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Caporetto

Battles
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 1917 Italian collapse on the Isonzo Front during WWI, leading to massive retreat and loss.

Detailed Definition
Caporetto became synonymous with military disintegration and national trauma. In poetry—especially in Italian modernist works like those of Ungaretti—it symbolizes disillusionment, the breakdown of order, and the psychological toll of industrialized war, marking a shift from heroism to existential despair.
Example
Example in poetry:
Caporetto, Italy’s 1917 collapse, inspired Hemingway’s “A Farewell to Arms” and Italian war poetry; A modern elegy might contrast Caporetto’s Isonzo River with shattered morale; In a dramatic monologue, an Italian deserter flees through Caporetto’s fog; A sonnet could frame Caporetto as national trauma birthing modern Italy; Contemporary poets use Caporetto to explore defeat’s psychological toll; A free-verse poem might voice an Austrian soldier surprised by his own victory.
Additional Notes
Caporetto (1917) was a catastrophic Italian collapse that entered national consciousness as a symbol of institutional failure; in Italian poetry (e.g., by Ungaretti), it represents trauma, disintegration, and the search for meaning amid chaos.
Also Known As
Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo
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