What is the difference between anaphora and parallelism?

1 Answer
Mar 19, 2018

Parallelism is the consistent use of a particular grammatical form/structure throughout a sentence. Anaphora is the purposeful use of repetition to create a dramatic effect.


Parallel structure:

I like reading and writing.

I need food, but I also need shelter.


Anaphoras use parallel structure deliberately, in an attempt to emphasize/highlight the words. Dickens's quote uses it to compare and contrast pairs of things (wisdom and foolishness, light and darkness, etc.).

Parallel structure is simply keeping the same basic format throughout a sentence. It is not trying to create a dramatic/rhetoric effect.