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art

Archaic Terms
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 second-person singular present tense of "to be," used with "thou" as in "thou art," distinguishing intimate or informal address from formal "you are."

Detailed Definition
“Art” is the archaic present indicative of “be” used with “thou.” It appears ubiquitously in Early Modern poetry and scripture, preserving intimate or confrontational address. Its use signals direct emotional engagement—love, accusation, or divine communion. Poets retained it for metrical consistency and to evoke historical or spiritual authority. Even after “you” replaced “thou,” “art” persisted in hymns and lyrical traditions for its solemn, personal tone.
Example
Example in poetry:
"Thou art more lovely and more temperate," begins Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18; In Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus: "This word ‘damnation’ terrifies not him, / For art thou not immortal, Faustus?" (addressing himself); "Art thou the voice I heard in dreams?" asks the mystic poet; Milton’s Adam says to Eve: "Art thou then my helpmate?" ; "Where art thou, O my soul’s delight?" cries the Petrarchan lover; Art thou come at last, spring’s gentle herald?
Additional Notes
“Art” is the archaic second-person singular present of “to be,” used with “thou”; essential for reading Early Modern poetry (e.g., “Thou art more lovely…”), it preserves subject-verb agreement crucial for scansion and emotional intimacy in lyric address.
Also Known As
are (archaic second-person singular of "to be") virtu
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