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Halting pause

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 deliberate, jarring pause within a line or stanza that disrupts flow to emphasize tension, hesitation, or emotional rupture.

Detailed Definition
Halting pause refers to a deliberate break in rhythm or syntax—marked by caesura, punctuation, or lineation—that mimics hesitation, breathlessness, or emotional restraint; it disrupts flow to emphasize vulnerability, doubt, or awe, and is frequently used in confessional or dramatic monologues where the speaker’s voice falters under the weight of difficult truths or overwhelming feeling.
Example
Example in poetry:
In T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” halting pause appears: “Do I dare / Disturb the universe?”; In Sylvia Plath’s “Lady Lazarus,” halting pause mirrors bodily trauma: “A sort of walking miracle, my skin”; In Emily Dickinson, dashes create halting pause: “I heard a Fly buzz—when I died—”; In Gwendolyn Brooks’ “We Real Cool,” halting pause mimics jazz syncopation: “We / Left school”; In Ocean Vuong’s “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous,” halting pause echoes immigrant syntax; In Claudia Rankine’s “Citizen,” halting pause isolates microaggressions.
Additional Notes
A distinct, deliberate break in the rhythmic flow of a line, used for emphasis or emotional weight; more pronounced than a standard metrical pause (caesura) and often coincides with a point of tension or reflection.
Also Known As
broken pause hesitant pause halting stop faltering caesura Arrestive caesura
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