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Fractured prosody

Sound
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

A disrupted metrical pattern using irregular or broken rhythms to subvert the poem’s expected sonic flow and create tension.

Detailed Definition
Fractured prosody describes a deliberate breaking or destabilization of traditional metrical and rhythmic systems to mirror psychological, social, or linguistic disarray; this approach rejects regularity in favor of syncopation, irregular stress patterns, or competing cadences, creating a prosody that feels urgent, wounded, or resistant, central to modernist and postcolonial poetic strategies that challenge hegemonic forms.
Example
Example in poetry:
Fractured prosody: "Stumble-step / break-beat / no-rhyme / just-rage"; "Meter? Shattered. Rhythm? Scattered."; "Iambic? Trochaic? Who cares—just bleed"; "Syllables splinter like dropped glass"
Additional Notes
Fractured prosody deliberately breaks metrical or rhythmic expectations to mirror thematic disruption; common in war or trauma poetry—contrast with moments of regular meter for effect.
Also Known As
Broken meter Disrupted rhythm Shattered prosody Irregular versification
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