Home › Glossary › Letter E

electrical verse

Form
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

Poetry characterized by intense energy, rapid transitions, or charged language

Detailed Definition
Electrical verse is poetry characterized by intense energy, rapid shifts, and dynamic tension, often using abrupt syntax, charged diction, and kinetic imagery to simulate the spark or current of thought, emotion, or revelation; it aims to shock, illuminate, or galvanize the reader.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Ginsberg’s “Howl,” electric imagery (“Moloch!”) and rapid cadence create electrical verse; In Whitman’s “Song of Myself,” “I sing the body electric” embodies electrical verse through vitality; In “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” urban flickers (“yellow smoke”) generate electrical tension; In Mina Loy’s “Love Songs,” fragmented syntax and charged diction produce electrical verse.
Additional Notes
Electrical verse: A metaphor for poetry charged with energy or intensity, suggesting sparks of meaning or rapid emotional shifts.
Also Known As
Circuit verse Electric metaphor Sparked poetry Conductivity verse
Skip to main content