Epizeuxis

Repeating the same word with the same sense.1 It can be used for emphasis or humor2 or even drudgery.3 Works best in threes, but in rare cases twos are effective too.4 Also called cuckowspell, doublet, geminatio, underlay, and palilogia.5 From Greek “to fasten together.”6

Examples include:

  • “O horror, horror, horror!” —Shakespeare, Macbeth7
  • “The horror! The horror!” —Conrad, Heart of Darkness4
  • “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”4

  1. The Elements of Eloquence pg. 103 ↩

  2. The Elements of Eloquence pg. 104-105 ↩

  3. The Elements of Eloquence pg. 106 ↩

  4. The Elements of Eloquence pg. 107 ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  5. Definition and Examples of Epizeuxis in Rhetoric ↩

  6. Epizeuxis Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster ↩

  7. The Elements of Eloquence pg. 105 ↩

Notes mentioning this note

Different types of repetition
Different types of repetition [[Epistrophe]] [[Anaphora]] [[Epizeuxis]] [[Anadiplosis]] [[Polyptoton]]
Epizeuxis
Epizeuxis Repeating the same word with the same sense.1 It can be used for emphasis or humor2 or even drudgery.3...