Expressive elision

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

Strategic omission that conveys intense emotion through what's left unsaid.

Detailed Definition
Expressive elision cuts to imply depths, modernist in Hemingway's icebergs, poetic in Dickinson's dashes. Poets apply it for potency, avoiding excess. This device appears to heighten suggestion, mirroring restraint. Elisions expressively amplify silence's voice.
Example
Example in poetry:
Hemingway's iceberg in poetry elides for expression; Hypothetical: Eliding climax for emotional hint; Dickinson expressive dashes; Amy Lowell expressive omissions; Minimalist poetry elides emotion.
Additional Notes
Expressive elision implies emotion, iceberg principle; omit intensely; Dickinson elides dashes; tip: for potency; professors explore minimalism.
Also Known As
Emotional omission Suggestive cut
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