Epistrophe means the repetition of a word or words at the end of two or more successive verses, clauses, or sentences, as in “I should do Brutus wrong, and Cassius wrong. … It is antithesis of anaphora.
It is from Greek word epi-, strophe.
By using this rhetorical device,
1. Epistrophe can be very dramatic because the emphasis is on the last words of a series of sentences or phrases.
2. It is particularly effective when one wishes to emphasize a concept, idea or situation.
3. Repetition makes the lines memorable
4. The speaker’s words have rhythm and cadence.
.jpg)
- Barack Obama: "Yes, We Can"
"For when we have faced down impossible odds, when we've been told we're not ready or that we shouldn't try or that we can't, generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can. Yes, we can. Yes, we can.
"It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation:Yes, we can.
"It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail towards freedom through the darkest of nights: Yes, we can.
"It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness: Yes, we can.
"It was the call of workers who organized, women who reached for the ballot, a president who chose the moon as our new frontier, and a king who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the promised land: Yes, we can, to justice and equality.
"Yes, we can, to opportunity and prosperity. Yes, we can heal this nation. Yes, we can repair this world. Yes, we can."
(Senator Barack Obama, speech following a primary loss in New Hampshire, Jan. 8, 2008)