I learned two new words today - anaphora and epiphora.

  • Anaphora -  The deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several successive verses, clauses, or paragraphs; for example, “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills” (Winston S. Churchill)
  • Epiphora - the repeated use of the same word or word pattern as a rhetorical device; for example, “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as child.” (I Corinthians 13.11)

I ran into the first (and then through Googling stumbled on the other) as I read this article at Garr Reynold’s Presentation Zen site regarding the recent concession speech Barack Obama gave in New Hampshire. Your perception of him as future leader of the free world potential aside, he can definitely give great presentation.