In much wisdom is much grief, and whoever increases knowledge increases sorrow.

Ecclesiastes

Afterwards I thought I might have heard the swish of a sap. Maybe you always think that - afterwards. (P. Auster)

According to the place which the repeated unit occupies in a sentence, repetition is classified into several types:

Ordinary repetition is the reiteration of the same unit in any unfixed place, e.g. “No-! No-! Let her go! Let her go, you fool, you fool -!”cried Ursula at the top of her voice, completely outside herself (D.H. Lawrence).

Framing is the repetition of the same unit both at the beginning and at the end of the utterance, e.g. “I’m serious, y’know” he declared now, with the same dreary solemnity. “I’m not joking. You get me that job out there as soon as you can. I’m serious” (J. Priestley).

Anadiplosis, or catch repetition is the reiteration of the final of the final unit of one utterance at the beginning of the next utterance, e.g. It will be quite possible soon to stop death, to stop death in most cases.

Chain repetition is a combination of two or more catch repetitions, e.g. She looked beyond the frightened pensioners, the girls who looked like women, the women who looked like men, the men who looked like psychos (T. Parsons).

Repetition is widely employed:

• to attract the reader’s attention to the key-word of the utterance;

• for clearness, vigour, and a certain rhythmic effect;

• to intensify the idea expressed;

• to provide a transition between paragraphs.

Rhetorical question implies asking question not to gain information, but to assert more emphatically the obvious answer to what is asked. No answer is expected by the speaker.

e.g. Who said you should be happy? Do your work. (Collette)

It is used:

• to express some additional shade of meaning (doubt, assertion, suggestion);

• to enhance the emotional charge of the utterance.

Rhyme means the repetition of a certain combination of consonant and vowel sounds: a stressed vowel is followed by the same sounds, for example, rain/lane, table/fable, hint/tint. According to the degree and manner of the phonetic similarity, rhymes can be classified into perfect and imperfect.

Perfect rhymes are characterized by the identity of vowel and following consonant sounds (seem/team). Perfect rhymes can be classified according to their stress:

• masculine rhymes – monosyllabic words (down – town) and words accented on the last syllable (domain – remain);

• feminine rhymes – words accented on the last but one syllable (error – terror; Latin – satin);

• dactylic rhymes are those in which the stressed syllable is followed by two unstressed ones (battery – flattery).

Imperfect rhymes are those in which the phonetic identity is not complete. They can be of different kinds.

• vowel rhymes, i.e. matching vowel sounds (shake – hate);

• consonant rhymes, i.e. matching consonant sounds (tale – tool);

• semirhyme, i.e. a rhyme with an extra syllable on one word (bend –ending);

• eye-rhyme, i.e. the identity of letters, but different sound (wood – flood, love – prove);

• compound rhymes (better – forget it; spirit – near it).

According to their position in the verse lines, rhymes can be classified into end-rhymes and internal rhymes.

E.g. Loveliest of trees, the cherry now

Is hung with bloom along the bough (end-rhyme)

And the cheers and the jeers of the young muleteers (internal rhyme)

Rhyme is used:

• to accentuate speech rhythms by creating sound patterns at some intervals;

• to unify a poem, to link one concept to another thus helping to determine the structure of a poem;

• to enhance sound rather than sense; to achieve melodic effect;

• to avoid monotony (imperfect rhymes);

• to make lines easily memorable.

Rhythm. The flow of speech presents an alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables. The pattern of interchange of strong and weak segments is called rhythm. If there is stable recurrence of stressed and unstressed segments, the text is perceived as an example of poetry. The most important quality of poetry is its regular rhythm.

In a verse line, the smallest recurrent segment, consisting of one stressed syllable and one or two unstressed ones is called foot. The structure of foot determines the metre, i.e. the type of poetic rhythm of the line.

Metre is an ideal phenomenon, characterized by unchangeability. Rhythm is flexible. It appears as a result of interaction between the ideal metrical law and the natural phonetic properties of the given language material. The attributes of rhythm also include continuity, proportion, pattern, etc.

The types of metrical foot:

1. trochee (choree) _/ _

2. iambus _ _/

3. dactyl _/ _ _

4. amphibrach _ _/ _

5. anapest _ _ _/

Metrical or accented rhythm is incidental in prose. It is difficult to perceive it. The most servable rhythmical patterns in prose are based on the use of certain stylistic devices such as enumeration, repetition, parallel construction, etc.

e.g. He’d never be coarse. He’d never try anything unpleasant. He’d never fumble at you.

In poetry rhythm a) gives a distinct beat to a line; b) brings order and shape into it; c) intensifies the expressiveness of poetry; d) contributes to the general sense, e.g. Only a man harrowing clods