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emphatic accent

Meter
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 stress placed on a syllable for rhetorical or emotional emphasis beyond regular meter

Detailed Definition
Emphatic accent denotes a deliberate stress placed on a particular syllable or word—beyond normal metrical patterns—to heighten emotional intensity, signal irony, or underscore thematic importance; this rhetorical emphasis can override expected scansion and is often used in dramatic or performative poetry to direct the listener’s attention.
Example
Example in poetry:
In scansion, marking the word “CON-tract” (noun) vs. “con-TRACT” (verb) with stress on different syllables; Emphasizing “FREE” in “free at last” for rhetorical power; Using an emphatic accent on “I” in “I will not go” to assert defiance; Stressing “NOW” in “Do it now!” to convey urgency
Additional Notes
An emphatic accent highlights a syllable for rhetorical or emotional effect beyond normal metrical stress; often used to subvert expected rhythm or underscore irony; marked in scansion with extra stress symbols or capitalization
Also Known As
stress emphasis rhetorical accent marked stress intensified syllable Grave accent (prosody) Grave accent
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