# I'm looking for a literary/poetic term **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 21, 2009, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-a-literary-poetic-term/490254 "2009-03-21T13:29:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2009, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-a-literary-poetic-term/490254/1 "2009-03-21T13:29:51Z")
What is it called in literature or poetry when a particular word or phrase is used repeatedly, usually at the beginning of a line or sentence, for emphasis? For example, the word “who” in the famous Ginsberg poem “Howl.” For years I thought the term for this was _apostrophe_, but it turns out that’s something [completely different](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostrophe_(figure_of_speech)). ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2009, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-a-literary-poetic-term/490254/2 "2009-03-21T13:52:48Z")
[Anaphora](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaphora), I think. You might have been thinking of _epistrophe_, which is the repetition of a word at the _end_ of a sentence/line/phrase. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2009, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-a-literary-poetic-term/490254/3 "2009-03-21T14:05:33Z")
I guess that’s the one. Thanks! The apostrophe/epistrophe angle makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2009, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-a-literary-poetic-term/490254/4 "2009-03-21T14:28:16Z")
Bobby Sherman with Tom Bahler took it to the lowest common denominator: > [@](#): > > Julie, Julie, Julie, do you love me? > Julie, Julie, Julie, do you care? > Julie, Julie, are you thinking of me? > Julie, Julie, will you still be there? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2009, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-a-literary-poetic-term/490254/5 "2009-03-21T14:57:13Z")
O Apostrophe, why do people abuse you? To form a plural is not how to use you. You show that “Rita’s” is what belongs to Rita, And closing a quote is also on your Vita. You’re a possessive little thing, in contexts urban and rural, So why, O why, do people try to make you plural? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2009, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-a-literary-poetic-term/490254/6 "2009-03-21T15:00:33Z")
The Sherman/Bahler song is not an example of anaphora. The repetition has to be the same word at the beginning of different clauses. The repetition of “who” in the poem “Howl” is an example of anaphora. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2009, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-a-literary-poetic-term/490254/7 "2009-03-21T22:00:15Z")
Repetition.