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.

I Built a Big Building
Liverwurst Pie
Liverwurst Pie
I Got a New Game for My Brother by Kenn Nesbitt
I Got a New Game for My Brother
I Tried to Ride a Skateboard
My Legs Both Understand Me
This Poem's Not About a Dog by Kenn Nesbitt
This Poem’s Not About a Dog
Octopus for Lunch
My Purple Unicorn by Kenn Nesbitt
My Purple Unicorn
Easter Feaster by Kenn Nesbitt
Easter Feaster
Presently Surprised
Coal in My Stocking
I like It When It's Quiet by Kenn Nesbitt
I Like It When It’s Quiet
My Parents Both Are Humans by Kenn Nesbitt
My Parents Both Are Humans
On the Street There's a House by Kenn Nesbitt
On the Street There’s a House
How Not to Cook by Kenn Nesbitt
How Not to Cook
What to Remember in School
I Found a Secret Passageway by Kenn Nesbitt
I Found a Secret Passageway
Toucan Can-Can by Kenn Nesbitt
Toucan Can-Can
Minecraft Mike
Don't Ever Bite Your Sister by Kenn Nesbitt
Don’t Ever Bite Your Sister
Thanksgiving Leftovers
My Smart Family by Kenn Nesbitt
My Smart Family
Today’s My Favorite Holiday
Crazy Over Vegetables by Kenn Nesbitt and Eric Herman
Crazy Over Vegetables

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