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Exornation

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

The use of ornamental language—such as epithets, similes, or hyperbole—to amplify and embellish a poetic subject for rhetorical effect.

Detailed Definition
Exornation refers to ornamental or decorative language in poetry—metaphors, epithets, rhetorical flourishes—used to embellish meaning and delight the ear; it encompasses all figures of speech that enhance aesthetic rather than purely convey information.
Example
Example in poetry:
Exornation uses ornamental or decorative language: Spenser’s “The Faerie Queene” with archaic diction; Keats’ “Ode to a Nightingale” (“beaded bubbles winking at the brim”); Victorian poets like Tennyson employ lavish imagery; contemporary examples include A.E. Stallings’ mythological allusions; Hart Crane’s “The Bridge” uses baroque syntax for urban grandeur.
Additional Notes
Rhetorical ornament or embellishment. "Decoration" literally. Classical rhetorical term. Related: figures of speech, ornamentation. Study: when decoration enhances vs. distracts.
Also Known As
Ornamentation Embellishment Decorative addition Stylistic enhancement
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