Home › Glossary › Letter E

Enjambed Delivery

Performance
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

A way of reading run-on lines without automatically pausing at line breaks. It follows syntax and momentum across the verse.

Detailed Definition
Enjambed delivery respects the movement of a sentence across line endings. Rather than stopping wherever the printed line ends, the performer carries the voice forward until punctuation, grammar, or intended emphasis calls for a pause. This approach helps listeners hear tension between line and sentence, especially in free verse. It can create speed, suspense, surprise, or a feeling of thought continuing beyond formal boundaries.
Example
Example in poetry:
A performer carries their voice across the line break in William Carlos Williams’s “so much depends / upon,” avoiding a full stop after “depends”; When reading “The Red Wheelbarrow,” the poet lets each enjambed line lead naturally into the next rather than pausing mechanically; A student reads an enjambed sentence quickly through the line break, then slows at the punctuation that completes the thought; In a poem with a surprising final word on the next line, the performer delays emphasis until that word arrives
Additional Notes
Enjambed delivery means reading across a line break when grammar, syntax, or sense continues into the next line. The line ending still matters: it may create a brief pressure, double meaning, or suspended expectation before the sentence moves on. Contrast end-stopped lines, where punctuation or completed syntax encourages a fuller pause. Mark verbs, modifiers, and clauses during rehearsal, then test brief line-end lifts without inserting a pause that breaks the thought.
Also Known As
Enjambment Run-On Line Overflowing Syntax Line-Break Continuation
Skip to main content