Literary Gem: "Anaphora"
Let’s step into the Way-Back Machine and go Waaaaay-Back to the 1980s. Why? Because we’ll find a song by The Police that serves up one of the best examples of Anaphora you’ll ever hear.
“Every breath you take
Every move you make
Every bond you break
Every step you take
I’ll be watching you”
I’m Jim Lamb. Let’s get started.
The literary device Anaphora uses consecutive phrases (or lines) that begin with the same word—or words. It’s popular in both poetry and prose.
In “Catcher in the Rye,” Holden Caulfield recalls a visit to his dead brother's grave. J.D. Salinger’s words are epic as well as a great example of Anaphora:
“It rained on his lousy tombstone, and it rained on the grass on his stomach. It rained all over the place.”
Powerful stuff.
In “The Great Gatsby,” Fitzgerald describes a room with maximum results using Anaphora:
“The apartment was on the top floor—a small living-room, a small dining-room, a small bedroom, and a bath.”
Great speakers love using this little Gem. … Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of them.
On Aug. 28, 1963, Dr. King repeatedly used the phrase “let freedom ring” in his memorable “I Have a Dream” speech—and his dream became our dream.
What a speech!
President Abraham Lincoln used Anaphora in his Gettysburg Address: “and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
Another president, John F. Kennedy, used it as well:
“What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness, but love and wisdom …”
The Beatles said it a little differently: “All you need is love ... Love is all you need.”
So many examples. So little time.
I’m Jim Lamb and you’ve just learned a little Somethin’- Somethin’ about Anaphora (a·naph·o·ra)
Copyright 2021