In
rhetoric
Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...
, epizeuxis is the
repetition
Repetition may refer to:
* Repetition (rhetorical device), repeating a word within a short space of words
*Repetition (bodybuilding), a single cycle of lifting and lowering a weight in strength training
*Working title for the 1985 slasher film '' ...
of a word or phrase in immediate succession, typically within the same sentence, for vehemence or emphasis. 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.
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
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
* "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time..."—''
Macbeth
''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...
''
* "The horror, the horror"—
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and short story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in t ...
, ''
Heart of Darkness
''Heart of Darkness'' (1899) is a novella by Polish-English novelist Joseph Conrad in which the sailor Charles Marlow tells his listeners the story of his assignment as steamer captain for a Belgian company in the African interior. The novel ...
''
* "Scotch, scotch, scotch, scotchy, scotchy scotch."—Ron Burgundy, ''
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy''
See also
*
Anaphora
*
Diacope
*
Contrastive focus reduplication
Notes
References
External links
Text and Audio illustrations of epizeuxis
Rhetorical techniques
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