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Compassion

Psychology
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

Deep awareness of another’s suffering coupled with a desire to alleviate it.

Detailed Definition
Compassion involves empathetic concern and moral action. In poetry, it appears as a redemptive force—through tender imagery, inclusive pronouns, or narratives of shared humanity—offering solace and challenging indifference in the face of pain or injustice.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Mary Oliver’s “Wild Geese,” compassion is offered gently: “You do not have to be good… You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves”; In Naomi Shihab Nye’s “Kindness,” compassion is framed as essential wisdom born from loss; In Wendell Berry’s “The Peace of Wild Things,” compassion arises from shared vulnerability with nature; In Lucille Clifton’s “blessing the boats,” compassion flows as a prayer for safe passage; In Warsan Shire’s “For Women Who Are ‘Difficult’ to Love,” compassion reclaims self-worth; In Robert Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays,” compassion emerges belatedly toward a father’s unacknowledged labor.
Additional Notes
Compassion—empathy in action—differs from pity by its horizontal (not hierarchical) stance; in poetry, it often appears as direct address (“you”) or shared vulnerability (Oliver, Nye); rooted in Buddhist and humanist ethics, it counters alienation; poets use plain diction, inclusive pronouns, or gentle imperatives to convey it; for analysis, consider whether compassion is offered, withheld, or complicated by power dynamics; note its link to social justice poetics.
Also Known As
Empathic concern Sympathetic concern Benevolence Mercy Sympathy Karuna Pitty Pity Tenderness ruth
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