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Gravity

Science
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

The fundamental physical force attracting masses toward one another; used metaphorically in poetry for inescapable pull or weight.

Detailed Definition
Gravity is one of poetry's most flexible scientific terms because it names both physical attraction and emotional seriousness. It governs falling bodies, planetary orbits, and the weight felt by anyone standing on Earth. A poet may use gravity to portray devotion, mourning, desire, or the pull of home. Its invisible force can make a metaphor feel inevitable, while its resistance to flight gives poems a language for burden, restraint, and earthly belonging.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Gravity keeps the moon in orbit and rain falling toward the ground” can anchor a poem in ordinary physical law; A poet might write, “Grief had gravity: every thought returned to it,” using the force as emotional recurrence; “Gravity gathered the apples from their branches” turns a scientific force into autumnal action; In a love poem, “Across the room, your gravity altered my course” uses attraction without claiming literal physics
Additional Notes
Gravity governs falling objects, planetary orbits, and galaxies; its pull depends on mass and the distance between objects.
Also Known As
Gravitation solemnity
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