The Writing Experiment by Hazel Smith

Repetition

A linear structure depends on a chronological or logical sequence. Repeti-
tion (see Exercise 1b) is usually more non-linear because it involves
circling round an idea rather than advancing through it. A repetitive struc-
ture can be effective for exploring different (including contradictory)
aspects of a particular idea or subject. It can also create a very rhythmic
and insistent effect, which is persuasive at a visceral level. One example of
such a structure is where a repeating phrase or construction is used to bind
sections of the text together. This repeating pattern then functions as a
hook on which ideas or images can be hung:

Example 3.2

she wondered whether

a

she wondered whether

b

she wondered whether

c

In Example 3.2 the phrase ‘she wondered whether’ starts each section of
the text.
Let’s now look at an example of a repeating structure in a published
poem ‘Pause’ by Australian poet Alison Croggon:

Example 3.3

Within the undivided moments

A train stops on a bridge

A woman’s finger touches the rim of a man’s mouth

A child hides in his secret place and counts his collection of stones

A general tells his soldiers that justice is not possible

Within the undivided moments

A woman decides to speak the lie she has always told before

A man decides to publish the lie he has always published before

A lie becomes a truth and then a history

A student turns off the desk light and stares out of the darkening

window

Within the undivided moments

A baby tastes an orange for the first time

A soldier stamps on the hands of a little boy

A man loses his mind in the endless garden

Working out with structures 51