What does anaphora mean?
Anaphora is the deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses, sentences, or lines of verse — one of the oldest and most powerful devices in rhetoric. By hammering home the same opening structure, a writer or speaker builds rhythm, emphasis, and emotional momentum; Martin Luther King Jr.'s repeated declaration 'I have a dream' remains its most celebrated modern example, while Charles Dickens's opening to A Tale of Two Cities shows its literary force. In linguistics, the same term describes something quite different: a pronoun or expression that refers back to an earlier mention, as when 'she' points to a woman named in a previous sentence. A third sense appears in Eastern Christian worship, where the anaphora is the central Eucharistic prayer. Formal in register, the word belongs chiefly to the vocabulary of critics, scholars, theologians, and careful stylists — yet the technique itself is everywhere, from political speeches to advertising slogans, because repetition at the start of each clause makes ideas memorable and stirring.
The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses, sentences, or verses, used as a rhetorical device for emphasis and rhythm.
"The poem's refrain-like anaphora gave each stanza a driving, incantatory rhythm."
Distinguished from epistrophe, in which the repetition falls at the end of successive clauses rather than the beginning.
In linguistics, the use of a word or expression that refers back to an antecedent mentioned earlier in the discourse, such as a pronoun standing for a previously named person or thing.
"In the sentence 'Mary arrived late because she missed the train,' the pronoun 'she' functions as anaphora referring to Mary."
In Eastern Christian liturgy, the central prayer of consecration recited during the Eucharist.
"The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom contains one of the best-known anaphoras in Orthodox worship."
The plural is used mainly when discussing multiple distinct instances of the rhetorical figure or multiple liturgical prayers; the mass-noun usage is more common in general discussion of the device.
"The anthology collects anaphoras drawn from several different Orthodox liturgical traditions."
Martin Luther King Jr. built the most famous speech in American history on anaphora — repeating 'I have a dream' until it became unforgettable.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of anaphora
Anaphora comes from Greek 'anapherein', meaning 'to carry back' or 'to bring up', formed from 'ana-' ('back') plus 'pherein' ('to carry'). The term entered English in the early modern period, with the rhetorical sense attested by the mid-16th to early 17th century and the liturgical sense appearing slightly later in descriptions of Eastern Christian worship. It shares its Greek parentage with related terms such as epiphora ('a carrying toward'), which denotes the mirror-image device of ending successive clauses with the same words, and with the medical term anaphylaxis, which likewise uses the prefix 'ana-'.
Related word forms
How anaphora is actually used
Anaphora is a formal term encountered mainly in rhetoric, literary criticism, linguistics, and theology rather than everyday conversation. The rhetorical sense and the linguistic sense are distinct: the former concerns deliberate stylistic repetition, the latter concerns reference resolution in grammar. In liturgical contexts (especially Orthodox Christianity), 'anaphora' refers specifically to the Eucharistic prayer, which can surprise readers expecting the rhetorical meaning.
Easily confused with anaphora
Epiphora repeats words at the END of successive clauses, whereas anaphora repeats them at the beginning.
Anaphylaxis is a severe, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction, unrelated in meaning to the rhetorical figure of anaphora despite sharing a Greek root.