
This epanalepsis helps illustrate the enormous space Beloved occupies in her mother's mind.

In this line from Beloved, Sethe invokes her daughter Beloved's name twice within a just few words. It's used to draw attention to words or concepts, create a sense of musicality and rhythm, and give the pleasing sound that comes with carefully arranged repetition. Epanalepsis Examples Epanalepsis Examples in LiteratureĮpanalepsis is a versatile tool found in both poetry and prose. However closely we live together, at whatever time of day or night sound the deepest thoughts in one another, we know nothing. We know nothing of one another, nothing, Smiley mused. The repetition and unity in content help it qualify as epanalepsis. For instance, in these lines from John le Carré's novel Call for the Dead, both sentences involve the idea that people can never know the private, inner lives of those around them, with the second sentence expanding on the first. While some definitions of epanalepsis differ on this matter, it's generally accepted that epanalepsis can take place across multiple sentences. Epanalepsis Can Occur Across Two Sentences He smiled the most exquisite smile, veiled by memory, tinged by dreams. For instance, in the following sentence from Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse, the first clause of the sentence contains an example of epanalepsis (with the repetition of the word "smile"), but it is followed by clauses that describe the smile and do not contain epanalepsis: Sometimes epanalepsis appears within a piece of a longer sentence. Epanalepsis Can Occur Within a Clause of a Sentence Alfred Prufrock":įor decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.Įven though the word "in" precedes the repeated phrase in line 3, and the words "will reverse" follow it in line 4, this is considered a case of epanalepsis because the key phrase ("a minute") appears very close to the beginning and end of the sentence. For instance, most would agree that epanalepsis applies to these lines from T.S. So, even if other words precede or follow the repeating phrases, the repetition may still qualify as epanalepsis. Epanalepsis Doesn't Have to Involve the Very First or Final WordsĮpanalepsis may appear near the beginning or end of a sentence or clause. In fact, epanalepsis often benefits from having slightly different wording, as the slight change can make it feel more natural and less calculated. Since the two clauses at the beginning and end of the sentence don't contain similar words, grammar, and meaning, they still give an effect of repetition, and so they count as epanalepsis. No matter where I end up, I never seem to feel any different or any better- no matter where I land.

Repeating phrases at the beginning and end of a sentence or phrase still count as epanalepsis even if they aren't perfectly identical: The Repeated Words in Epanalepsis Don't Have to be Identical There are a some nuances in the definition of epanalepsis that are helpful to know in order to fully understand the term.
#Rhetorical fragment examples in literature how to#
Here's how to pronounce epanalepsis: ep-uh-nuh- lep-sis A Closer Look at Epanalepsis

It can also refer to repetition that occurs very close to the start or end of a sentence or clause, as well as across two separate sentences. The term epanalepsis doesn't apply only to exactly the first and last words of a sentence or clause.Epanalepsis emphasizes particular words not only by repeating them, but also by placing them in prominent locations at the beginning and end of the sentence, so that the repeated words act as "bookends." The phenomenon of first and last things sticking in the memory is known generally as the "primacy" and "recency" effects, respectively.Some additional key details about epanalepsis: The sentence " The king is dead, long live the king!" is an example of epanalepsis.

What is epanalepsis? Here’s a quick and simple definition:Įpanalepsis is a figure of speech in which the beginning of a clause or sentence is repeated at the end of that same clause or sentence, with words intervening.
