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Concretism

Constraint
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 poem where visual arrangement on the page forms a shape or image related to its content.

Detailed Definition
Concretism (or concrete poetry) uses typographic layout to create visual icons—like a poem about rain shaped like a drop—making form inseparable from meaning; emerging in the 1950s, this constraint treats the page as canvas, emphasizing spatiality over linearity, and challenges traditional reading by requiring visual decoding alongside verbal interpretation, foregrounding poetry’s material presence in print or digital space.
Example
Example in poetry:
Concretism (Concrete Poetry) uses visual layout as meaning: Apollinaire’s “Il Pleut” arranges words like falling rain; Eugen Gomringer’s “Silencio” repeats the word in grid form; bpNichol’s “The Cosmic Chef” shapes text as cosmic diagrams; Augusto de Campos’ color-coded typographic poems; Mary Ellen Solt’s “Forsythia” blooms visually; Ian Hamilton Finlay’s stone-carved minimalist concretism.
Additional Notes
Concretism (Concrete Poetry) treats the visual arrangement of text as integral to meaning—words shaped as objects (e.g., Apollinaire’s rain). Students should consider typography, spacing, and medium (page, stone, screen). Concretism merges poetry with visual art and design, influencing digital and performance poetry.
Also Known As
Concrete poetry visual poetry
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