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Disheartened

Mood
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

Expressing a mood of dejection, loss of morale, or waning hope, often conveyed through subdued tone, hesitant rhythm, or resigned imagery.

Detailed Definition
Disheartened mood in poetry expresses fading resolve through slumping rhythm, dim imagery, and hesitant diction; it appears in post-failure lyrics, exile verse, or social critiques—like Hardy or Plath—where initial optimism gives way to weary realism, capturing the human cost of dashed hopes with poignant vulnerability and emotional honesty.
Example
Example in poetry:
In “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” the speaker is disheartened by his own indecision and aging (“I grow old… I grow old…”); Emily Dickinson’s “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain” traces disheartened mental collapse; In “Dover Beach,” Matthew Arnold is disheartened by the retreat of faith and joy; Sylvia Plath’s “Mirror” shows a woman disheartened by her reflection (“She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands”); In “Out, Out—,” Robert Frost’s abrupt ending leaves the reader disheartened by life’s fragility; W.H. Auden’s “Musée des Beaux Arts” subtly conveys disheartened awareness of human indifference to suffering.
Additional Notes
Disheartened mood reflects loss of courage or hope, often temporarily; signaled by hesitant phrasing, dimming imagery, or faltering rhythm; related to crestfallen and dejected moods; useful in narrative poetry showing setbacks before recovery; distinct from despairing in its potential for renewal.
Also Known As
Discouraged Demoralized Dispirited Downcast Deflated Crestfallen dismayed
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