Home › Glossary › Letter C

chemise

Apparel
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

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 loose-fitting undergarment worn next to the skin, typically of linen or cotton, functioning in poetry as a marker of intimacy, vulnerability, or the hidden layers beneath public attire.

Detailed Definition
The chemise belongs to the private realm of the bedchamber and the dressing room, and its appearance in poetry almost always signals a moment of unguarded truth or sensuous immediacy. In love sonnets and erotic verse, the chemise is the garment that falls away first, its thin fabric barely concealing the warmth of the body beneath. Beyond eroticism, the chemise also appears in scenes of illness or convalescence, where the speaker is stripped of social pretension and reduced to bodily weakness. Its dampness can indicate fever, tears, or sweat from labor, connecting it to the physical realities of life that more formal garments obscure. Poets of the 19th century sometimes used the chemise to evoke a nostalgic, prelapsarian innocence, particularly in pastoral settings where simple linen garments suggest a closer communion with nature.
Example
Example in poetry:
"A dozen girls' chemises drying on a line, floral lace at the breast like rose windows in a Gothic cathedral" (Jaroslav Seifert, "Dance of Girls' Chemises"); "She wrote with her eyes and painted with her movements... her wisp of pink sent invitations" (Paul Vincent Cannon, "Chemise Me"); "Of the chemise cover her body. Dress! Stop not, sitting upon the bed's hard edge"; "The chemise's thin cotton held the heat of her skin like a secret"; "She stepped out of her chemise and into the river's cold embrace"; "The laundered chemises fluttered like ghosts on the morning line"
Additional Notes
The chemise belongs to the private realm of the bedchamber and the dressing room, and its appearance in poetry almost always signals a moment of unguarded truth or sensuous immediacy. In love sonnets and erotic verse, the chemise is the garment that falls away first, its thin fabric barely concealing the warmth of the body beneath, making it a powerful vehicle for themes of desire and intimacy. Beyond eroticism, the chemise appears in scenes of illness or convalescence, where the speaker is stripped of social pretension and reduced to bodily weakness. Its dampness can indicate fever, tears, or sweat from labor, connecting it to the physical realities of life. Poets of the 19th century sometimes used the chemise to evoke nostalgic, prelapsarian innocence, particularly in pastoral settings where simple linen garments suggest a closer communion with nature. Related terms include slip, camisole, and shift. Students should consider the chemise's role in marking the boundary between public and private, dressed and undressed, propriety and vulnerability.
Also Known As
undergarment shift linen tunic Sark
Skip to main content