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Amphoric line

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 verse line that can be read with equal validity from either direction, creating dual meanings

Detailed Definition
Amphoric line describes a verse that resonates with hollow, echoing sound—like air in a vessel—achieved through open vowels, internal rhyme, or strategic caesurae; the term derives from “amphora” (a ceramic jar), and such lines evoke emptiness, memory, or spiritual void through acoustic reverberation rather than semantic content.
Example
Example in poetry:
An amphoric line echoes hollow, resonant sounds (like a jar), as in Wallace Stevens’s “Anecdote of the Jar”: “It took dominion everywhere. / The jar was round upon the ground…”
Additional Notes
Amphoric line: Mimics the hollow, echoing resonance of an amphora (Greek jar); achieved through vowel repetition and open syllables; used to evoke emptiness, memory, or ritual.
Also Known As
Jar-shaped line Vessel line Container line
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