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guttering

Verb
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

Burning or shining weakly and unevenly. In the poem, it describes a dying, flickering motion.

Detailed Definition
Here the word suggests a flame-like, failing movement, as if the soldier’s life is being extinguished in fits and starts. Owen uses it to make the death scene feel physical and immediate, linking breath, fire, and light in one disturbing image.
Example
Example in poetry:
“He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning” uses guttering for a flame sputtering as it dies; “The candle guttered in the draft” is the term’s central physical image; “Her voice guttered out beneath the sirens” extends it metaphorically to failing speech; “A guttering lamp kept watch over the ward” creates a tense, low-light atmosphere
Additional Notes
In the line quoted, 'guttering' is an unusual verb in modern reading and is used in a specialized, vivid sense of flickering out.; Found in the poem, Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen
Also Known As
flickering sputtering wavering dimming
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