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Identity

Psychology
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

Sense of self, including roles, values, and continuity over time.

Detailed Definition
Identity is fluid and socially constructed. Poetry interrogates it through persona, shifting pronouns, or cultural references, exploring fragmentation, hybridity, or the search for authenticity in a complex world.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Sylvia Plath’s “Lady Lazarus,” identity is performative and fragmented; In Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself,” identity expands to include all; In Langston Hughes’ “Theme for English B,” identity negotiates race, education, and belonging; In Ocean Vuong’s “Someday I’ll Love Ocean Vuong,” identity weaves Vietnamese heritage and queerness; In Adrienne Rich’s “Diving into the Wreck,” identity is reconstructed from submerged truths; In Emily Dickinson’s “I’m Nobody! Who are you?”, identity resists public definition.
Additional Notes
Identity—the sense of self—is fluid in contemporary poetry (Vuong, Rich); shaped by race, gender, sexuality, and history; poetic techniques include code-switching, fragmented narrative, or mythic allusion; students should distinguish between essentialist and constructed identity; note the role of naming: “I am” statements assert identity against erasure.
Also Known As
Selfhood Self-concept Individuality Personal identity
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