Anaphora Examples

Anaphora is a rhetorical term for when a writer or speaker repeats the same beginning of a sentence several times.

Writers and speakers use anaphora to add emphasis to the repeated element, but also to add rhythm, cadence, and style to the text or speech. The use of anaphora dates back to ancient Greece and to Biblical times.

1. I am awake. I am strong. I am ready.

2. Mom, we will not run. We will not scream. We will not be late.

Examples of Anaphora from Literature

1. "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." Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

2. There is a time for everything,and a season for every activity under the heavens:a time to be born and a time to die,a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,a time to weep and a time to laugh,a time to mourn and a time to dance." Bible, Ecclesiastes 3

3. "It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden, too like the lightning." Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

4. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!

5. "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." Bible, 1 Corinthians 13