Anaphora (an-NAF-ruh)

Anaphora (an-NAF-ruh) is a figure of repetition that occurs when the first word or set of words in one sentence, clause, or phrase is/are repeated at or very near the beginning of successive sentences, clauses, or phrases. It’s the repetition of the initial word(s) over successive phrases or clauses. It is a very effective rhetorical device to use in poetry, in order to stress the significance of something. It’s also a way to create musicality and rhythm in a poem without using rhyme.

Example: What Bugs Me When my teacher tells me to write a poem tonight. When my mother tells me to clean up my room. When my sister practices her violin while I'm watching TV. When my father tells me to turn off the TV and do my homework. When my brother picks a fight with me and I have to go to bed early. When my teacher asks me to get up in front of the class and read the poem I wrote on the school bus this morning.

Example: My Noisy Brother My brother's such a noisy kid, when he eats soup he slurps. When he drinks milk he gargles. And after meals he burps. He cracks his knuckles when he's bored. He whistles when he walks. He snaps his fingers when he sings. And when he's mad he squawks. At night my brother snores so loud it sounds just like a riot. Even when he sleeps my noisy brother isn't quiet

Example: We want freedom by any means necessary. We want justice by any means necessary. We want equality by any means necessary. — Malcolm X

Example: Yes, we can. Yes, we can change. Yes, we can. Yes, we can heal this nation. Yes, we can seize our future. And as we leave this great state with a new wind at our backs and we take this journey across this great country, a country we love, with the message we carry from the plains of Iowa to the hills of New Hampshire, from the Nevada desert to the South Carolina coast, the same message we had when we were up and when we were down, that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we will hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubt and fear and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of the American people in three simple words -- yes, we can --Barack Obama

Example: "Yesterday, the Japanese government also launched an attack against Malaya. Last night, Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong. Last night, Japanese forces attacked Guam. Last night, Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands. Last night, the Japanese attacked Wake Island. And this morning, the Japanese attacked Midway Island." -- Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Pearl Harbor Address

Now you try it. In time _________________

Out of _____________________

From ___________________________

In every ___________________

Now, think of a phrase you might repeat….

Ethiopia Niobe lives in the desert, too. She spends her days bent over like an umbrella, bent over the little dying things that make no noise. Niobe’s mouth is so dry she makes no noise, either. She cannot talk, cannot moan. She has given up spitting in the mouths of those she shelters from the desert sun. No spit is left. No water, no rice. There is only Niobe, always here and everywhere else, who cannot help herself, bending over the dying. She does not feel like an animal, but perhaps she is. Others who are as strong as she do not bend over dying children. They save their strength. They talk to the government men in the trucks. They walk away if they can. But Niobe is different. Niobe bends over, Niobe bends. ---Kate Daniels

Be Nobody’s Darling by Alice Walker For Julius Lester Be nobody's darling; Be an outcast. Take the contradictions Of your life And wrap around You like a shawl, To parry stones To keep you warm. Watch the people succumb To madness With ample cheer; Let them look askance at you And you askance reply. Be an outcast; Be pleased to walk alone (Uncool) Or line the crowded River beds With other impetuous Fools. Make a merry gathering On the bank Where thousands perished For brave hurt words They said. Be nobody's darling; Be an outcast. Qualified to live Among your dead.