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Autotelic fragment

Concept
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 self-contained poetic excerpt valued for its own sake, not narrative function

Detailed Definition
An autotelic fragment is an incomplete poetic unit—line, phrase, or stanza—that functions as a self-contained aesthetic object, deriving meaning from internal coherence rather than narrative or syntactic completion; common in modernist and postmodern poetry, it invites contemplative rather than linear reading.
Example
Example in poetry:
Autotelic fragment in Lorine Niedecker: "Popcorn-can cover / sifter of snow"; Contemporary micro-poem: "Salt. Wind. Gone."; Mallarmé’s unfinished works embrace fragment as complete aesthetic unit; Autotelic fragments in haibun suggest wholeness through suggestion; These fragments require no context—they are self-sufficient moments
Additional Notes
Self-contained poetic fragment requiring no context. Brief, complete unit despite incomplete form. Related to autonomous couplet and aphorism. Useful for capturing single image or thought. Balance brevity with completeness.
Also Known As
Self-sufficient fragment self-contained piece autotelic shard purpose-unto-itself fragment
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