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Alabaster

Colours
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

Alabaster denotes a smooth, translucent white with a soft, almost luminous quality, frequently used for skin or pure surfaces.

Detailed Definition
Alabaster is the fine-grained gypsum stone prized in classical sculpture for its creamy, light-diffusing surface. Poets adopt the term to describe flawless complexion, marble monuments, or ethereal light, as in Keats’s “alabaster” brows or Shakespeare’s “alabaster” statues. Its literary power lies in suggesting both cold perfection and fragile beauty, allowing writers to convey purity, deathlike stillness, or idealized form without resorting to ordinary white.
Example
Example in poetry:
Keats describes an “alabaster steed” whose polished white surface gleams with heroic purity; Shakespeare’s “alabaster” images of statues or cold flesh convey both idealized beauty and deathlike stillness; A modern poet might write “her alabaster shoulders caught the candlelight like carved stone,” merging classical sculpture with living skin; In elegiac verse “the alabaster urn of morning” can suggest fragile permanence and the quiet aftermath of grief; Educational practice: pair “alabaster” with light verbs—“glowed,” “held,” “reflected”—to emphasize its translucent, light-bearing quality.
Additional Notes
Alabaster’s classical origin in Greek and Roman sculpture makes it ideal for conveying idealized, almost statuesque beauty or cold purity. In poetry it frequently describes skin, monuments, or moonlight with a soft translucence that ordinary white lacks. Usage tip: combine with verbs of glowing or holding light to emphasize its luminous quality. Related concepts include ivory and marble, yet alabaster remains warmer and more delicate. Professors can note its frequent appearance in Romantic and Victorian verse as a marker of both perfection and deathlike stillness, inviting analysis of the tension between living flesh and carved stone.
Also Known As
Alabaster White Pure White Translucent Stone Marble White ivorie
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