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Enjambed metaphor

Device
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 metaphor that continues across a line break without pause, enhancing fluidity or surprise

Detailed Definition
An enjambed metaphor is a figurative comparison that spans line breaks without syntactic pause, allowing the image to unfold dynamically across lines; this technique sustains tension and momentum, as in “Her voice / a river carving stone,” where the metaphor completes only after the enjambment.
Example
Example in poetry:
In “The Waste Land,” T.S. Eliot writes: “I will show you fear in a handful of dust”—an enjambed metaphor continuing across lines; Sylvia Plath’s “Lady Lazarus” uses enjambed metaphor: “I am your opus, / I am your valuable”; John Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” contains enjambed metaphor: “Our two souls therefore, which are one, / Though I must go”; Emily Dickinson’s “Hope is the thing with feathers” uses enjambed metaphor across stanzas.
Additional Notes
An enjambed metaphor continues across line breaks without pause, creating tension and fluidity; forces readers to move quickly while sustaining a single image or idea; enhances dramatic effect and mimics thought processes; common in free verse and dramatic monologues.
Also Known As
Run-on metaphor Continuous simile Enjambed image Flowing figurative phrase Figurative run-on Metaphorical enjambment
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