Home › Glossary › Letter C

Contrasting figure

Device
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 rhetorical figure that juxtaposes contrasting elements—light/dark, life/death—to sharpen meaning, evoke emotion, or underscore tension.

Detailed Definition
A contrasting figure is a poetic image or character explicitly positioned against another to highlight differences in quality, belief, or fate; this rhetorical strategy deepens thematic exploration by framing oppositions that illuminate complexity, conflict, or transformation within the poem.
Example
Example in poetry:
Oxymoron like “bittersweet” as contrasting figure; Paradox like “sweet sorrow”; Juxtaposed images in metaphysical poetry; Antithesis in rhetorical poetry.
Additional Notes
Contrasting figure|A rhetorical device, such as antithesis or oxymoron, that deliberately places two opposing or unlike things in close proximity within a line or phrase; key to creating tension.
Also Known As
Antithetical figure Rhetorical contrast Contrasting trope Antitype
Skip to main content