Sounds

Definition: “the use of a word referring to or replacing a word used earlier in a sentence, to avoid repetition, such as do in I like it and so do they.”(merriam-webster)

History: “‘repetition of a word or phrase in successive clauses,’ 1580s, from Latin, from Greek anaphora ‘reference,’ literally ‘a carrying back,’ from anapherein ‘to carry back, to bring up,’ from ana ‘back’ (see ana-) + pherein ‘to bear’ (from PIE root *bher- (1) ‘to carry’).”(Online Etymology Dictonary)

Tips and Tricks: Anaphora is a rhetorical device that involves the repetition of a word. When using it make sure you are clear with your purpose, choose the right words. Maintaining consistency makes sure you have a consistent flow in your text. Emphasize key points, as well as keep parallelism. Make sure you know your audiences and do not overuse words.

Famous Poets/Examples: "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe

Example: "And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting / On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door; / And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,"

Definition: The repetition of a pair of sounds, words, phrases, or ideas in reverse order, producing an abba structure. Expanded on below, note that chiasmus is closely linked to antimetabole.

Note that historically, the meaning of this phrase is closely bound to antimetabole and the term chiasmus first appeared in English in 1871.

Examples:

·  In Paradise Lost, Satan attempts to rally the rebel angels with “The mind is its own place, and in itself / Can make a Heav’n of Hell, a Hell of Heav’n.”

·  In Genesis 9:6, it is said “Whoso sheds the blood of man, / By man his blood shall be shed.”

·  By Quintilian is “Non, ut edam, vivo; sed, ut vivam, edo” (I do not live that I may eat, but eat that I may live).

History:

The term chiasmus first appeared in English in 1871, but the term is closely bound up with that of antimetabole, whose use can date back to George Puttenham’s Arte of English Poesie in 1589. The essence of chaismus unveils the “natural invertability” of a hierarchy of two terms, which can be seen all the way back to Ugaritic texts around 1400-1200 BCE, possibly having influenced the composition of the Old Testament, as seen in the example above.

Uses:

Chaismus can be employed in small cases like those seen in the examples given, but it has also been employed on a much larger scale to mirror themes or ideas. The Iliad and the Odyssey are famously full of broader “ring” structures stretching reflected themes across the whole of each epic, called chiastic structure (when the literary techniques and narrative motifs are mirrored).

(Written by Gabriel Cowley)

Definition: “repetition of a word or expression at the end of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses especially for rhetorical or poetic effect” (Merriam-Webster)

History and Examples: This website has once again come in handy in helping to explore the meaning and history of Epistrophe. It explains that it has its roots in the philosophy of Plato. And whether we mean to or not, when someone uses Epistrophe as a rhetorical or poetic device, they are calling upon that Platonic meaning.

This has been used as a device since at least Plato. There are many famous examples that can be given, but every site I viewed used this one, which all Americans will know:

“ that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” 

Lincoln’s use of the phrase the People, is him employing Epistrophe as a rhetorical device.

This site uses Beyoncé's song “Single Ladies” as an example of Epistrophe, with the repetition of “then you should have put a ring on it” at the end of each line in the chorus.  

Usage: The best piece of advice that could be given, would be to not use Anaphora. Epistrophe and Anaphora are the mirrored image of each other, but Epistrophe occurs only at the end of a line of verse, prose sentence, or spoken phrase. 

Gettysburg Address ending but with Anaphora:

“That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom–The People of the government, The people whom it was crafted by, and the people for whom it exists, shall not perish from the Earth”

See how terrible that would have been for Lincoln, probably wouldn’t have been re-elected.

So Make sure that if you want to use Epistrophe, you put that repetitive word or phrase at the end.

Merriam Webster defines Sdrucciola (or Triple Rhyme) as "being or exhibiting triple rhyme in which the last accent falls on the antepenultimate syllable." In its' most basic structure, it is identifiable as 3 lines that rhyme in a group. 

The etymology of this term: it is thought to be from italian descent. More specifically, coming from "to slip" (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sdrucciola#:~:text=sdruc·%E2%80%8Bcio·%E2%80%8Bla,(as%20in%20femina%2C%20semina)

A fantastic example of this in use is evident in Thomas Hardy's The Convergence of the Twain:

     There was an old man of Thermopylæ,

Who never did anything properly;

But they said, "If you choose, To boil eggs in your shoes,

You shall never remain in Thermopylæ."

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44607/there-was-an-old-man-of-thermopylae

Definition: a seven line stanza, typically written in iambic pentameter (five iambs), with a rhyme scheme of A,B,A,B,B,C,C

History: rhyme royal was first employed by Geoffrey Chaucer, an English poet that has been called both the "Father of English Literature" and the "Father of English Poetry." Rhyme royal gets its name because of its application by James I of Scotland, who would frequently employ the rhyme scheme into his own writing.

Tips and Tricks: rhyme royal is an effective rhyme scheme to employ when writing a longer piece of poetry. The seven line stanzas allow for ideas to be developed quite effectively, and the division of each stanza allows you to hone in on a particular subject more and more as the poem develops.

Famous Poets/Examples: as it was previously implied, both Geoffrey Chaucer and John I of Scotland spent much of their time writing in rhyme royal, and wrote several fairly long length works of poetry using this style. Chaucer uses it in a story called "Troilus and Criseyde," one of his more famous works:

"And so bifel, whan comen was the tyme

Of Aperil, whan clothed is the mede

    With newe grene, of lusty Veer the pryme,

And swote smellen floures white and rede,

In sondry wises shewed, as I rede,

The folk of Troie hir observaunces olde,

Palladiones feste for to holde." -Troilus and Criseyde, Book I

Perhaps a more popular poet from the Romantic period that used rhyme royal was William Wordsworth, who used the style in his poem "Resolution and Independence:"

"There was a roaring in the wind all night;

The rain came heavily and fell in floods;

But now the sun is rising calm and bright;

The birds are singing in the distant woods;

Over his own sweet voice the Stock-dove broods;

The Jay makes answer as the Magpie chatters;

And all the air is filled with pleasant noise of waters." -Resolution and Independence

DEFINITION: A form of poetry consisting of eight-line stanzas with ten or eleven syllables following an abababcc rhyme scheme. (Poem Analysis)

This term was developed by Tuscan poets in the late 13th/early 14th centuries. The form became favored for mock-heroic romances, and was often utilized by Lord Bryon, primarily in Don Juan.

EXAMPLE:

A good example of Ottava Rima is Byron’s precursor to Don Juan, “Beppo”.

“’Tis known, at least it should be, that throughout

All countries of the Catholic persuasion,

Some weeks before Shrove Tuesday comes about,

The People take their fill of recreation,

And buy repentance, ere they grow devout,

However high their rank, or low their station,

With fiddling, feasting, dancing, drinking, masquing,

And other things which may be had for asking.” (Poem Analysis)

TIPS:

The form isn’t particularly difficult to understand or follow, but, like all structure, writers should be careful of forcing rhyme schemes or syllabic structure to work at the cost of well written poetry.