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Encircling imagery

Imagery
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

Recurring images that frame or envelop a poem, creating a sense of circularity or return

Detailed Definition
Encircling imagery introduces a central symbol or motif at a poem’s beginning and returns to it at the end, creating structural and thematic closure; this circular technique enhances unity, suggests cyclical time or unresolved emotion, and invites reflection on how the intervening lines have transformed the initial image’s meaning or emotional valence.
Example
Example in poetry:
Encircling imagery returns to an initial image at the poem’s end, as in Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”: “And miles to go before I sleep”; In “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” the fog imagery returns: “the yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes”; Another: “We began with bread and wine— / we end with crumbs and an empty glass”
Additional Notes
Encircling imagery returns to a central symbol or motif at the poem’s beginning and end, creating structural and thematic closure; enhances unity and suggests cyclical or unresolved emotional states.
Also Known As
Circular motif Framing image Cyclical symbol enclosed imagery Surrounding imagery
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