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gossamer correspondence

Rhyme
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 rhyme relationship so subtle or faint—through assonance, consonance, or near-sound—that it feels ethereal, delicate, or barely there.

Detailed Definition
Gossamer correspondence is a poetic technique using delicate, almost imperceptible links—through sound, image, or etymology—between distant words or stanzas to create a web of subtle associations; it evokes fragility, intimacy, and the ephemeral nature of connection.
Example
Example in poetry:
Gossamer correspondence uses delicate, almost invisible connections between images: Bashō’s linked verse: “Clouds— / a wild duck’s cry”; Contemporary example: “She folds the letter— / outside, a moth folds its wings”; In Jorie Graham: “The light touches the page— / my hand moves— / the river moves”; Such poetry relies on suggestion over statement; It creates networks of resonance through minimalism; Often appears in haibun or prose-poem hybrids.
Additional Notes
gossamer correspondence: A descriptive term for a connection or thematic link in a poem that is very subtle, delicate, or fragile, requiring close reading to perceive; the opposite of an overt structural link.
Also Known As
delicate correspondence fragile harmony airy relation gossamer link Cobweb rhyme
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