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Circumlocutory verse

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

Poetry that achieves its effects through deliberate indirection and periphrasis

Detailed Definition
Circumlocutory verse employs deliberate verbal indirection, using elaborate phrasing, digression, or euphemism to approach a subject obliquely; it often conveys taboo, uncertainty, or reverence by circling around meaning rather than stating it directly, enhancing mystery and rhetorical texture.
Example
Example in poetry:
Circumlocutory verse: Poetry that deliberately avoids direct statement—e.g., in John Ashbery’s “Paradoxes and Oxymorons,” meaning is approached indirectly: “This poem is concerned with language on a very plain level.”
Additional Notes
Circumlocutory verse uses indirect, roundabout language to delay or soften meaning; often for irony, politeness, or to mimic thought processes.
Also Known As
Roundabout verse indirect poetry circuitous language periphrastic verse
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