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Character list

Structure
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 structural device listing the characters, speakers, or personae who appear or are addressed within a poetic work.

Detailed Definition
Character list: An enumeration or catalog of personas, speakers, or figures who appear or speak within a poem, presented either explicitly as a formal list or implicitly through the poem's structure. This device helps organize multi-voiced poems and clarifies which characters participate in the poetic narrative or dialogue.
Example
Example in poetry:
A poem beginning "Speakers: The Mother, The Child, The Wind, Death"; verse collections identifying various personas adopted by the poet; dramatic sequences with named characters throughout; anthology poems with speaker attributions listed
Additional Notes
Similar to cast of characters but may also refer to the personas a single poet adopts across a collection; helps distinguish between biographical poet and poetic speakers; important for understanding dramatic and narrative verse
Also Known As
Persona catalog Speaker inventory Dramatic roll Dramatis Personae
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