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build

Craft Terms
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

Build means to make something by putting parts together; in poetry, it can suggest the gradual construction of meaning, mood, or structure.

Detailed Definition
In literal use, build refers to constructing an object, place, or form. In poetry, the term may describe how a poem develops line by line, image by image, until it becomes a complete shape. It belongs to craft terms because poems are frequently understood as constructed works with design and internal support.
Example
Example in poetry:
A poet builds an extended metaphor gradually, adding detail stanza by stanza until it carries the poem's full meaning; Epic poets build tension across many books before the climactic battle, as in Milton's "Paradise Lost"; A sonnet builds its argument through the octave before the volta shifts direction; A poet may build a poem's emotional intensity through escalating repetition, as in Ginsberg's "Howl"; Formal odes build praise incrementally, layering images of the subject's qualities; A narrative poem builds its world through accumulating sensory detail across stanzas.
Additional Notes
Build is a broadly applicable craft term describing the cumulative construction of meaning, tension, or emotion across a poem, often used in discussions of pacing and structure; instructors frequently ask students to trace how a poem builds toward its climax or volta, paying attention to the incremental addition of imagery, sound, or argument; the term is closely related to architectural metaphors in poetry criticism, and can be usefully contrasted with terms like "collapse" or "unravel," which describe the opposite trajectory of a poem's structural integrity breaking down rather than accumulating.
Also Known As
construct erect fabricate assemble make
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