In preparing for a reading lesson for one of my students, I found a poem (excerpt) by Joe Brainard (1941-1994) that has anaphora.
In grammar, anaphora is the use of a word that refers to, or replaces, a word used earlier in a sentence to avoid repetition. An example is, “I like it, and so do they.” Repetition of it is avoided.
As a rhetorical device, anaphora is the opposite. It is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive parts used so effectively in speeches and poetry. An example materialized in Martin Luther King’s speech in 1963, “I Have a Dream.”
Here is “I Remember”
I remember that the only friends my parents had who owned a swimming pool also owned a funeral parlor.
I remember laundromats at night all lit up with nobody in them.
I remember a very clean Catholic book-gift shop with practically nothing in it to buy.
I remember arranging boxes of candy so it would look like not so much was missing.
I remember brown and white shoes with little decorative holes cut out of them.
I remember certain group gatherings that are hard to get up and leave from.
I remember alligators and quicksand in jungle movies. (Pretty scary.)
I remember opening jars that nobody else could open.
I remember making home-made ice cream.
I remember that I liked store-bought ice cream better.
I remember hospital supply store windows.
I remember stories of what hot dogs are made of.
I remember Davy Crockett hats. And Davy Crockett just about everything else.
I remember not understanding why people on the other side of the world didn’t fall off.
I reproduced the excerpt for informational purposes only.
Here is a speech containing anaphora that Alexander and I might listen to. “When you have … When you have … When you have ….”
In grammar, anaphora is the use of a word that refers to, or replaces, a word used earlier in a sentence to avoid repetition. An example is, “I like it, and so do they.” Repetition of it is avoided.
As a rhetorical device, anaphora is the opposite. It is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive parts used so effectively in speeches and poetry. An example materialized in Martin Luther King’s speech in 1963, “I Have a Dream.”
Here is “I Remember”
I remember that the only friends my parents had who owned a swimming pool also owned a funeral parlor.
I remember laundromats at night all lit up with nobody in them.
I remember a very clean Catholic book-gift shop with practically nothing in it to buy.
I remember arranging boxes of candy so it would look like not so much was missing.
I remember brown and white shoes with little decorative holes cut out of them.
I remember certain group gatherings that are hard to get up and leave from.
I remember alligators and quicksand in jungle movies. (Pretty scary.)
I remember opening jars that nobody else could open.
I remember making home-made ice cream.
I remember that I liked store-bought ice cream better.
I remember hospital supply store windows.
I remember stories of what hot dogs are made of.
I remember Davy Crockett hats. And Davy Crockett just about everything else.
I remember not understanding why people on the other side of the world didn’t fall off.
I reproduced the excerpt for informational purposes only.
Here is a speech containing anaphora that Alexander and I might listen to. “When you have … When you have … When you have ….”
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