Home › Glossary › Letter I

Imagism (UK/US)

Movement
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

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

Early 20th-century movement advocating precise imagery and free verse

Detailed Definition
Imagism (c.1912–1917) was an Anglo-American movement led by Ezra Pound, H.D., and Amy Lowell that championed precise, concrete imagery, free verse, and economy of language; rejecting Victorian abstraction, it sought to present “the thing itself” through sharp visual focus and musical phrasing.
Example
Example in poetry:
Imagism (UK/US): Distinct transatlantic strands; UK: F.S. Flint’s “London”: “The river’s voice is low to-day”; US: Amy Lowell’s “Generations”: “You are like the rain…” — both prioritize concrete imagery.
Additional Notes
Early 20th-century movement: clear images, free verse, economy. Pound, H.D., Lowell. "Direct treatment of the thing." Related: modernism, free verse. Study: manifestos—clarity and precision.
Also Known As
Anglo-American modernism Clear image movement Pound-Aldington school Precise picture poetry
Skip to main content