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Deictic echo

Device
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 repetition of deictic words (e.g., "this," "here," "now") to create spatial or temporal resonance

Detailed Definition
A deictic echo occurs when a deictic term (e.g., “there,” “then,” “you”) reappears later in a poem with shifted referential meaning, creating layers of temporal or spatial ambiguity that challenge stable interpretation and highlight the fluidity of perspective and presence in lyrical discourse.
Example
Example in poetry:
In T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” the repeated “And indeed there will be time” creates a deictic echo of hesitation; In Sylvia Plath’s “Mirror,” “I am silver and exact… I am not cruel” uses “I” as a deictic echo reflecting identity; In Gwendolyn Brooks’s “We Real Cool,” the repeated “We” at line beginnings forms a deictic echo of collective identity; In Ocean Vuong’s “Someday I’ll Love Ocean Vuong,” the repeated “Ocean” acts as a deictic echo addressing the self.
Additional Notes
A deictic echo repeats a deictic term (e.g., “there,” “then”) to evoke shifting perspectives or temporal layers; useful for showing how meaning changes with context or memory—common in postmodern or autobiographical verse.
Also Known As
Contextual echo situational resonance referential repetition deixis shadow Indexical correspondence Referential echo
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