As writers, we don’t just use words to state facts but to make our readers feel our characters’ experiences. We want our writing to be evocative and immersive. In other words, we want our prose to sound pretty. How exactly, though, do we achieve well-crafted prose? Are people born eloquent, or do they have eloquence thrust upon them? Regardless of whether or not you naturally have an ear for eloquence, the art of writing beautiful prose is a skill that can be learned. A good place to start is to build up your toolkit of writing techniques. To help you in this endeavour, I’m putting together an ongoing series to help teach you some common techniques for crafting pretty prose. Today, let’s take a look at three more related tools in our toolbox: parallelism, anaphora, and epistrophe.
What Is Parallelism?
Parallelism is the repetition of grammatical structure and word choice to create emphasis.
Here’s an example of parallelism from the film Lord of the Rings: Return of the King:
A day may come when the courage of Men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the Age of Men comes crashing down, but it is not this day! This day we fight!
There are several parallelisms in this speech. There’s the repetition of the preposition “when.” There’s the repetition of verbs that all relate to things breaking and falling apart. There’s the repetition of the words “this day” and the phrase “but it is not this day.” All these parallelisms compound to create incredible emphasis. This repetition of negative statements also builds tension that finally gets resolved in the phrase “This day we fight!” That final sentence would not have been nearly as powerful without all the previous parallelisms setting it up first.
So, anytime you need to really make a point in your writing, consider whether a parallelism would help drive your message home.
Now, parallelism is a very broad concept, and we can narrow down parallelisms further into different specific types. Let’s take a look at two other types of parallelisms: anaphora and epistrophe.
What Is Anaphora?
Anaphora is a type of parallelism where you repeat the same word or cluster of words at the beginning of several consecutive sentences or phrases.
Here’s an example of anaphora from Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol:
External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. No warmth could warm, no wintery weather chill him. No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty.
This anaphora uses the repetition of the word “no” at the beginning of each phrase to emphasize how Scrooge is absolutely impenetrable.
Here’s another example of anaphora from one of the authors I have worked with, Daryl Potter, and his novel Keziah’s Song:
[T]he music came faster and louder, and then it haunted and slowed and accelerated again. It was the creek in the mountains and the river in the plain; it was the stream below the pomegranates, and it was the wind, and then, before she recognized what she was doing, she added the secret notes, the notes that only one heart could hear.
The repetition of the words “it was” at the beginning of several consecutive phrases in a row create a rhythm that simulates the lilt of the scene’s music, and it also serves to emphasize the subsequent series of parallel images.
You can use anaphora to create powerful emphasis and rhythm. However, be careful not to write one accidentally. It will still have the same emphasis effect, and if the word or phrase you’re repeating is not actually worth emphasizing, then the anaphora will come across as distracting and irritating.
So, make sure that you use anaphora in your writing with care and intention.
What Is Epistrophe?
Epistrophe is a type of parallelism where you repeat the same word or cluster of words at the end of several consecutive sentences or phrases. As with all forms of parallelisms, epistrophe creates rhythm and emphasis.
Here’s an example of epistrophe from John Steinbach’s The Grapes of Wrath:
The big sycamore by the creek was gone. The willow tangle was gone. The little enclave of untrodden bluegrass was gone. The clump of dogwood on the little rise across the creek—now that, too, was gone.
The repetition of the phrase “was gone” serves to emphasize the perspective character’s experience of loss. Sometimes you don’t need bigger words or more words to make a strong point. Sometimes repeating a simple phrase is all you need.
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