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Concordant discord

Concept
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

The artistic principle of creating harmony through the deliberate use of conflicting elements

Detailed Definition
Concordant discord describes harmonious arrangement of contrasting or opposing elements within a poem. This paradoxical technique creates unity through diversity, where conflicting sounds, images, or ideas are balanced in ways that produce overall coherence despite internal tensions, achieving beauty through controlled opposition.
Example
Example in poetry:
Yeats's "terrible beauty" in "Easter 1916" embodies concordant discord; Donne's holy sonnets balance violence and devotion; Blake's "The Tyger" unites beauty and fear; Keats's "Ode on Melancholy" finds joy in sorrow
Additional Notes
Oxymoronic concept central to baroque and metaphysical poetry. Creates aesthetic unity through paradox. Related to Keats's concept of negative capability and ability to hold contradictions.
Also Known As
Harmonious clash Agreeing disagreement Unified opposition Consonant dissonance Discordia concors
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