Epistrophe is a rhetorical figure in which the same word or phrase is repeated at the end of successive clauses, sentences, or lines. Parameters: (1) at least two successive structural units (clauses, sentences, or lines); (2) identical or near-identical repetition of a word or phrase at the terminal position of each unit; (3) deliberate design for emphasis, rhythm, or persuasive force. Persistence: epistrophe persists through rhetorical pedagogy, literary practice, and the oral-tradition techniques of public speaking — it is a named pattern in the grammar of emphasis, transmitted across generations of rhetoricians and writers. [formal: epistrophe | substrate: mind | horizon: generations | explicit: yes | epoch: 0.01]
Accepted ontology entry
epistrophe
Epistrophe is a rhetorical figure in which the same word or phrase is repeated at the end of successive clauses, sentences, or lines. Parameters: (1) at least two successive structural units (clauses, sentences, or lines); (2) identical or…
Definition
Why it is in scope
A epistrophe is a human-made rhetorical figure — the deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive clauses, sentences, or lines, used to create emphasis and rhythmic structure
Names and aliases
- epistropheen · CANONICAL
Relations from this entry
- cmrmf7wqp001sd1nlgdko4rbiSERVES →
Epistrophe is built and maintained for the sake of rhetorical effect — its designed purpose is to create emphasis through end-repetition in oratory and literature. Law 8d: servant(epistrophe)→master(rhetoric).
- cmrtnm79k0014plvprodv9fvkINSTANCE_OF →
Epistrophe is a specific kind of rhetorical device — the repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive clauses. A competent speaker would call epistrophe 'a rhetorical device.' Direction tested: epistrophe is specific, rhetorical-device is general.
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Record identity
- Created
- Jul 30, 2026, 12:40 AM UTC
- Content hash
- 09e265fbe966194140e5867e1d36215aaaa05d2674398fbf8bbb1cae899ac12c