Epizeuxis

For the genus of moth, see Epizeuxis (moth).

In rhetoric, epizeuxis, also known as palilogia, is the repetition of a word or phrase in immediate succession, typically within the same sentence, for vehemence or emphasis.^[1][2] A closely related rhetorical device is diacope, which involves word repetition that is broken up by a single intervening word, or a small number of intervening words.^[3]

As a rhetorical device, epizeuxis is utilized to create an emotional appeal, thereby inspiring and motivating the audience. However, epizeuxis can also be used for comic effect.^[4]

Examples

• "Never give in — never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy."—Winston Churchill
• "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow/Creeps in this petty pace from day to day/To the last syllable of recorded time..."—William Shakespeare, Macbeth
• "O dark, dark, dark, amid the blaze of noon"—John Milton, Samson Agonistes.
• "Work, work, work, is the main thing"—Abraham Lincoln
• "The horror, the horror"—Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness
• "Scotch, scotch, scotch, scotchy, scotchy scotch."—Ron Burgundy, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
• "Well, Well, Well..." — John Lennon, Well Well Well
• "Our top priority was, is and always will be education, education, education"—Tony Blair^[5]
• "Location, location, location" — an aphorism about the primacy of location in determining the value of real estate^[6]

See also

• Anaphora
• Diacope
• Contrastive focus reduplication