Diacope Examples

Diacope is derived from the Greek for "cut into," and it refers to repetition of a word or phrase, but with other words that interrupt the repetition.

Oh, my heart! Your pain makes my heart hurt. Oh, my heart!

The busy bee landed on me. The busy bee made honey. The busy bee stung me.

Examples of Diacope from Literature and Song:

From Shakespeare's Hamlet: "To be, or not to be.

From MLK's "I Have a Dream": "Free at last, free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last!"

From The Cardigans' song: "Love me, love me, say that you love me. Leave me, leave me, go on and leave me."

Commercials often use diacope as part of their jingles:

Maybelline: Maybe she's born with it; maybe it's Maybelline.

Home Depot: More saving; More doing.