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End-stopped pair

Form
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

Two lines ending with punctuation that completes a thought, usually forming a couplet

Detailed Definition
An end-stopped pair describes two consecutive lines in which each ends with a punctuation mark, signaling a pause in rhythm and a closure in thought. This technique creates distinct, self-contained units of meaning, enhancing clarity or emphasizing contrasts between ideas. Common in heroic couplets, it solidifies structural discipline.
Example
Example in poetry:
Alexander Pope’s couplet: “To err is human; to forgive, divine.”—each line end-stopped with syntactic closure; John Dryden’s “Absalom and Achitophel”: “Great wits are sure to madness near allied, / And thin partitions do their bounds divide.”—balanced and end-stopped; Emily Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for Death” uses end-stopped pairs to pace the journey; Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” closes quatrains with end-stopped pairs for meditative rhythm; Gwendolyn Brooks’s “The Mother” uses end-stopped pairs to control emotional revelation; Lucille Clifton’s “homage to my hips” employs end-stopped pairs for declarative power.
Additional Notes
End-stopped pair|form|End-stopped pairs deliver clear, authoritative statements punctuating rhythm decisively. Opposite of enjambment; usage: employ for emphasis or closure; study in epigrams or sonnet volta for structural power.
Also Known As
Closed couplet Punctuated pair End-stopped lines End-stopped verse pair Heroic couplet
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