Repetition & Refrain
Epistrophe
Repeating the same word or phrase at the ends of successive clauses or sentences. Each statement returns to the same closing words, emphasizing what they share.
"…government of the people, by the people, for the people" — Lincoln
Don't confuse it with Anaphora, Epanalepsis. Anaphora repeats at beginnings; epanalepsis repeats a clause's opening word at its own end.
Examples
They asked for peace. We worked for peace. The children waited for peace.
Each sentence ends with the identical phrase “for peace.”
At dawn she listened. At noon he listened. At dusk everyone listened.
All three sentences end with “listened.”
Often used alongside this device
Explore devices that often appear in the same passages as epistrophe.
The rest of the family
Anaphora Symploce Epanalepsis Anadiplosis Gradatio / Climax Epizeuxis Diacope Conduplicatio Polyptoton