experimental statement

Concept
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 poetic declaration announcing innovative techniques, forms, or philosophies within a literary movement.

Detailed Definition
An experimental statement in poetry is a declarative line or section that functions as both content and formal manifesto, articulating the poem’s aesthetic or philosophical stance through its very construction; such statements often blur the line between theory and practice, embedding critique within creative execution.
Example
Example in poetry:
Experimental statement appears in Gertrude Stein’s “Tender Buttons”: “A carafe, that is a blind glass”; In e.e. cummings’ typographical innovations; In bpNichol’s “The Alphabet”; In Claudia Rankine’s “Citizen,” blending prose, image, and lyric; Contemporary poet M. NourbeSe Philip’s “Zong!” uses legal text as experimental poetry.
Additional Notes
A piece of poetry that self-consciously functions as a declaration of intent, a manifesto, or a theoretical position about the nature or future of poetry itself; common in avant-garde movements.
Also Known As
Innovative statement Poetic trial statement Experimental assertion Avant-garde manifesto
Skip to main content