Who knew such a simple word sandwich could be so delicious?
If you’ve never heard of the term Diacope before, join the club. Diacope is when a person repeats a word or phrase with one or more words in between. It’s the reason “Run Forrest, run!” in Forrest Gump or “The horror! Oh, the horror!” in Apocalypse Now are so memorable.
It’s also the reason why Sean Connery saying “Bond, James Bond” when introducing himself in 1962’s “Dr No” became one of the most famous lines in film history.
Are catch phrases predictable? No. But can writers tip the scales in their favor? Absolutely.
In this video, author and linguistics expert Mark Forsyth elaborates on the origin and history of Diacope. Also provided are a ton of examples from cinema that one might not have realized were using the literary device. Afterwards, you’ll surely find everything about Diacope to be elementary my dear Watson, purely elementary.
