Anaphora Definition

In writing or speech, the deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence in order to achieve
an artistic effect is known as Anaphora.

Anaphora, possibly the oldest literary device, has its roots in Biblical Psalms used to emphasize
certain words or phrases. Gradually, Elizabethan and Romantic writers brought this device into
practice. Examine the following psalm:

“O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed.
My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O LORD, how long?”

The repetition of the phrase “O Lord,” attempts to create a spiritual sentiment. This is anaphora.

Common Anaphora Examples

It is common for us to use anaphora in our everyday speech to lay emphasis on the idea we want
to convey or for self affirmation. Read the following anaphora examples:

 “Every day, every night, in every way, I am getting better and better”
 “My life is my purpose. My life is my goal. My life is my inspiration.”
 “Buying nappies for the baby, feeding the baby, playing with the baby: This is what your
life is when you have a baby.
 “I want my money right now, right here, all right?”

Example of Anaphora in Literature:

Read the following examples:

Example #1

Shakespeare does not disappoint us in the use of anaphora too. Read the following example taken
from his play “Richard II” Act 2 Scene 1:

“This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England,

This nurse, this teeming womb of royal kings [. . .]
This land of such dear souls, this dear dear land,”

The repetition of the word “this” creates an emotional effect on the readers particularly those
who are English. Further, it highlights the significance of England. The repetition of the word
“dear” shows emotional attachment of the writer to the land and expects a similar response from
the readers as well.
Example #2

“A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens starts with following lines:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of
foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light,
it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

The repetitive structure used in the above lines make it the most memorable and remarkable start
of a narrative ever achieved by a writer. “It” repeated all the way through the passage makes the
readers focus more on the traits of the “age” they are reading about.

Example #3

This technique is employed by William Wordsworth in “Tintern Abbey”:

“Five years have passed;

Five summers, with the length of
Five long winters! and again I hear these waters…”

The repetition of the word “five” at the beginning of each line gives melody to the lines that
matches well with its nostalgic tone.

Example #4

William Blake in his poem “The Tyger” goes:

“What the hammer? what the chain?

In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?”

The repetition of a series of questions which start with “what” creates a rhythm that creates the
effect of awe in readers.

Example #5

Politicians frequently use anaphora as a rhetorical device in their addresses and political
speeches to evoke passion among the audience. Read an excerpt from Winston Churchill’s
speech during the Second World War:

“We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on
the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we
shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight
on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills.
We shall never surrender.”
The repetitive structures in the above passage suggest the importance of the war for England.
Moreover, it inspires patriotic sentiments among the masses.

Functions of Anaphora
Apart from the function of giving prominence to ideas, the use of anaphora in literature adds
rhythm to it and thus, making it more pleasurable to read and easier to remember. As a literary
device, anaphora serves the purpose of furnishing artistic effect to the passages of prose and
poetry.

As a rhetorical device, it is used to appeal to the emotions of the audience in order to persuade,
inspire, motivate and encourage them.
Metonymy Definition
It is a figure of speech that replaces the name of a thing with the name of something else with
which it is closely associated. We can come across examples of metonymy both from literature
and in everyday life.

Metonymy, Synecdoche and Metaphor

Metonymy is often confused with another figure of speech called synecdoche. They resemble
each other but are not the same. Synecdoche refers to a thing by the name of one of its parts. For
example, calling a car “a wheel” is a synecdoche. A part of a car i.e. “a wheel” stands for the
whole car. In a metonymy, on the other hand, the word we use to describe another thing is
closely linked to that particular thing, but is not a part of it. For example, “Crown” which means
power or authority is a metonymy.

Metonymy is different from a metaphor. A metaphor draws resemblance between two different
things as in “You are sunlight and I moon” – Sun And Moon from Miss Saigon. Sunlight (and
moon) and human are two different things without any association but it attempts to describe one
thing in terms of another based on a supposed similarity. Metonymy, however, develops relation
on the grounds of close associations as in “The White House is concerned about terrorism.” The
White House here represents the people who work in it.

