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.

Mr. Yes and Mr. No
Rudy Tude by Kenn Nesbitt
Rudy Tude
My Brother’s a Genius
The Man from Timbuktu by Kenn Nesbitt
The Man From Timbuktu
What a Trip by Kenn Nesbitt
What a Trip!
I'll Never by Kenn Nesbitt
I’ll Never
I Like My Triangular Kitten
I Like My Triangular Kitten
I Sat Down on a Seesaw by Kenn Nesbitt
I Sat Down On a Seesaw
Broccoli for Breakfast by Kenn Nesbitt
Broccoli for Breakfast
There’s a Witch Outside My Window
I've Got a Secret by Kenn Nesbitt
I’ve Got a Secret
Gobble, Gobble Went the Turkey
I Think Achoo I Have the Flu by Kenn Nesbitt
I Think, ACHOO!, I Have the Flu
Billy
Forty Purple Porpoises by Kenn Nesbitt
Forty Purple Porpoises
Hot Water, Hot Water by Kenn Nesbitt
Hot Water, Hot Water
Poor Mrs. Cusick by Kenn Nesbitt
Poor Mrs. Cusick
Christmas Has Its Ups and Downs