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Catoptric poem

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 poem structured with mirror symmetry, where lines, stanzas, or phrases reflect or reverse each other to create visual or conceptual doubling.

Detailed Definition
A catoptric poem uses mirror imagery, reflective surfaces, or structural reversals to explore duality, identity, or illusion; it may employ palindromic lines, chiastic patterns, or thematic inversions to evoke the distortions and truths of reflection.
Example
Example in poetry:
Catoptric poem: George Herbert’s “Easter Wings,” shaped like wings and meant to be read in a mirror for symmetry; A poem that reverses its lines mid-text to create mirror imagery; Contemporary catoptric: “Step on no pets” palindrome structure with thematic reflection; Poems using mirrored stanzas to explore duality of self
Additional Notes
Poem using mirror imagery or reflection as structural principle, often creating palindromic or reversible effects. From Greek katoptron (mirror). Related to carmen figuratum and visual poetry traditions.
Also Known As
mirror poem reflected verse
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