word usage - Strange sentence structure from a piece by Paula Gunn Allen


This lesson is in a pattern book. I want to know why the word about is repeated quite a few times in the text:



My mother told me stories about cooking and childbearing; she told me stories about menstruation and pregnancy; she told me stories about gods and heroes, about fairies and elves, about goddesses and spirits; she told me stories about the land and the sky, about cats and dogs, about...




Answer



We could say that the writer is using anaphora, a rhetorical device defined by repetition of words or phrases in neighboring clauses or sentences that adds emphasis through repetition. In the passage in question, the repetition of "about" (more specifically "she told me stories about") could be emphasizing the many and various stories the girl's mother told her over the years.


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