Anaphora is the repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of several clauses or sentences in a row. Each repeat starts the line on a familiar beat, so the new part after it stands out more clearly.
At a graduation dinner, a student stands up: “Thank you for the early mornings. Thank you for the late pickups. Thank you for never asking why my grades dipped.” By the third “thank you,” her parents are reaching for tissues.
Two quite different jobs share this word, one in speeches and one in grammar, and both are worth knowing.
- What anaphora means in rhetoric and what it means in grammar
- How to pronounce anaphora and its adjective
- Famous and everyday examples of anaphora
- How anaphora differs from epistrophe, symploce and plain repetition
- How to punctuate and build your own anaphora
What Is Anaphora?
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The word comes from Greek and is usually glossed as “a carrying back.” The speaker keeps carrying the listener back to the same starting point, then sends them somewhere new.
Anaphora works because of expectation. After two repeats, the listener knows the shape and waits for the third. That waiting gives the speaker attention, and the changing words at the end of each line receive it.
How to Pronounce Anaphora
| Word | Sounds like | IPA | Part of speech |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anaphora | uh-NAF-er-uh | /əˈnæf.ər.ə/ | Noun |
| Anaphoric | an-uh-FOR-ik | /ˌæn.əˈfɒr.ɪk/ | Adjective |
| Epistrophe | ih-PIS-truh-fee | /ɪˈpɪs.trə.fi/ | Noun |
Useful patterns: use anaphora, a passage built on anaphora, the anaphora of “we shall”, anaphoric reference (grammar). You can hear the word on the anaphora dictionary page.
Anaphora Examples
| Source | Lines | Repeated opening |
|---|---|---|
| Beatitudes, Matthew 5 (King James Bible) | “Blessed are the meek… Blessed are the merciful… Blessed are the peacemakers…” | Blessed are |
| Richard II, William Shakespeare | “This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle, / This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars…” | This |
| Sonnet 66, William Shakespeare | Most of the poem’s lines begin with “And,” one complaint after another | And |
| Martin Luther King Jr., 1963 | Repeats “I have a dream” to open a series of hopes for the future | I have a dream |
| Fitness ad (made up) | “No excuses. No shortcuts. No days off.” | No |
| Team meeting | “If the client calls, I’ll answer. If the client complains, I’ll handle it. If the client leaves, that’s on me.” | If the client |
In the Beatitudes, the repeated “Blessed are” turns very different people into one message. In Richard II, John of Gaunt piles up “this” phrases about England. The sheer number shows how much he loves a country he fears is being ruined.
The made-up ad is a reminder that anaphora does not need to be grand. Three short lines starting with “No” sound firm and confident, which is exactly the feeling a gym wants to sell.
Anaphora in Grammar: The Second Meaning
Linguists use anaphora for something quite different: a word that points back to something already mentioned. The earlier word is called the antecedent.
| Sentence | Anaphoric word | Points back to |
|---|---|---|
| “Maya lost her keys, and she found them in the fridge.” | She, them | Maya, her keys |
| “The board rejected the plan. This surprised everyone.” | This | The board rejecting the plan |
| “I ordered tea, and so did Leo.” | So did | Ordered tea |
| “We offered coffee or juice. Most guests chose the former.” | The former | Coffee |
This kind of reference is what makes a text hang together. Our C2 lesson on cohesion at paragraph level practices it in detail, and the guide to types of pronouns covers the basics.
The opposite direction is cataphora, where the word comes first and the meaning arrives later: “When she finally arrived, Grandma was soaked.” Use it sparingly, because readers have to hold the pronoun in mind until the name appears.
Anaphora vs Similar Devices
| Device | Where the repetition goes | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Anaphora | At the start of each clause | “We need time. We need money. We need help.” |
| Epistrophe | At the end of each clause | “Blame the city, curse the city, leave the city.” |
| Symploce | At both the start and the end | “When we win, we celebrate. When we lose, we celebrate.” |
| Parallelism | Same grammar, not necessarily the same words | “She planned it, built it and sold it.” |
| Antithesis | Opposite ideas in balanced halves | “Hard to start, easy to quit.” |
Anaphora is a type of repetition, but not every repetition is anaphora. If the repeated words sit in the middle or at the end, choose another name. If the words are merely similar in grammar, the right term is parallelism.
How to Build and Punctuate Anaphora
“Repeat the first words” sounds simple, but the grammar decides whether the result sounds powerful or clumsy.
| Choice | Example | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Periods between items | “We listened. We learned. We changed.” | Slow, heavy, dramatic |
| Commas between clauses | “Every delay, every excuse, every missed call added up.” | Faster and building to the verb |
| Semicolons | “They promised a park; they promised a library; they delivered a parking lot.” | Formal, balanced, good for a twist |
| And only before the last | “Not the price, not the size, and not the color.” | A clear signal that the list is ending |
Keep the repeated part identical. “We will rebuild. We are going to recover. We’ll grow.” loses its force, because will, are going to and ’ll break the pattern. Write: “We will rebuild. We will recover. We will grow.”
