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Attraction

Psychology
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

Force drawing one toward another person, object, or idea; magnetic pull.

Detailed Definition
Poetic attraction transcends physical desire to include intellectual, aesthetic, or spiritual allure. It appears through imagery of light, gravity, or nature's pull, and often intertwines with danger or impossibility. Poets use attraction to explore craving, idealization, and the conflict between reason and passion, making it central to love lyrics and odes to beauty or truth.
Example
Example in poetry:
Attraction in John Donne's "The Bait" explores seduction through fishing imagery; Ella Wheeler Wilcox's "Attraction" portrays the meadow and mountain gazing with desire; Philip Larkin's "Reasons for Attendance" examines attraction and detachment in a dance hall; The poem "Unexplained Attraction" compares attraction to a magnet or moth to a flame; Lord Byron's "She Walks in Beauty" captures attraction through physical and spiritual beauty; In "Like The Trains Beat," attraction is sparked by pure sound and movement.
Additional Notes
Attraction in poetry transcends physical desire to include intellectual, aesthetic, and spiritual dimensions, often rendered through imagery of light, gravity, magnetism, or nature's pull. Poets use attraction to explore the tension between reason and passion, and it frequently intertwines with danger or impossibility. In teaching, distinguish attraction from love: attraction is the initial magnetic pull, while love involves deeper commitment and vulnerability. Attraction can be a powerful driving force in narrative poems, creating momentum and conflict. Students should consider how sensory language—sight, sound, touch—conveys the visceral experience of being drawn toward someone or something.
Also Known As
Pull allure magnetism fascination charm
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