Repetition is when words or phrases are repeated in a literary work. Repetition is often used in poetry or song, and it is used to create rhythm and bring attention to an idea. Repetition is also often used in speech, as a rhetorical device to bring attention to an idea.
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
"Oh, woeful, oh woeful, woeful, woeful day!
"And miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep."
"A horse is a horse, of course, of course,
And no one can talk to a horse of course,
That is, of course, unless the horse is the famous Mr. Ed."
"My conscience hath a thousand several tongues,
And every tongue brings in a several tale,
And every tale condemns me for a villain."
We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have
prostrated ourselves before the tyrannical hands of the ministry and
parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have
produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been
disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne.
Literary Terms Examples