Nothing-to-it Sentence Examples

Epanalepsis is a member of the rhetorical device family tree. That means it conveys meaning in an interesting or unique way. This particular device stands out in a line of text because it repeats a similar grouping of words at the beginning of a sentence and at the end. An example can be found in T.S. Eliot’s “The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock”:

In a minute there is time

For decisions and revisions which a minute can reverse

In the examples of epanalepsis below, you’ll see it works hard to drive a point home. Not only is it repeating keywords in an effort to stand out, but it’s also featured in two of the most prominent parts of a sentence: the beginning and the end. When used, the author is trying to illustrate a point.

There’s a big difference between everything and nothing. If you asked your friends what they love most about you, you’d much rather hear everything than nothing (talk about a confidence killer). But these words also have a lot in common: They’re both indefinite pronouns, and if you’re trying to describe something in a non-specific way, they’re both words you want to know.