Final exclamation

Structure
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

An emphatic statement or outcry placed at the end of a poem for dramatic effect.

Detailed Definition
A concluding line or passage using exclamation for emphasis, emotional release, or climactic effect. Keats's "Beauty is truth, truth beauty!" ending "Ode on a Grecian Urn" exemplifies final exclamation's power to create memorable, emphatic closure. The exclamation mark signals heightened emotion or emphasis, though overuse risks appearing melodramatic or forced. More common in Romantic and Victorian poetry than contemporary verse where subtlety often prevails. When effectively deployed, final exclamation provides satisfying emotional climax, crystallizing poem's energy in terminal outburst that resonates beyond reading.
Example
Example in poetry:
The concluding "O!" or exclamatory final line; Keats ending "Ode on a Grecian Urn" with "Beauty is truth, truth beauty"; Terminal lines using exclamation for emphasis; Poems closing with emotional outcry
Additional Notes
A concluding line using exclamation for emphasis or emotional release. Keats's "Beauty is truth, truth beauty!" ends "Ode on a Grecian Urn" with final exclamation. Creates emotional climax or emphatic closure. Can feel natural or forced depending on execution. More common in Romantic and Victorian poetry than modern verse.
Also Known As
terminal exclamation closing outcry final emphatic line concluding ejaculation Epiphonema
Skip to main content