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coursing

Games
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

Coursing is the pursuit of game, especially hares, by hounds in a race of speed and sight.

Detailed Definition
Coursing appears in poetry as an emblem of the open chase and the pure contest of speed across the field. In literary contexts it symbolizes the natural hunt. Poets draw on the greyhounds and the hare to illustrate themes of the fleeing and the pursuing, the landscape as the course, and the ancient sport that links the eyes of the hounds to the poetry of the chase.
Example
Example in poetry:
Coursing’s sight hounds and open field appear in poems of pure speed and the natural chase; Verse of the countryside lets the greyhounds and the hare stage the oldest contest; “The coursers stretched and the hare turned like a thought changing direction” demonstrates fluid pursuit; Educational examples present the sport as the hunt conducted by eye alone; Poets use coursing when the landscape itself becomes the arena of flight and following.
Additional Notes
Coursing’s sight hounds and open-field pursuit preserve the memory of hunting conducted by speed and vision rather than by scent or gun. The sport’s elegance and cruelty remain in productive tension. Classroom discussion can usefully contrast coursing with the mounted fox hunt or the formal stag hunt. Related hounds include the greyhound and the whippet. The image works best when the landscape itself must become an active participant in the chase.
Also Known As
Coursing Hounds Hare Pursuit The Chase of the Hound
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