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Adopted refrain

Structure
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

A repeated chorus borrowed from external poetic or musical material

Detailed Definition
A repeated line or phrase taken from another poem, song, or text and incorporated into a new poem as a recurring element. This technique allows poets to borrow linguistic and emotional resonance from existing texts while creating new contexts and meanings. Adopted refrains can pay homage, create intertextual dialogue, or ironically recontextualize their source material. The practice demonstrates how refrains carry accumulated meanings that shift when transplanted into new poetic environments.
Example
Example in poetry:
An adopted refrain reuses a borrowed or repurposed line across stanzas: In “The Raven,” Poe’s “Nevermore” echoes as a haunting refrain; T.S. Eliot adopts “Hurry up please it’s time” from pub closing calls in “The Waste Land”; Langston Hughes uses “I, too, sing America” as a reclaimed national refrain; Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy” repeats “You do not do” with shifting intensity; Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” repurposes folk refrain structures for protest.
Additional Notes
An adopted refrain is a repeated line or phrase borrowed from another source (song, prayer, earlier poem) and integrated into a new work; creates intertextuality and communal resonance.
Also Known As
Borrowed refrain Adopted chorus Taken-up refrain
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