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Antistasis

Device
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

The strategic repetition of a word with altered meanings to highlight contrast, ambiguity, or layered interpretation.

Detailed Definition
Antistasis is a rhetorical figure in which contrasting meanings are derived from the same word or phrase through context or inflection, often used in poetry to generate ambiguity, irony, or layered interpretation within a single lexical unit.
Example
Example in poetry:
Antistasis: A rhetorical contrast within a single phrase; e.g., John Milton’s “darkness visible” (Paradise Lost) juxtaposes opposites to create paradoxical imagery.
Additional Notes
Repetition of word while disputing its application or meaning. Rhetorical argument device. "You call it justice, I call it revenge." Creates verbal sparring. Effective in satirical or philosophical verse.
Also Known As
Repetition with turning Rhetorical reversal Word-position exchange Reciprocal repetition
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