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Diamond

Gemstones
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 crystalline form of carbon renowned for its brilliance and hardness, often symbolizing purity and endurance.

Detailed Definition
In poetry, the diamond frequently represents unbreakable love, eternal truth, or inner clarity due to its unmatched hardness and radiant sparkle. Its association with wealth and rarity also lends it metaphorical weight in verses exploring desire, value, or the sublime. Poets from Shakespeare to modern lyricists invoke diamonds to convey resilience, incorruptibility, or the paradox of beauty forged under pressure.
Example
Example in poetry:
Shakespeare’s “All that glisters is not gold” contrasts diamond’s true worth with false glitter; Donne uses diamond to symbolize unbreakable marital love; modern poets write, “Her resolve was diamond—cut by pressure, clear in purpose”; in Romantic verse, diamond represents the sublime’s cold beauty; eco-poetry critiques blood diamonds, using the gem to explore ethical cost; its hardness makes it a universal metaphor for endurance.
Additional Notes
Diamond, the hardest natural material, symbolizes invincibility, eternal love, and clarity; formed under extreme pressure, it’s a potent metaphor for transformation through suffering—its refractive brilliance also represents truth, revelation, or the multifaceted nature of perception in poetic imagery.
Also Known As
Lozenge
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