Home › Glossary › Letter D

Dynamic catalog

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

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 list that transforms in tone, focus, or intensity as it progresses, moving beyond mere enumeration to narrative or emotional development.

Detailed Definition
Dynamic catalog is a poetic list that evolves thematically or emotionally as it progresses, rather than remaining static; each item builds upon the last to create narrative momentum, psychological depth, or conceptual transformation, as in Ginsberg’s “Howl.”
Example
Example in poetry:
Dynamic catalog: Whitman’s “I Sing the Body Electric” lists body parts and human types in motion: “The fireman with his axe, the farmer in his field”—a living, evolving inventory.
Additional Notes
Dynamic catalog updates or transforms its listed items as the poem progresses, unlike static lists; it creates narrative or emotional momentum through accumulation, variation, or escalation (e.g., Ginsberg’s “Howl”).
Also Known As
Active list poem Energetic inventory Vital enumeration Kinetic catalog Energetic catalog
Skip to main content