What is anaphora? Anaphora: examples

The language of any culture, including Russian, contains many devices for enriching speech. One of these methods includes the so-called figures of speech. Since the amount of data about each of them goes far beyond the planned scope of the article, let us first consider one stylistic figure, clearly represented in expressive speech, for example, in poetry. We are talking about the so-called anaphora.

What is anaphora

This is a stylistic figure that is literally translated from Greek as “ascent.” Its essence is that related or similar sounds, words or combinations thereof are repeated at the beginning of each parallel row. And if it’s a little simpler, then we can take a poem as an example, then the parallel rows will simply be its lines, which, if we are talking about anaphora, will begin somehow uniformly.

Due to the fact that in the formation of this stylistic structure sounds, words and entire phrases can be used, quite a few varieties of such a phenomenon as anaphora are distinguished.

Examples

So, sound anaphora to begin with. Consider this simple poem:

The grotesque is incomprehensible... My God...
The tombs are in a circle, dressed in concrete...

Obviously, the combination of sounds “gro” forms anaphora. Then we observe morphemic formation, when there is a repetition of a part of a word that has its own lexical purpose. For example, here is a short excerpt:

Long-haired tigress,
Long-winged tit.

And everything like that. As we see, “long”, being only part of a word, nevertheless forms a completely meaningful lexical unit. And so it is possible to distinguish many more varieties of anaphora, the meaning, it seems, has already been learned by the reader. Having answered the question, what is anaphora, we move forward in the stylistic education of our beloved “great and mighty”.

Epiphora

Since we have begun to analyze such an interesting phenomenon as rhythmic elements in language, then in context we can turn to the antipode of the structure presented earlier. Consonant with the word “anaphora” is epiphora. We will discuss it in our linguistic study of the Greek language.

From the latter, this formation is translated as “bringing.” At the same time, it means the same thing, only relative to the end of the line in rhythmic repetition. For example, again, in a poem. Let's take a short sketch performed by Marina Tsvetaeva, so as not to bore the reader:

We gave you sons as beautiful as night,
Sons as poor as night.

Epiphora, as a rhythmic structure, is much more in demand in prose presentation than anaphora. Let us recall Nietzsche’s famous “thus preached madness.” Similar examples can be found in the prose works of classics and not only. Continuing the conversation about stylistic figures, we can consider a couple more interesting types of them in context. And let's start with one, rather elusive in ordinary language, which, nevertheless, is also associated with anaphora.

Inversion

It is worth emphasizing that this stylistic figure relates more to the field of rhetoric, since the technique itself, which, by the way, is translated from Latin as “reversal,” relates more to language and its features. So-called analytical languages ​​like English, where words in a sentence are arranged according to established norms, do not tend to use inversion. But Russian and some others are a completely different matter. There is no such specific routine here, so mixing words in a sentence leads to interesting phenomena, which are essentially called inversions. Thus, the definition of this term is breaking the order of words in a sentence in order to create expressiveness in the language. Characteristic of both poetry and prose.

When we discussed what anaphora is, we leaned towards the rhythm of language, and this unites the concepts under consideration. However, the place of the latter is mostly in poetry. But inversions allow you to create truly amazing effects, including within the framework of the use of prose. Finally, another stylistic figure of speech can be considered in context. It absorbs an incredible number of phenomena of any language, allowing you to obtain the most sophisticated semantic and figurative constructions using living language.

Metaphor

Anaphora, being a clear example of a figure, can be contrasted with metaphor as a representative of the so-called tropes. That is, the figurative meaning of words and expressions comes onto the scene. This is precisely the mechanism thanks to which any language begins to play with all its bright facets, representing an excellent means for expressing absolutely any fantasy. Anaphora, examples of which we briefly reviewed, is essentially a means of creating rhythm in language. Metaphor allows you to develop language, make it brighter, richer, deeper, and so on. There are no limits to a language that actively uses metaphor as a means of self-development.

In general, a lot can be said separately about this instrument. Let us recall only the basic definition. Metaphor is the use of words or phrases in a figurative sense. Essentially, it is a constant game of associations that allows you to create the entire intricate structure of any language. Without metaphor, the language of storytelling is dry and boring, and poetry without this tool is simply impossible to imagine. Therefore, all researchers emphasize its importance, giving metaphor a central place in the harmonious chorus of paths.

Conclusion

Thus, we were able to consider several of the most important stylistic figures of the language, use examples to understand what anaphora is, how it is related to other representatives of the figures, and even grasp the main meaning of the most important representative of the tropes.

The main conclusion at the end of this short journey into the world of linguistics is the fact that any cultured person should know not only what his native language consists of, but also how this wealth can be used. Therefore, when expanding your own education, you should think about how it can be applied. Then the language, and with it life, will be much more interesting, richer, deeper and more meaningful. We wish the reader to be not only literate, but also successful thanks to the knowledge he receives.