E is for Epizeuxis
E should be for Endless Possibilities, for there are so many options we could consider.
I could, for example, discuss ellipsis, which is the omission of a word or phrase in a context where the meaning isn't disrupted (John forgives Mary and Mary, John), or epistrophe, which is when one ends line, phrases, clauses, or sentences with the same word or phrases (We are born to sorrow, pass our time in sorrow, end our days in sorrow). I could tell you about epitrope which is an awesome figure of move where you turn the issue over to the audience to suggest a proof without actually having to state it (classic Eastwood: "Go ahead, make my day") - this move is at work in a passive aggressive statement. And I could tell you about epanaphora, which is when you repeat the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses, sentences, or lines (Tennyson's "Theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die").
But I'm not going to discuss those figures, as wonderful as they are. Today we consider epizeuxis (e pi ZOOK sis), which is repeated words with no others in between, especially for adding emphasis to a statement.
Fahnestock provides the example "History shows us, demonstrates that nothing, nothing prepares the way for tyranny more than the failure of public officials to keep the streets safe from bullies and marauders" from Goldwater. In the Bible we find Christ's words translated "Verily, verily I say unto you..." Hamlet despairs "Words, words, words."
Fahnestock groups this figure into the category of Strategic Repetition, noting that in an argument, this kind of repetition has persuasive consequences because it produces parallel structures that support arguments from comparison, induction, and eduction. More importantly for epizeuxis, which is such a condensed figure, the immediate repetition provides power to the speech (whether spoken or written) as the figure derives power from the sound effects. If we were to shift this into the realm of cognitive linguistics, we'd discuss the cognitive affinity for similarity and repetition. As Fahnestock notes, figures of repetition like epizeuxis "allow the rhetor a patch of incantatory prosody, driving home a point with syncopated insistence."
Quite simply, it's piling on. And piling on can be effective, persuasive, not only in terms of "presence" in a text, but in terms of amplification and resonance (providing it's not so overwhelming it becomes a gimmick).
By the by, I used a figure throughout that's worth mentioning. Paralipsis. Paralipsis is when you draw attention to something at the same time as you pretend to ignore it, or pass it over. (The elipsis is a form of paralipsis.) This figure is commonly used ironically, especially to carve away at someone's character: "Well, I don't want to call my opponent a rascal because of his recent actions listed in the news, or dwell on his recent trips to rehab." Nasty little figure isn't it?
