Definition

Noun: 1. (Rhetoric) A figure of speech involving repetition of a word within the same phrase, clause, or sentence, often with a shift in meaning or application, used to gain special emphasis or to extend the sense of the word.

Usage

This term is a technical one used primarily in the analysis of rhetoric, literature, and poetry. It describes a specific stylistic device where a writer or speaker intentionally repeats a word in a way that highlights different facets of its meaning.

Examples

• "When you are right you cannot be too right; when you are wrong, you cannot be too wrong." (The repetition of "right" and "wrong" emphasizes the extremes of each state.)
• "A man who has never made a mistake has never made anything." (The repetition of "made" links the concepts of error and creation, extending the meaning of the verb.)
• "War is not healthy for children and other living things." (The repetition of "not" before the implied "healthy" for "other living things" creates a pointed, extended meaning.)

Advanced Usage

• Analysis: In rhetorical analysis, identifying ploce helps explain how an author creates emphasis, irony, or layered meaning through deliberate repetition.
• Distinction: It is closely related to other repetition-based figures like (repetition of words from the same root but with different endings, e.g., "choose your choice") and (repetition of a word with a different meaning each time, often punning, e.g., "Your argument is sound, nothing but sound."). Ploce is a broader category that can encompass such effects when the repetition occurs within a tight grammatical unit.

Variants and Related Words

• Polyptoton (n): The repetition of words derived from the same root but with different grammatical forms (e.g., "With eager feeding food doth choke the feeder." - Shakespeare).
• Antanaclasis (n): The repetition of a word while shifting to a different of its meanings, often for humorous or witty effect (e.g., "If we don't hang together, we shall surely hang separately." - Benjamin Franklin).

Synonyms

• Repetition (n): The general act of repeating. (Note: Ploce is a specific type of rhetorical repetition.)
• Lexical repetition (n): The repetition of a word or lexeme.

Related Terms and Concepts

• Figure of speech (n): A word or phrase used in a non-literal sense for rhetorical or vivid effect.
• Rhetorical device (n): A technique used by a speaker or writer to convey meaning persuasively or to achieve a particular effect.
• Emphasis (n): Special importance, value, or prominence given to something.

Noun

1. (rhetoric) repetition to gain special emphasis or extend meaning