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Catathesis

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

The placement of a weaker element after a stronger one for emphasis or rhythm.

Detailed Definition
Catathesis is a rhetorical descent from the elevated to the mundane or trivial within a single passage, often for ironic or satirical effect; in poetry, it can undercut grandiosity with bathos, as in Alexander Pope’s mock-epic “The Rape of the Lock,” where cosmic machinery resolves a petty social squabble, exposing the absurdity of disproportionate responses.
Example
Example in poetry:
Catathesis in Shakespeare’s "Macbeth": "Out, out, brief candle!"; Modern example: "All glory fades—dust, dust, dust"; Catathesis uses descending imagery for emotional collapse; The technique conveys despair through deflation; Catathesis contrasts with anabasis (ascent)
Additional Notes
Rhetorical arrangement positioning key word at end of clause. Related to periodic syntax in verse. Creates emphasis through delayed revelation.
Also Known As
inversion hyperbaton variant
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