Epanadiplosis

The epanadiplosis (from the Greek ἐπαναδίπλωσις , for example "bottom-top doubling") is a rhetorical figure that is based on the repetition of an element at the beginning and at the end of a larger unit.

At the level of a sentence or a paragraph, a verse or a stanza, the repeated element can be a word. If the principle is applied to an entire work (poem, novel, play, film), the repeated element can be an object, a motif or a scene, for example .

Example: The film Forrest Gump begins and ends with the subject of the feather, which is used as an epanadiplosis. In the film Gilbert Grape , a scene functions as epanadiplosis: the opening scene of the film, in which Gilbert and Arnie wait for the caravans to pass through, is repeated in a slightly modified form at the end of the film and thus closes the film.

See also:

• Anadiplosis
• Kyklos
• Epanalepsis

literature

• Heinrich Lausberg : Handbook of literary rhetoric. A foundation of literary studies. 3. Edition. Steiner, Stuttgart 1990, ISBN 3-515-05503-7 .
• Heinrich F. Plett: Introduction to rhetorical text analysis. 9th, updated and expanded edition. Buske, Hamburg 2001, ISBN 3-87548-246-8 .