Home › Glossary › Letter B

Balanced phrases

Structure
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

Phrases arranged to create symmetry in rhythm, length, or meaning

Detailed Definition
Balanced phrases refer to pairs or groups of poetic phrases that exhibit parallel grammatical construction, similar length, or mirrored meaning, creating a sense of order and harmony; this technique is common in classical and neoclassical verse, where symmetry reinforces thematic clarity and aesthetic control.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (Macbeth) uses balanced phrases to invert moral order; “To be, or not to be” (Hamlet) presents two existential options in perfectly mirrored phrasing; “Love is not love / Which alters when it alteration finds” (Shakespeare) contrasts constancy and change through balanced clauses; “Not with a bang but a whimper” (Eliot) balances contrasting endings with equal syntactic weight.
Additional Notes
Balanced phrases use parallel structure and equal weight to create rhythm and clarity; foundational in classical rhetoric and poetic forms like the epigram; enhances memorability and rhetorical force.
Also Known As
Parallel phrases Equipoised expressions Symmetrical phrasing Isocola Isocolon
Skip to main content