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channel

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

Channel means to guide or direct something along a chosen course; in poetry, it can suggest the movement of thought, feeling, or imagery through a shaped form.

Detailed Definition
In literal use, channel describes a passage or route that directs flow. In poetry, it is often metaphorical, referring to the way a poet shapes experience into language or directs a poem’s energy. It fits craft language because it implies purposeful shaping and controlled movement.
Example
Example in poetry:
A river channel can serve as a controlling metaphor for the flow of memory or time in a poem; A poet may channel grief into formal structure, using strict meter to contain overwhelming emotion; In dramatic monologue, the poet channels the voice of a historical or invented persona; A poem about irrigation or drought might use channel imagery to explore control over natural resources; A poet channels ancestral voices through invocation, a common device in epic poetry; Sound can be channeled through repeated consonants to direct the reader's ear toward a key word.
Additional Notes
Channel is a versatile craft term describing both the physical guiding of water or energy and the more abstract act of directing thought, emotion, or artistic inspiration through a chosen form; in discussions of persona and voice, poets are often said to "channel" a historical figure, ancestor, or archetype, drawing a connection between poetic composition and spiritual or mediumistic practice; the term is also useful in discussions of formal constraint, since a fixed poetic form can be understood as channeling otherwise unruly emotional content into a controlled, directed course.
Also Known As
groove flute cut groove rout furrow sound canal trough
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