Examples of Metonymy in Everyday Life

We use metonymy frequently in our everyday life. For a better understanding, let us observe a
few metonymy examples:

 England decides to keep check on immigration. (England refers to the government.)

 The pen is mightier than the sword. (Pen refers to written words and sword to military
force.)
 The Oval Office was busy in work. (“The Oval Office” is a metonymy as it stands for
people at work in the office.)
 Let me give you a hand. (Hand means help.)

Metonymy Examples from Literature

Example #1

The given lines are from Shakespeare’s “Julies Caesar” Act I.

“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.”

Mark Anthony uses “ears” to say that he wants the people present there to listen to him
attentively. It is a metonymy because the word “ears” replaces the concept of attention.
Example #2

This line is from Margaret Mitchell’s novel “Gone with the Wind”.

“I’m mighty glad Georgia waited till after Christmas before it secedes or it would have ruined
the Christmas parties.”

Scarlett uses “Georgia” to point out everything that makes up the state: citizens, politician,
government etc. It is a metonymy extremely common in the modern world, where a name of a
country or state refers to a whole nation and its government. Thus, it renders brevity to the ideas.

Example #3

These lines are taken from “Out, Out” by Robert Frost.

“As he swung toward them holding up the hand

Half in appeal, but half as if to keep
The life from spilling”

In these lines, the expression “The life from spilling” is a metonymy that refers to spilling of
blood. It develops a link between life and blood. The loss of too much blood means loss of life.

Example #4

These lines are from the poem “Yet Do I Marvel”.

“The little buried mole continues blind,

Why flesh that mirror Him must someday die,”

Countee Cullen uses “flesh” to represent human and questions God why we have to die when we
are created in His likeness.

Example #5

These lines are from Lycidas written by John Milton.

“But now my oat proceeds,

And listens to the herald of the sea
That came in Neptune’s plea,
He asked the waves, and asked the felon winds,
What hard mishap hath doomed this gentle swain?”

In the above-mentioned lines, John Milton uses “oat” for a musical instrument made out of an
oak-stalk. Thus, “oat” represents the song that the poet is composing next to the ocean.
Function of Metonymy
Generally, metonymy is used in developing literary symbolism i.e. it gives more profound
meanings to otherwise common ideas and objects. By using metonymy, texts exhibit deeper or
hidden meanings and thus drawing readers’ attention. In addition, the use of metonymy helps
achieve conciseness. For instance, “Rifles were guarding the gate” is more concise than “The
guards with rifles in their hands were guarding the gate.”

Furthermore, metonymy, like other literary devices, is employed to add a poetic color to words to
make them come to life. The simple ordinary things are described in a creative way to insert this
“life” factor to the literary works.
Alanis Morissette Lyrics

"Ironic"

An old man turned ninety-eight

He won the lottery and died the next day
It's a black fly in your Chardonnay
It's a death row pardon two minutes too late
And isn't it ironic... don't you think

It's like rain on your wedding day

It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
Who would've thought... it figures

Mr. Play It Safe was afraid to fly

He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids goodbye
He waited his whole damn life to take that flight
And as the plane crashed down he thought
"Well isn't this nice..."
And isn't it ironic... don't you think

It's like rain on your wedding day

It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
Who would've thought... it figures

Well life has a funny way of sneaking up on you

When you think everything's okay and everything's going right
And life has a funny way of helping you out when
You think everything's gone wrong and everything blows up
In your face

A traffic jam when you're already late

A no-smoking sign on your cigarette break
It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife
It's meeting the man of my dreams
And then meeting his beautiful wife
And isn't it ironic...don't you think
A little too ironic...and, yeah, I really do think...

It's like rain on your wedding day

It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
Who would've thought... it figures

Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you

Life has a funny, funny way of helping you out
Helping you out