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Dissolved metaphor

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

A metaphor that fades or transforms gradually throughout a poem, evolving its meaning with each recurrence; it resists a single fixed interpretation, unfolding dynamically as the poem progresses.

Detailed Definition
Dissolved metaphor is a figurative expression in which the comparison between tenor and vehicle becomes so diffuse or abstract that the metaphorical link nearly vanishes, leaving an evocative but elusive image; it often appears in late modernist or surrealist poetry to suggest ineffability or psychological ambiguity.
Example
Example in poetry:
Metaphor that loses coherence: “Her mind was a shattered mirror reflecting nothing”; “Love is a broken compass spinning north”; Postmodern: metaphors that collapse under scrutiny; Example: Ashbery’s intentionally frayed comparisons
Additional Notes
Metaphor that loses its figurative quality through overuse or fading. Becomes literal expression. Related to dead metaphor and catachresis. Study linguistic change and semantic drift.
Also Known As
fading metaphor evolving comparison
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