Anaphoric cascade repeats initial words or phrases in successive lines, escalating like a waterfall to amplify emphasis and momentum. This rhetorical heir to biblical parallelism, seen in Psalms, intensifies in Walt Whitman's catalogs for democratic inclusivity. Poets use it to simulate emotional surges, as in Allen Ginsberg's "Howl" where cascading "who" clauses evoke collective frenzy. It appears to rhythmically propel the poem, mirroring natural flows or rhetorical persuasion, and heightens unity through repetition. Cascades foster hypnotic immersion, transforming listing into lyrical force, and serve poetry's oral heritage by aiding memorability and communal resonance.

Anaphoric cascade builds rhetorical force, from biblical psalms to civil rights oratory; students practice cascading phrases like "in the" for momentum; related to epizeuxis; Whitman cascades "I" for inclusivity; usage: escalate 3-5 times for climax, varying length; scholars connect to performance poetry, examining its oral rhythm and persuasive power in building communal or personal intensity.