Repeating the same word or phrase at the end of successive clauses or sentences to create a hammering, emphatic rhythm.
Epistrophe is a rhetorical device where you repeat the same word or phrase at the end of consecutive clauses, sentences, or lines. While its sibling anaphora drives forward with repeated beginnings, epistrophe lands with repeated endings, creating a sense of finality and emphasis with each repetition. The effect is like a judge's gavel coming down again and again.
Epistrophe gives your sentences weight at exactly the moment they end, which is where emphasis naturally falls. It's less commonly used than anaphora in fiction, which means when you deploy it, it stands out. It's especially effective when you want a passage to feel conclusive, inevitable, or emotionally inescapable.
"Of the people, by the people, for the people" - possibly the most famous epistrophe in the English language. Three prepositions, one repeated noun, and a democratic ideal made immortal.
"This is the way the world ends / This is the way the world ends / This is the way the world ends / Not with a bang but a whimper." Combines anaphora and epistrophe before breaking the pattern for devastating effect.
Morrison frequently uses epistrophe to create incantatory, almost prayer-like passages that give her prose its distinctive emotional gravity.
Anaphora repeats at the beginning. Epistrophe repeats at the end. An easy way to remember: 'epi-' means 'upon' or 'after,' so epistrophe comes after, at the end.
This device is inherently dramatic. Using it for mundane content ("I went to the store. She went to the store. He went to the store.") just sounds awkward. Save it for moments that deserve the weight.
The power of epistrophe comes from different paths arriving at the same destination. If your clauses are too similar throughout, you just have repetition, not rhetoric.
Write three sentences about something your character has lost, ending each sentence with the same word or short phrase. Then write three more about something they want, using a different repeated ending. Notice how the repeated word shapes the emotional texture of each set.