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Borrowed line

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 line taken from another text and incorporated into a new poem, often as homage, allusion, or critique

Detailed Definition
A borrowed line is a deliberate incorporation of a phrase or verse from another poet’s work into a new poem, used not as plagiarism but as intertextual homage, critique, or dialogue; this technique situates the new work within a literary lineage, inviting readers to compare contexts and meanings, as seen in T.S. Eliot’s allusions or contemporary poets quoting historical texts to reframe legacy or memory.
Example
Example in poetry:
T.S. Eliot borrowing from Dante in “The Waste Land”: “I had not thought death had undone so many”; Robert Frost quoting the Bible in “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”: “And miles to go before I sleep”; Sylvia Plath referencing Shakespeare in “Daddy”: “I think I may well be a Jew”; W.H. Auden quoting nursery rhymes in “Musée des Beaux Arts”: “About suffering they were never wrong, / The Old Masters”
Additional Notes
A borrowed line is a deliberate quotation or adaptation of a phrase from another poet’s work, used to evoke intertextuality, homage, or contrast; always acknowledge sources to avoid plagiarism while leveraging poetic conversation.
Also Known As
Quoted Line Adopted Verse Intertextual Borrowing Echoed Phrase Interpolated line stolen line
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