Home › Glossary › Letter E

Echo frequency

Concept
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

The recurrence rate of literary echoes, allusions, or references within a poem; it measures how frequently a text engages with its tradition, creating a density of intertextual dialogue.

Detailed Definition
Echo frequency refers to the rate or pattern at which repeated sounds, words, or phrases recur throughout a poem to create resonance, cohesion, or psychological depth; high echo frequency may signal obsession or ritual, while sparse echoes can suggest memory fragments or haunting absence, shaping the poem’s emotional and structural architecture.
Example
Example in poetry:
In “The Waste Land,” “HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME” repeats with rising frequency as echo frequency; Poe’s “The Raven” uses “nevermore” with increasing echo frequency; Contemporary poet M. NourbeSe Philip uses echo frequency in “Zong!” to evoke drowned voices; Echo frequency appears in ritual chants (e.g., Ginsberg’s “Kaddish”); In “Do Not Go Gentle,” Thomas increases refrain frequency for urgency.
Additional Notes
The deliberate and specific use of repetition or echoing in a poem to a consistent, high degree, making the echo a dominant structural or thematic feature; consider how the frequency affects the reader's perception of memory or insistence.
Also Known As
Echo resonance Sound echo Reverberation frequency Acoustic echo Allusional density
Skip to main content