epizeuxis
{{short description|Repetition of a word or phrase in immediate succession for emphasis}}
{{For|the genus of moth|Epizeuxis (moth)}}
In rhetoric, epizeuxis, also known as palilogia, is the repetition of a word or phrase in immediate succession, typically within the same sentence, for vehemence or emphasis.Arthur Quinn, Figures of Speech, Gibbs M. Smith, Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah, 1982.{{cite web |author=Nordquist, Richard |date=26 August 2020 |title=Definition and Examples of Epizeuxis in Rhetoric |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/epizeuxis-rhetoric-term-1690670 |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=18 November 2023 |website=ThoughtCo |publisher=}} A closely related rhetorical device is diacope, which involves word repetition that is broken up by a single intervening word, or a small number of intervening words.{{Cite web|url=http://www.literarydevices.com/epizeuxis/|title=Epizeuxis|website=Literary Devices|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128191450/https://www.literarydevices.com/epizeuxis/|archive-date=28 January 2022}}
As a rhetorical device, epizeuxis is utilized to create an emotional appeal, thereby inspiring and motivating the audience. However, epizeuxis can also be used for comic effect.Gerard Hauser, Introduction to Rhetorical Theory, Waveland Press, Illinois, 2002.
Examples
- "Never give in — never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy."—Winston Churchill
- "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow/Creeps in this petty pace from day to day/To the last syllable of recorded time..."—William Shakespeare, Macbeth
- "O dark, dark, dark, amid the blaze of noon"—John Milton, Samson Agonistes.
- "Work, work, work, is the main thing"—Abraham Lincoln
- "The horror, the horror"—Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness
- "Scotch, scotch, scotch, scotchy, scotchy scotch."—Ron Burgundy, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
- "Well, Well, Well..." — John Lennon, Well Well Well
- "Our top priority was, is and always will be education, education, education"—Tony Blair{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2001/may/23/labour.tonyblair |title=Full text of Tony Blair's speech on education |author= |date=23 May 2001 |website=www.theguardian.com |publisher=Guardian News & Media Limited |access-date=4 July 2023 }}
- "Location, location, location" — an aphorism about the primacy of location in determining the value of real estate{{Cite web |title=Location, Location, Location |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/28/magazine/28FOB-onlanguage-t.html}}
See also
References
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External links
- [https://www.americanrhetoric.com/figures/epizeuxis.htm Text and Audio illustrations of epizeuxis]
{{Figures of speech}}
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