Anaphora is a specific form of repetition in which a word or phrase is repeated at the beginning of a successive phrase and is used to leave prominence on the phrases, as well as creating a rhythmic effect to make it memorable and more gratifying to read. For example, anaphora is used in a passage of Barbara Lazear Ascher On Compassion, a passage about a few brief encounters with homeless people, where she struggles to understand the compassion of others. “Twice I have witnessed this, and twice I have wondered, what compels this woman to feed this man?” (Paragraph 9). The part of this sentence that qualifies it to fall under the scheme of anaphora is the repetition of the words ‘twice I have’ before and after the comma separating the two clauses.
