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hark

Archaic Terms
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

Listen! (used to call attention to a sound)—an interjection urging auditory focus, common in dramatic or lyrical openings.

Detailed Definition
“Hark” commands auditory focus, common in dramatic or lyrical openings. In poetry, it introduces omens, music, or nature’s voice. The monosyllable’s sharpness cuts through silence, creating immediacy. Poets use it to shift perspective inward or outward, marking moments of revelation, warning, or aesthetic arrest in narrative and meditative verse.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Hark! The lark sings at heaven’s gate,” begins a dawn lyric; In Shakespeare’s “Cymbeline”: “Hark! hark! the lark at heaven’s gate sings”; “Hark to the wind’s lament in the eaves,” a gothic invocation; Milton’s “L’Allegro”: “Hence, loathed melancholy... / Hark how the jolly hours lead on the flowery year!”; “Hark, stranger—beware the well at midnight,” warns a folk ballad; Hark! The bells of evensong call the weary home.
Additional Notes
“Hark” is an imperative call to auditory attention, common in dramatic openings (“Hark! The lark”) or ghost scenes; it creates immediacy and suspense, drawing listeners—and readers—into a shared moment of revelation.
Also Known As
listen attend heed
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