Let the last line carry the weight. Readers expect the final item to be the most important, so make it longer or stronger. The Rule of Three lesson explains why three items feel complete.
Check your answer
Where Anaphora Works Well
- Speeches and toasts: “Here’s to the late nights. Here’s to the bad coffee. Here’s to the team that kept going.”
- Essay conclusions: “If we want cleaner cities, we need better buses. If we want healthier people, we need safer streets.”
- Poems and song lyrics: repeated openings give the listener something to hold onto.
- Persuasive writing: it connects with the emotional appeal (pathos) covered in our lesson on ethos, pathos and logos.
In a formal report or a scientific paper, anaphora usually feels out of place. One carefully placed example in a closing paragraph is plenty.
Common Mistakes Learners Make
- Spelling and grammar: it is anaphora, with ph, not “anafora.” When it names the device, it is usually uncountable: “The speech uses anaphora,” not “uses an anaphora.”
- Mixing the two meanings: in a literature essay, anaphora means the rhetorical device. In a linguistics essay, it usually means pointing back with pronouns. Make clear which one you mean.
- Calling end-repetition anaphora: if the repeated words come last, that is epistrophe.
- Breaking the pattern: changing we will to we’re going to halfway through weakens the effect. Keep the repeated words exactly the same.
Practice: Test Your Understanding
Part A. Anaphora, epistrophe or neither?
- “Some came for the music. Some came for the food. Some came for the free parking.”
- “Look at the data, think about the data, then trust the data.”
- “He packed his bag and left without a word.”
- “Not today, not tomorrow, not ever.”
- “In the morning I write; in the evening I edit.”
Show answers for Part A
- Anaphora – “Some came for” starts each sentence.
- Epistrophe – “the data” ends each clause.
- Neither – no repetition.
- Anaphora – “not” opens each phrase.
- Neither – the openings are parallel (“In the…”) but the words change; this is closer to antithesis.
Part B. Rewrite each sentence using anaphora with three clauses.
- “Our app saves time, reduces stress and helps you sleep.”
- “The town needs better roads, more doctors and cheaper housing.”
- Fix the pattern: “We will listen. We are going to learn. We’ll act.”
Show sample answers for Part B
- “Our app saves you time. Our app saves you stress. Our app saves your sleep.”
- “The town needs better roads. The town needs more doctors. Above all, the town needs cheaper housing.”
- “We will listen. We will learn. We will act.”
Part C (writing). Write a short toast (60–80 words) for a friend who is moving abroad. Use anaphora once, with three clauses, and make the last one the strongest. Check it with our AI Writing Feedback tool.
Quiz: Test Yourself
- Where do the repeated words go in anaphora?
- How do you pronounce anaphora?
- “I came home tired, ate tired and slept tired.” Which device is this?
- In grammar, what does an anaphoric word do?
- “When she finally arrived, Grandma was soaked.” What is she an example of?
- Which version keeps the anaphora pattern?
- What is it called when a writer repeats words at both the start and the end of clauses?
- Which line from the King James Bible is a famous example of anaphora?
- In a three-part anaphora, which line should usually be the strongest?
- Is anaphora a good choice for every paragraph of an academic essay?
Key Takeaways
- Anaphora repeats a word or phrase at the start of neighboring clauses.
- Say uh-NAF-er-uh; the adjective is anaphoric (an-uh-FOR-ik).
- In grammar, anaphora means a word that points back, like she or this.
- Repetition at the end is epistrophe; at both ends, symploce.
- Keep the repeated words identical and save the strongest idea for last.
Repetition and contrast often work together, as our lesson on antithesis shows. For the full family of devices, go back to figures of speech.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is anaphora in simple words?
Anaphora is repeating the same word or group of words at the beginning of several sentences or clauses in a row. “We tried phoning. We tried emailing. We tried knocking on the door.” The repeated start builds rhythm and emphasis.
What is a famous example of anaphora?
The Beatitudes in the King James Bible repeat “Blessed are” at the start of verse after verse: “Blessed are the meek… Blessed are the merciful…” Martin Luther King Jr.’s repeated “I have a dream” is another well-known example.
How do you pronounce anaphora?
Say uh-NAF-er-uh, with the stress on the second syllable: /əˈnæf.ər.ə/. The adjective anaphoric is stressed differently: an-uh-FOR-ik.
What is the difference between anaphora and epistrophe?
Anaphora repeats words at the beginning of clauses. Epistrophe repeats words at the end: “I want the truth, you want the truth, everyone wants the truth.” Using both together is called symploce.
What does anaphora mean in grammar?
In grammar and linguistics, anaphora is when a word points back to something mentioned earlier. In “Maya lost her keys, and she found them later,” she refers back to Maya and them refers back to the keys.
Can I use anaphora in academic writing?
Yes, but lightly. Three short clauses with the same opening can make a conclusion memorable. Repeating openings across a whole essay feels like a speech, so save it for one key moment.
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