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Gap-based

Structure
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 poetic structure that uses omissions, silences, or white space as meaningful elements

Detailed Definition
Gap-based poetry relies on omissions, silences, or white space as essential compositional elements, where meaning emerges as much from what is absent as from what is stated; these gaps may represent trauma, ineffability, or editorial erasure, inviting readers to actively participate in constructing significance through inference and imagination.
Example
Example in poetry:
Paul Celan’s “Todesfuge” uses gaps between stanzas to signify unspeakable trauma; M. NourbeSe Philip’s “Zong!” uses typographical gaps to represent lost voices; Susan Howe’s “Thorow” uses white space as historical silence; Anne Carson’s “Nox” uses gaps in scrapbook form to mourn her brother.
Additional Notes
Gap-based poetry uses white space, fragmentation, or omission to signify absence, trauma, or silence; central to postmodern and experimental verse; students should consider what the gaps withhold and how they invite reader participation.
Also Known As
Fragmented verse Silence-structured poetry Omission-based form White-space poetry Intervallic
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