Rhetoric & FiguresIntermediate
Epistrophe
Repetition at the end of successive phrases or clauses.
Principle
Final repetition makes each unit land on the same pressure point.
Takeaways
- It creates closure, insistence, and accumulating force.
- It can sound ceremonial, comic, obsessive, or accusatory.
- The repeated ending should gain weight through return.
Overview
Epistrophe repeats the ending of successive units. Where anaphora launches each phrase from the same place, epistrophe drives each phrase toward the same destination.
Examples
- They lied in spring, they lied in court, they lied at the grave.
- No money for bread, no money for coal, no money for mercy.