The epiploke is a rhetorical stylistic device used in all genres. This is a multiple anadiplosis. The anadiplosis means the fact that a sentence or sub-sentence ends with a word or a word sequence, which begins with the following sentence. The Epiploke ranks several times this special feature. The upper grip of both figures is epanalysis. In ancient times the term also described the connection of two similar verses.
The term is derived from Greek and can be translated with reference. According to this, the translation of the stylistic figure already points to what is at stake here: namely, the picking up and subsequent connection of already expressed words. Let us look at an example anadipless:
The woman was beautiful, she was beautiful and wise.
The above example is an anadipeless, since at the end of the first sentence there is an adjective (beautiful) which is picked up immediately at the beginning of the next sentence. This recovery amplifies the word and puts it in the focus for the recipient (reader, listener), making it more important or significant. An epiploke would now continue this principle. An example:
The woman was beautiful, she was beautiful and clever, clever she was and also full of courage, courage pierced her spirit.
This example is an epiploke, since several anadiploses are lined up here. The first movement ends with a beautiful beginning, which begins in the second movement. This in turn ends wisely, which is taken up in the following sentence, which ends on the noun’s courage, which forms the beginning of the last sentence. Often the epiploke is used in the form of the climax, ie an increase, which increases the whole thing.
Today, I am studying the city. The city is important for the country. The country will follow the city and then I will subjugate the world. I will soon master the world. Believe me!
The above example is a connection from Klimax and Epiploke. Thus there is a threefold spatial increase of the city, the country and the world, but also – since the terms mark the end and the beginning of the sentences – a multiple anadiplos, ie an epiploke. By this trick the attention of the reader is directed even more strongly on the named Nomen of the Klimax, which strengthens.
Short overview: The most important thing about the Stilfigur at a glance
The Epiploke is a rhetorical stylistic device, which means a multiple anadiplosis. Anadiploses are the repeating of the same word or the same word sequence at the beginning and at the end of a sentence. The stylist repeats this process several times.
In the literature Epiploks are very often used in combination with the Klimax, also Antiklimax. The style figure leads to an increase in intensity (effectiveness).
The word repetitions usually have a similar effect: they reinforce what is said or make the language appear more urgent, and also point out important things. Furthermore, the repetition is a typical stylistic means in children’s rhymes or magic formulas. In the lecture the figure can make a thing more memorable.
