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Fleet composition

Meter
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

Poetry characterized by swift movement and nimble rhythmic progress

Detailed Definition
Fleet composition describes poetry characterized by rapid pacing, light meter, and syntactic agility, often using enjambment, short lines, and kinetic imagery to evoke swiftness or spontaneity; it contrasts with ponderous or heavily end-stopped verse, favoring momentum over stasis.
Example
Example in poetry:
Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” exemplifies fleet composition through its expansive, mobile cataloging of American life; C.D. Wright’s “One Big Self” uses fleet composition to move rapidly between prison inmates’ voices; In Kamau Brathwaite’s “The Arrivants,” fleet composition mirrors diasporic movement across oceans and histories; Anne Carson’s “The Glass Essay” shifts fleetly between Brontë criticism, personal grief, and landscape; Tracy K. Smith’s “Life on Mars” employs fleet composition to traverse cosmic and domestic scales; Ocean Vuong’s “Time Is a Mother” uses fleet composition to dart between memory, elegy, and queer intimacy.
Additional Notes
Fleet composition describes rapid, light poetic construction; it’s often associated with grace and agility.
Also Known As
Swift composition Quick verse Rapid poetry Fast-paced verse Cursorial verse
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