Repetition & Refrain
Gradatio / Climax
A series of linked clauses that repeat a key word from the preceding clause and increase in intensity or importance. Each link adds a step toward the final claim.
"…tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope." — Romans 5:3–4
Don't confuse it with Anadiplosis. One chained repetition is anadiplosis; gradatio is the whole ascending staircase.
Examples
A whisper became a rumor; a rumor became a panic; a panic became a riot.
Each result becomes the next clause’s starting point, and the consequences grow more serious.
Often used alongside this device
Explore devices that often appear in the same passages as gradatio / climax.
Parallelism 6 Anaphora 6 Asyndeton 5 Metaphor 4 Apposition / Appositive 4 Personification 3 Hyperbole 3
The rest of the family
Anaphora Epistrophe Symploce Epanalepsis Anadiplosis Epizeuxis Diacope Conduplicatio Polyptoton