If you’ve been listening to Barack Obama’s speeches, you’ve probably noticed he uses a lot of rhetorical devices. The devices he uses most effectively are anaphora (repetition at the start of a sentence) and epiphora (repetition at the end of a sentence). The definitions aren’t precise, but they’ll serve the purpose of this post.
Many writers are comparing Obama’s “style” with the style of Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy. And while all three speakers utilized repetition in their speeches, they didn’t originate the “style”. Go back as far in history as you can and you’ll realize all great speakers have utilized repetition. Just as a side note …
REPETITION IS NOT THE SAME AS SPEAKING IN THREES!
Sorry. I’ve seen so many writers confuse the two, I just felt I needed to address it. I’ll write about it in another post. But I digress …
Take a walk with me back to some historic speeches. I”ll show you how history repeats itself.
Senator Barack Obama – January 25, 2008
“We’re up against the conventional thinking that says your ability to lead as president comes from longevity in Washington or proximity to the White House. But we know that real leadership is about candor and judgment and the ability to rally Americans from all walks of life around a common purpose, a higher purpose.
We’re up against decades of bitter partisanship that cause politicians to demonize their opponents instead of coming together to make college affordable or energy cleaner. It’s the kind of partisanship where you’re not even allowed to say that a Republican had an idea, even if it’s one you never agreed with.
That’s the kind of politics that is bad for our party, it is bad for our country, and this is our chance to end it once and for all.
We’re up against the idea that it’s acceptable to say anything and do anything to win an election. But we know that this is exactly what’s wrong with our politics. This is why people don’t believe what their leaders say anymore. This is why they tune out. And this election is our chance to give the American people a reason to believe again.”
As you can see, anaphora doesn’t have to be used in consecutive sentences. It can be used in different sections of a speech. Obama also uses epiphora in the following section:
“There are those who will continue to tell us that we can’t do this, that we can’t have what we’re looking for, that we can’t have what we want, that we’re peddling false hopes. But here is what I know. I know that when people say we can’t overcome all the big money and influence in Washington, I think of that elderly woman who sent me a contribution the other day, an envelope that had a money order for $3.01 along with a verse of scripture tucked inside the envelope. So don’t tell us change isn’t possible. That woman knows change is possible.
When I hear the cynical talk that blacks and whites and Latinos can’t join together and work together, I’m reminded of the Latino brothers and sisters I organized with and stood with and fought with side by side for jobs and justice on the streets of Chicago. So don’t tell us change can’t happen.
When I hear that we’ll never overcome the racial divide in our politics, I think about that Republican woman who used to work for Strom Thurmond, who is now devoted to educating inner city-children and who went out into the streets of South Carolina and knocked on doors for this campaign. Don’t tell me we can’t change.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. – August 28, 1963 
“But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free.
One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.
One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity.
One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land.”
The section above was the first significant use of anaphora in this speech, but King went on to use anaphora throughout the speech. Here is another example:
“Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy.
Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.
Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.
Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children”
King also started other sections of his speech with the following phrases.
“We can never be satisfied“
“some of you have come here“
“go back to“
“I have a dream“
“With this faith“
“Let freedom ring“
Prime Minister Winston Churchill – June 4, 1940 
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, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt – March 4, 1933 
Yes, the task can be helped by definite efforts to raise the values of agricultural products, and with this the power to purchase the output of our cities.
It can be helped by preventing realistically the tragedy of the growing loss through foreclosure of our small homes and our farms. It can be helped by insistence that the Federal, the State, and the local governments act forthwith on the demand that their cost be drastically reduced.
It can be helped by the unifying of relief activities which today are often scattered, uneconomical, unequal.
It can be helped by national planning for and supervision of all forms of transportation and of communications and other utilities that have a definitely public character.
There are many ways in which it can be helped, but it can never be helped by merely talking about it.
Jesus of Nazareth: Sermon on the Mount – Can anyone help me with the date on this one? 
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
He then goes on to use the phrase “Ye have heard that is hath been said” five times throughout the next section of the sermon.
As you can see, repetition has been used in speeches for as long as they’ve been around. Anaphora, which means “I repeat”, can be used multiple times and in multiple ways throughout a speech. The same is true of epiphora. Pay close attention to speeches and listen for both patterns of repetition.
When it comes to the rhetorical devices used in speeches, history repeats itself. I would recommend you repeat yourself in your speeches too.
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Your examples of epiphora are at the start of the sentences – “So don’t tell us…” – in your definition were you meaning paragraphs and not sentences?
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