What is the author's style in An Anthem by Sonia Sanchez?

Sanchez uses two literary devices of repetition in “An Anthem” to underscore images and ideas that are central to the poem’s meaning. The first device is anaphora, a type of parallelism. Anaphora is repetition of the same word or words at the start of two or more sentences. Walt Whitman famously uses it in Leaves of Grass. In “An Anthem,” Sanchez uses it to create thematic and structural unity. The sentences in the second and third stanzas begin with “we” just as lines 21–23 repeat “are we not.” These chant-like repetitions create a strong sense of unity or solidarity. It is the speaker’s way of saying that “we” are not going away and “we” need to be heard. The central idea of the poem is one of protest, of in-the-street chanting, and this form of repetition underscores that idea.

The other repetitive device Sanchez uses is refrain. A refrain is a phrase or sentence that is repeated within a poem or song, generally at the end of a stanza or in some other predictable way. The refrain in this poem is the plea or prayer: “give me courage so I can spread / it over my face and mouth.” This is the only thing the speaker asks for outright, but she repeats it to create a sense of urgency, of immediate confrontation and need for empowerment. Three times she repeats these lines, the third occurring in the final lines, which is an emphatic and powerful site in a poem. The last lines, especially ones that have been repeated, create the reader’s final impression of the poem.