June 4: Repetition for Effect Day

On this date in 1940, Winston Churchill addressed the House of Commons and the British people.  France had fallen to Nazi Germany, but all was not lost:  over 300,000 allied soldiers had been successfully evacuated from Dunkirk.  Churchill’s purpose in this speech was to buoy the spirits of the British people.  Europe had fallen, but the British Empire would not give up and would not go down without a fight.

In the final paragraph, or preoration, of his speech, Churchill unleashed one of history's most dramatic finishes:

 

We shall fight on the seas and oceans,

  we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air,

  we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be.

We shall fight on the beaches,

  we shall fight on the landing grounds,

  we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,

  we shall fight in the hills;

  we shall never surrender . . . .

There's a fine line between repetition and redundancy, but as demonstrated by Churchill, when employed at the right time and at the right place, repetition can create the kind of dramatic emphasis that rolls and resonates like ocean waves repeatedly crashing on the rocky shore.  Churchill, a master of rhetoric, knew what he was doing.  He knew the just when and just where to employ this echo effect for maximum impact.

Another element of Churchill's mastery is his use of succinct, simple language.  As he explains in his "Scaffolding of Rhetoric," published when he was 23 years old:

The shorter words of a language are usually the more ancient. Their meaning is more ingrained in the national character and they appeal with greater force to simple understandings than words recently introduced from the Latin and the Greek. All the speeches of great English rhetoricians--except when addressing highly cultured audiences--display an uniform preference for short, homely words of common usage--so long as such words can fully express their thoughts and feelings....

Today's Challenge:  Repetition for a Reason
Some of the best known sayings, expression, titles, and aphorisms in the English language use repetition for effect:
 

No pain, no gain

 

First come, first served

 

United we stand, divided we fall

 

Put up or shut up

 

Never Say Never Again

Celebrate Repetition for Effect Day by adding to this list.  How many more can you find?


Today's Quote:  Of all the talents bestowed upon men, none is so precious as the gift of oratory. He who enjoys it wields a power more durable than that of a great king. He is an independent force in the world.  --Winston Churchill