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Apophasis

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

A rhetorical device where a poet brings up a subject by denying that it should be brought up.

Detailed Definition
Apophasis is a rhetorical strategy of mentioning something by denying it (e.g., “I won’t speak of his betrayal”), allowing the poet to introduce a subject while feigning reticence, thereby heightening its emotional or thematic impact through ironic emphasis.
Example
Example in poetry:
Shakespeare’s Mark Antony: “I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him”—then praises him; Apophasis denies while asserting, creating ironic emphasis; Modern examples: “I won’t mention his corruption…” in satirical verse; This rhetorical feint engages reader complicity; Apophasis thrives in political and confessional poetry.
Additional Notes
Rhetorical denial that emphasizes by seeming to dismiss. "I won't mention how..." Related to irony and paralipsis. Common in satirical verse.
Other Meanings of “Apophasis”
Also Known As
paralipsis praeteritio
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