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Backward-referring

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 in which a word or element refers back to something earlier in the text.

Detailed Definition
Backward-referring describes linguistic elements—pronouns, images, or motifs—that point back to previously established content within the poem, ensuring cohesion and layered meaning; this technique anchors new information in prior context, guiding the reader through a web of internal allusion and associative logic.
Example
Example in poetry:
Using backward reference to tie to earlier lines: “this” referring back to the storm described before; A poem repeating “such” or “these” to recall earlier imagery; Use of “that” to echo past action; Pronouns linking to earlier verses
Additional Notes
Backward-referring is an adjective describing a word or phrase that points back to a previous part of the text; synonymous with anaphoric in a grammatical sense.
Also Known As
retro-reference backward pointing reversed allusion inverse referring Anaphoric
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