“The passage uses parallelism — the same words appear three times.”
Usage Entry 1403 / 1605 60-second read
Parallelism vs. Repetition
Repeating grammatical structure versus repeating words or phrases.
The comparisoni
“The passage uses repetition — the same words appear three times. PARALLELISM is repeating grammatical structure (not words). REPETITION is repeating words or phrases.”
The ruleii
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PARALLELISM = same shape. REPETITION = same words.
PARALLELISM repeats grammatical pattern: "I came, I saw, I conquered" — three verb-phrases. REPETITION reuses words: "Free at last, free at last." Both are rhetorical devices; they're distinct.
Memory aidiii
Remember it like this
Parallelism = pattern. Repetition = words.