Home › Glossary › Letter A

abstract writing

Concept
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

Text in which abstract elements outweigh semantic content or narrative sense

Detailed Definition
Poetic composition that privileges ideas, concepts, and philosophical propositions over concrete imagery and sensory detail. Abstract writing explores theoretical questions, emotional states as concepts, and intellectual problems through language that refers to qualities and conditions rather than tangible objects. While imagist and concrete poetry movements rejected abstraction, many philosophical and meditative traditions embrace it. Effective abstract writing achieves clarity and precision in articulating concepts, often using syntactic complexity and logical progression rather than descriptive richness.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Hope is the thing with feathers” (Dickinson) renders an abstract concept through concrete metaphor; Stevens’s “The Snow Man” explores abstract perception through stark winter imagery; Ashbery’s “Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror” navigates abstract thought via fragmented, elusive narration; In “Ars Poetica,” MacLeish argues a poem should “be, not mean,” privileging abstraction over didacticism; Rankine’s “Citizen” blends abstract reflections on race with concrete microaggressions to unsettle fixed meaning.
Additional Notes
Abstract writing in poetry emphasizes form, sound, or idea over representation or story; it may resist interpretation and invite multiple readings, aligning with postmodern and experimental traditions.
Also Known As
Conceptual writing Figurative writing Nonliteral verse Asemic writing
Skip to main content