epistrophe

Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

e·pis·tro·phe

 (ə-pĭs′trə-fē)
n.
The deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the end of several successive verses, clauses, or paragraphs, as "government of the people, by the people, for the people" (Abraham Lincoln).

[Greek epistrophē, a turning about : epi-, epi- + strophē, a turning; see strophe.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

epistrophe

(ɪˈpɪstrəfɪ)
n
(Rhetoric) rhetoric repetition of a word at the end of successive clauses or sentences
[C17: New Latin, from Greek, from epi- + strophē a turning]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

e•pis•tro•phe

(ɪˈpɪs trə fi)

n.
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. …”
[1640–50; < New Latin < Greek epistrophḗ; see epi-, strophe]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.epistrophe - repetition of the ends of two or more successive sentences, verses, etc.
repetition - the repeated use of the same word or word pattern as a rhetorical device
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Mentioned in
References in periodicals archive
Southampton's disposition is great and "not the worth of my untutored lines." Still, Shakespeare makes the gift of his making or poetry: "What I have done is yours; what I have to do is yours; being part in all I have, devoted yours." What Shakespeare has done and will do is "yours" and here he uses terminal repetition in the clauses or epistrophe to stress that he is giving this repeated play on "done" and "do" (cognates) to you, the dedicatee.
Literary and Rhetorical Genre Epic Narrative Work Song Prose fiction Reader Language Audience position Creative Dictation Discovery process Trope Metaphor Metonymy Sound scheme Alliteration Consonance Grouping Fall Fall-rise Meter Tetrameter Variable Divisioning Stanzaic Chaptered Prolongation Extensional Anticipatory Syntactic Anaphora Epistrophe scheme Discourse Paratactic Temporal Semiotic Iconic Indexical relation Structure Repetition Process Position Initial Final Figuration Opposition Uncertainty Contrast Ambiguity Pattern Concentric Asymmetrical Process Repetitive Dynamic Proleptic Anticipatory Contradictory Blurred Fixed Directed IV.
A visitor watching the artwork EPISTROPHE, by artist Timo Nasseri at the Sharjah Art Museum.
So here with those "tills" and with "had it been" and "has been." And there is a name for a similar ending, as well as one for a similar beginning, epistrophe, to which Farnsworth also devotes a section.
There is also in the poem in the first two lines of the fourth verse the use of epistrophe: the reversal of anaphora; in other words, the repeating of words at the end of rather than at the beginning of poetic units.
The triadic Neoplatonist cosmology of an eternally remaining first principle (mone), a procession (proodos) thereof through the forms into their effects, and a return (epistrophe) of the effects through the forms to the first principle would be adopted by Dionysius the Areopagite throughout his theology, while expressing it in Christian terms.
Moreover, it is explained how the phenomenon of conversion in literary works follows the biblical concepts of epistrophe and metanoia, of which a historical-philosophical background is given.
The Greek term used is epistrophe, translated into Latin as reditio or reflexio.
Final (epistrophe): And his habit of talking aloud, or saying poetry aloud, was growing on him ...
And on the technique of epistrophe, the repetition of a word at the end of successive clauses, he quotes Frederick Douglass:
Copyright © 2003-2025 Farlex, Inc Disclaimer
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.