Reiteration is the noun form of the verb reiterate which means to repeat something. This concept can be applied both in words and in facts.
of words
When we speak or write we try to convey a message. When you want a message to be captured, we often resort to repeating words . So, we reiterate so that you don’t forget, to make an idea clear or for the interlocutor to learn something.
Repeating something is neither good nor bad, it all depends on the number of times it is repeated. Excessive reiteration is unnecessary and even annoying, but when applied sparingly it can be seen as beneficial. When one person has the habit of saying something, it is often possible for the other to say “don’t be reiterative”, implying that the constant repetition is disproportionate.
From this communication perspective , reiteration is a widely used strategy in advertising. For example, the same advertisement appears a thousand times on television to record the brand in the consumer’s memory.
The reiteration of facts
In the legal area, when a crime is committed several times in a row, there is a reiteration; this starts to be considered something serious before the justice . The criminal who accumulates a high number of illegal actions is considered a repeat offender, so under the law he must be punished more severely.
From a psychiatric perspective, reiterative behaviors are signs of manic behavior (when someone does something in a compulsive and uncontrolled way). Anyway, the reiteration of a behavior is a sign that there is some kind of problem.
Reiteration as a Literary Resource
The anaphora is a rhetorical figure that consists precisely in the reiteration of words . The use of anaphoras is quite common in poetic language. When repeating one or several words , the poet wants to give rhythm to his verses, giving a certain cadence and providing a sound effect or meaning.
Enumeration is another rhetorical figure based on reiteration, as it consists of the successive accumulation of words with the purpose of creating a sensation through language.
