
- epistrophe
- epizeuxis
- mesarchia
- mesodiplosis
- negative positive restatement
- polyptoton
- refrain
- rhyme
- parallelism
- symploce
7 responses to “Literary Techniques of Repetition”
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[…] Repetition: Where a specific word, phrase, or structure is repeated several times, to emphasize aparticular idea. See our list of repetition techniques in literature with examples here. […]
[…] Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have A Dream” speech is a classic example of anaphora. Read about literary techniques of repetition here. […]
[…] To add musicality to our writing, be it prose, drama or poetry, repetition is key. The word sonnet in Middle English means ‘denoting a song or ballad’. The sense ‘poem of fourteen lines’ is partly from Italian sonetto, from Occitan sonet, diminutive of son ‘a sound’. Today a sonnet is a poem of fourteen lines using any of a number of formal rhyme schemes, in English typically having ten syllables per line. To read about other types of repetition techniques in literature click here! […]
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