Home › Glossary › Letter F

Figural poetry

Genre
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 visual poetry genre where the typographical layout mimics the shape of an object or concept depicted in the poem.

Detailed Definition
Figural poetry uses typographical arrangement, visual design, or spatial layout to embody or reinforce its thematic content—such as a poem about a tree shaped like a tree—extending beyond concrete poetry by integrating symbolic form with linguistic meaning to create multi-sensory, semiotic experiences that demand both reading and viewing.
Example
Example in poetry:
Figural poetry: George Herbert’s “The Altar” shaped like its subject; Apollinaire’s calligrammes where text forms objects; Contemporary digital poetry uses animation to make words move like birds; A poem about a tree whose lines branch visually; Figural poetry merges visual art and literary meaning.
Additional Notes
Poetry shaped to represent subject visually. Shape poem, pattern poem. Ancient tradition—Greek altar poems. Related: concrete poetry, visual verse, calligrams. Study: relationship between shape and meaning.
Also Known As
Shape poetry Visual verse Pattern poem Concrete composition
Skip to main content