How does kaufman use anaphora in his poem, and what is the effect of this figurative technique on the poems structure?

Hi!

In literature, anaphora is a rhetorical device that makes use of repetitive words, or phrases at the beginning of a series of sentences for emphasis and impact. It can serve many purposes in different literary contexts, including but not limited to: drawing the focus of the audience to a particular point, serving as a build-up to a climatic point, or for a poetic effect.

In Bob Kaufman's poem,  "Unanimity Has Been Achieved, Not a Dot Less for Its Accidentalness" , the phrase "raga of" is functioning as the anagraph in that it is repeated at the start of each phrase:

... Raga of the hold, raga of the fold, raga of the root, raga of the crest  raga before coming,  

Raga of lip, raga of brass, raga of ultimate come with yesterday, raga  of a parched tongue-walked lip, raga of yellow, raga of mellow,  raga of new, raga of old, raga of blue, raga of gold, raga of air  spinning into itself ...

In his poem, Kaufman connects various independent themes that may otherwise seem to have no direct connection to each other, and may be difficult to articulate into a cohesive piece.

He does this by the by addressing each theme in terms of its 'raga'. Thus, we see the anagraph, "raga of", to serve as a linker of all these diverse concepts, and to provide a harmonious balance to the poem.

Hope this helps!