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divided voice

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 poetic speaker fractured into multiple perspectives or personas

Detailed Definition
Divided voice describes a poetic persona fractured into multiple perspectives, registers, or internal conflicts, often signaled by shifts in diction, syntax, or address; it reflects modern and postmodern concerns with subjectivity, identity instability, and the multiplicity of self.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Sylvia Plath’s “Lady Lazarus,” divided voice emerges between victim and performer personas; In Gwendolyn Brooks’ “The Mother,” divided voice expresses both regret and justification for abortion; In Louise Glück’s “Gretel in Darkness,” divided voice contrasts fairy-tale innocence with adult trauma; In Ocean Vuong’s “Aubade with Burning City,” divided voice juxtaposes personal memory with historical broadcast
Additional Notes
Divided voice presents multiple perspectives or personas within a single poem, often without clear attribution; it reflects postmodern fragmentation and challenges the idea of a unified lyric “I.”
Also Known As
Polyphonic utterance Fragmented speaker Bifurcated persona divided speaker forked persona Split voice fractured persona
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