poetic device: Repetition

Repetition in poetry is when you repeat individual words, phrases, lines, or entire stanzas throughout the poem. Repetition gives extra strength or emphasis to the idea being repeated.

For example, you might start all of many of the lines of a poem with the same words, such as “I’ll never” or “I can’t wait for.” Or you might repeat a single line more than once to emphasize the point, as in the ending of Robert Frost’s poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” You can even repeat an entire stanza more than once; this is called a chorus or a refrain.

If you would like to write your own repetition poems, read this fun poetry-writing lesson.

All of these poems include repetition. Read a few and see if you like repetition in poems.

Our Magic Toilet by Kenn Nesbitt
Our Magic Toilet
Nicknames
My Virtual Puppy
Tiny Todd the Turtle by Kenn Nesbitt
Tiny Todd the Turtle
Lost and Found by Kenn Nesbitt
Lost and Found
Advice from Dracula
I Can't Wait for Summer
I Can’t Wait for Summer
Today I Got a Valentine
My New Remote by Kenn Nesbitt
My New Remote
Pickle with Cheddar by Kenn Nesbitt
Pickle with Cheddar
My Koala's Not a Doctor by Kenn Nesbitt
My Koala’s Not a Doctor
I'm Only Half a Werewolf by Kenn Nesbitt
I’m Only Half a Werewolf
I Stuck My Finger Up My Nose
I Slipped on a Banana Peel by Kenn Nesbitt
I Slipped on a Banana Peel
I Think I'd Like to Get a Pet by Kenn Nesbitt
I Think I’d Like to Get a Pet
Things You Don't Need to Know by Kenn Nesbitt
Things You Don’t Need to Know
Dragon's Birthday by Kenn Nesbitt
Dragon’s Birthday
My Sister Should Be an Explorer by Kenn Nesbitt
My Sister Should Be an Explorer
Here's a Silly Poem by Kenn Nesbitt
Here’s a Silly Poem
Chocolate for Breakfast by Kenn Nesbitt
Chocolate for Breakfast
I Helped My Mom Make Dinner by Kenn Nesbitt
I Helped My Mom Make Dinner
Swinging from the Lights by Kenn Nesbitt
Swinging from the Lights
Thank You, Thanksgiving by Kenn Nesbitt
Thank You, Thanksgiving
Valentine’s Day Card

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