Home › Glossary › Letter A

Abstract

Adjective
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Describing diction or concepts that refer to ideas, qualities, or concepts rather than tangible objects or sensory experience.

Detailed Definition
Abstract in poetry refers to language, themes, or ideas that are not grounded in physical, sensory experience but instead deal with concepts, emotions, or qualities such as love, justice, freedom, or mortality; abstract poetry often emphasizes universal truths or philosophical reflections rather than vivid descriptions of tangible objects, requiring readers to engage intellectually and imaginatively rather than solely through sensory recognition, making it more interpretive but also sometimes more challenging to grasp than concrete imagery.
Example
Example in poetry:
Abstract|Pity, Cruelty, and Mystery in Blake's "The Human Abstract"; Love as an intangible emotion in Romantic poetry; Death personified in Donne's sonnets; Hope as "the thing with feathers" in Dickinson's work
Additional Notes
Abstract poetry deals with intangible concepts like love, time, or death rather than physical objects; it often emphasizes emotion, philosophy, or ideas over imagery.
Other Meanings of “Abstract”
Also Known As
Conceptual Non-concrete Theoretical Intangible
Skip to main content