Epanalepsis is a rhetorical figure in which the same word or short phrase serves as both the opener and the closer of a single clause or sentence, with other words intervening between the two repetitions. It carves itself by its structural pattern: [Word X] ... [Word X], where X is identical at both boundaries of the same syntactic unit. The persistence mechanism is the written and spoken tradition of rhetoric — taught, catalogued, and deployed deliberately by writers and speakers. The figure depends on the listener's recognition of the return to the opening term, creating a circular emphasis that closes back on itself. [formal: epanalepsis | substrate: mind | horizon: generations | explicit: yes | epoch: 0.01]
Accepted ontology entry
epanalepsis
Epanalepsis is a rhetorical figure in which the same word or short phrase serves as both the opener and the closer of a single clause or sentence, with other words intervening between the two repetitions. It carves itself by its structural…
Definition
Why it is in scope
Epanalepsis is a human-made rhetorical figure in which the same word or short phrase begins and ends a clause or sentence, with intervening words between them. It is a pattern of speech recognized and categorized by rhetoricians, not a natural phenomenon. The map (the category humans built to pick out this pattern) is what qualifies, not any natural occurrence (Law 2a).
Names and aliases
- epanalepsisen · CANONICAL
Relations from this entry
- cmrmf7wqp001sd1nlgdko4rbiSERVES →
Epalepsis (repetition of the last word of a clause at the beginning) is a rhetorical figure designed for emphasis and rhetorical effect. Its purpose is to serve rhetoric's aim of impact and persuasion. Per Law 8d, the figure (servant) points at rhetoric (master).
- cmrtfjde400049zhnv4xb5z4fINSTANCE_OF →
Epanalepsis (repetition of the last word of a clause at the beginning) is a specific kind of figure of speech. 'Epanalepsis is a kind of figure of speech' passes the competent-speaker test. Specific→general per Law 9.
Relations to this entry
No accepted relations in this direction.
Record identity
- Created
- Jul 30, 2026, 3:45 AM UTC
- Content hash
- 7064291cb79831120f43a97b194a740143567e5902aa65d1a66b1c4afa2cd2e0