Home › Glossary › Letter A

atmospheric perspective

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

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 technique in poetry evoking depth by gradations of tone and imagery like visual art

Detailed Definition
Atmospheric perspective in poetry refers to the use of descriptive techniques that convey depth, distance, or spatial recession through shifts in clarity, color, or detail—akin to visual art—often to evoke emotional remoteness, memory’s haze, or the sublime vastness of landscape or time.
Example
Example in poetry:
In “Tintern Abbey,” Wordsworth uses atmospheric perspective to layer memory and landscape; Chinese shanshui poetry employs it to suggest infinite space through mist and distance; Atmospheric perspective creates depth through tonal gradation; Modern ekphrastic poems use it to describe visual art’s spatial illusion; It merges physical and emotional landscapes.
Additional Notes
atmospheric perspective is a visual art term applied to poetry, where distance is suggested by haziness, pale colors, or less detail; metaphorically, it can apply to memory or understanding that is distant or vague.
Also Known As
aerial depth poetic distance fading perspective horizon shading
Skip to main content