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Abstract language

Concept
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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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

Poetic language relying on general concepts instead of concrete imagery

Detailed Definition
Vocabulary referring to concepts, ideas, qualities, or conditions that cannot be perceived through the five senses, as opposed to concrete language that denotes physical, tangible things. In poetry, abstract language includes words like love, justice, beauty, truth, and freedom. While concrete imagery traditionally dominates poetic craft, abstract language serves philosophical and meditative verse. Effective poets often balance abstract and concrete, using imagery to embody abstractions or juxtaposing both types to create tension between conceptual and sensory experience.
Example
Example in poetry:
T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” uses “overwhelming question” to evoke abstract anxiety without concrete referent; Wallace Stevens’ “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird” treats perception and reality through abstract philosophical lens; Gertrude Stein’s “Tender Buttons” dissolves objects into abstract linguistic play (“A kind in glass and a cousin, a spectacle”); Hart Crane’s “Voyages” employs abstract diction like “infinite consanguinity” to suggest emotional vastness; Mina Loy’s “Love Songs” uses abstractions like “desire’s geometry” to challenge romantic conventions; contemporary poet Claudia Rankine blends abstract language (“the self a construction”) with racialized experience in “Citizen.”
Additional Notes
Abstract language refers to words denoting ideas, emotions, or concepts rather than concrete images (e.g., “justice,” “despair”); while useful for philosophical themes, overuse can weaken sensory impact—balance with concrete diction is key.
Also Known As
Conceptual language Figurative diction Nonliteral writing Abstract diction
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