Comparison workshop
AnaphoraversusEpistropheWhat's the Difference?
Anaphora and epistrophe both deliberately repeat language across successive units. Anaphora repeats a word or phrase at the beginnings of clauses, sentences, or lines; epistrophe repeats it at their endings. Epistrophe is also called epiphora, an approved alias rather than a separate device identity.
Read the pair
Definitions at a Glance
First idea
Anaphora
Anaphora is deliberate repetition at the beginning of successive clauses, sentences, or lines.
Second idea
Epistrophe
Epistrophe is deliberate repetition at the end of successive clauses, sentences, or lines.
See the signal
Examples
Anaphora
We will listen. We will learn. We will act.
We will repeats at the beginning of three successive sentences.
Because the road was flooded, because the bridge was closed, because the phones were down, they waited.
Because opens successive clauses and accumulates the reasons for delay.
Epistrophe
They asked for justice, marched for justice, and voted for justice.
For justice repeats at the ends of successive coordinated units.
She found courage in the classroom, demanded courage in the council, and rewarded courage in the crisis.
Courage arrives at the end of each parallel clause.
Test the wording
We choose peace in our homes; we choose peace in our streets.
We choose is anaphoric at the beginnings, while peace can create an epistrophic effect near the corresponding ends; a passage can use both patterns.
Look more closely
Side-by-Side Comparison
- Repeated position
- AnaphoraBeginning of each successive unit.
- EpistropheEnd of each successive unit.
- Movement
- AnaphoraLaunches each unit from a shared verbal starting point.
- EpistropheBrings each unit to a shared verbal destination.
- Typical emphasis
- AnaphoraForegrounds a premise, speaker, demand, or accumulating subject.
- EpistropheReinforces a conclusion, object, value, or refrain-like endpoint.
- Unit size
- AnaphoraCan organize clauses, sentences, lines, or parallel phrases.
- EpistropheCan organize the same range of successive units.
- Recognition test
- AnaphoraMark where each unit begins and compare its opening words.
- EpistropheMark where each unit ends and compare its closing words.
Read like an editor
How to Tell Them Apart
- What are the successive units: clauses, sentences, lines, or phrases?
- Does the repeated wording occupy the beginning or the end of each unit?
- Is the placement consistent and deliberate rather than scattered repetition?
- What receives emphasis from the repeated position?
Questions readers ask
Frequently Asked Questions
Is epiphora different from epistrophe?
No. Epiphora is an alternate name for epistrophe and does not require a separate device identity.
Can one passage use anaphora and epistrophe together?
Yes. It can repeat one phrase at successive beginnings and another at successive endings.
Must the repeated units be complete sentences?
No. They can be clauses, lines, phrases, or other corresponding successive units.