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borrowed chorus

Structure
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 refrain borrowed from another poem, song, or cultural tradition and repurposed to create intertextual resonance or communal echo.

Detailed Definition
borrowed chorus is a refrain or repeated stanza adapted from another source—folk song, hymn, advertisement, or earlier poem—and integrated into a new work to evoke cultural memory, irony, or communal resonance; this technique allows poets to dialogue with collective voices, as seen in T.S. Eliot’s use of liturgical texts or contemporary poets sampling pop lyrics.
Example
Example in poetry:
T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land” borrows chorus from Wagner’s “Götterdämmerung”; Greek tragedies use borrowed choruses for communal commentary; modern example: Suzan-Lori Parks’ “Venus” adapts minstrel chorus for postcolonial critique; borrowed chorus imports existing refrain or voice for irony or resonance; it can signal intertextuality or cultural dialogue; this technique recontextualizes familiar sounds.
Additional Notes
A line or phrase, often a refrain, that is taken from another song, poem, or source and incorporated into the current poem; Allows the poet to tap into the cultural memory or meaning associated with the original source; Related to allusion and intertextuality.
Also Known As
Borrowed refrain Quoted chorus Adopted burden
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