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Epigone

Constraint
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 poem that imitates or responds to a canonical predecessor, often with deference or critique.

Detailed Definition
Epigone denotes derivative composition that consciously echoes a masterwork, adhering to its style, form, or theme as homage or subversion; this constraint engages intertextuality, testing originality against tradition, and reveals how poetic lineage operates through constraint—whether reverent replication or ironic revision—within inherited aesthetic boundaries.
Example
Example in poetry:
Epigone poets imitate masters: Alexander Pope’s imitations of Horace; Chatterton’s “Rowley” forgeries mimicking medieval verse; modern “after” poems crediting influences; epigonic sonnets following Shakespeare’s model; constraint poets replicate forms then subvert them; epigones in Oulipo rework Queneau’s exercises.
Additional Notes
Epigone denotes a follower or imitator of a master. As constraint, poets write “after” a predecessor, then diverge. Students learn through emulation. It’s central to tradition and intertextuality—e.g., “After Rilke.”
Also Known As
Imitator derivative poet
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