Home › Glossary › Letter B

Baroque

Movement
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

17th-century poetic style marked by extravagance, contrast, and emotional intensity

Detailed Definition
Baroque poetry is characterized by elaborate conceits, dramatic contrasts, ornate diction, and emotional intensity, emerging in 17th-century Europe as a reaction to Renaissance balance; it emphasizes movement, tension, and sensory richness, as seen in the works of John Donne or Luis de Góngora.
Example
Example in poetry:
Baroque poetry uses elaborate conceits, dramatic contrasts, and ornate language; example: John Donne’s “The Flea”: “Mark but this flea, and mark in this, / How little that which thou deny’st me is.”
Additional Notes
Artistic period (1600-1750) characterized by ornate complexity, dramatic contrasts, emotional intensity. Literature: conceits, paradox, elaborate metaphor. Poets: Donne, Herbert, Góngora. Related to metaphysical poetry and Gongorism. Study period conventions.
Other Meanings of “Baroque”
Also Known As
Ornate style elaborate aesthetic decorative period highly embellished art
Skip to main content