RRhetoric
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Repetition & Refrain

Symploce

SIM-ploh-see / ˈsɪmploʊsiː

Combining anaphora and epistrophe: successive clauses repeat both their opening and closing words. The fixed wording draws attention to what changes in the middle.

"When there is talk of hatred, let us stand up and talk against it. When there is talk of violence, let us stand up and talk against it." — Bill Clinton

Don't confuse it with Parallelism. Not mere parallelism: symploce requires the identical words at both edges, not just matching grammar.

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Examples

If we lose our homes, we will rebuild. If we lose our roads, we will rebuild.
Practice example · written for this exercise

Both clauses begin “If we lose our” and end “we will rebuild”; the middle changes.

The rest of the family

Anaphora Epistrophe Epanalepsis Anadiplosis Gradatio / Climax Epizeuxis Diacope Conduplicatio Polyptoton