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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
The use of words in a sense opposite to their true meaning, often to achieve an ironic or humorous effect
Explore this topic in depth (4)
Allusion in Poetry
— An allusion is a meaningful reference beyond the poem: to a story, person, place, song, belief or earlier work. This guide offers ways to notice and explore such references without treating poetry as a test of what you already know.
How to Hear Tone in a Poem
— Tone is the attitude a poem’s speaker takes toward a subject, a listener or themselves. Learn to hear it through word choice, pace, address, sound and change—rather than settling too quickly on one label.
Acrostic Poetry
— An acrostic is a poem whose lines carry a second, vertical text through their initial letters. This guide explores its history, variants and expressive possibilities, and offers practical ways to read its audible poem alongside its visual design.
Neoclassical Poetry
— Neoclassical poetry is often associated with polish, reason and the heroic couplet, but its formal order can carry anger, delight, tenderness, religious seriousness and social unease. This guide maps the tradition and offers practical ways to hear its balance, turns and closing rhymes.
Detailed Definition
Antiphrasis is a form of irony in which a word or phrase is used in a sense opposite to its conventional meaning, often for satirical, humorous, or critical effect; in poetry, this device creates tension between surface diction and underlying intent, as when a war-torn landscape is described as “peaceful” or a tyrant is called “benevolent,” compelling readers to decode the true meaning through contextual dissonance, a strategy employed by poets from Juvenal to Audre Lorde.
Example
Example in poetry:
Antiphrasis: "What a fine mess we’ve made of paradise"; "His ‘brilliant’ plan sank the ship in minutes"; "A real ‘hero’—he ran at the first sign of danger"; "Oh, perfect! Another flat tire in the rain"
Additional Notes
Using word to mean opposite of literal sense, often ironically. Form of irony through word choice. "Brutus is an honorable man" in context. Requires contextual signals for clarity. Related to verbal irony.