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Impatience

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

A psychological state marked by agitation, restlessness, and intolerance of delay, often conveyed through urgent rhythm.

Detailed Definition
Impatience reveals desire for control or immediacy. Poetry expresses it through rushed rhythm, clipped lines, or urgent repetition, capturing the tension between longing and the slow unfolding of time or resolution.
Example
Example in poetry:
In T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” impatience simmers in “Do I dare disturb the universe?”; In Sylvia Plath’s “Ariel,” impatience propels the horseback ride toward transformation; In Emily Dickinson’s “I never saw a Moor,” impatience is absent, highlighting faith’s immediacy; In Langston Hughes’ “Harlem,” impatience threatens in “Or does it explode?”; In Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” impatience is restrained by duty; In Adrienne Rich’s “Diving into the Wreck,” impatience drives urgent exploration.
Additional Notes
Impatience—a restless desire for change—often drives narrative tension (Hughes’ “Harlem”); differs from urgency by its frustration; poets use enjambment, clipped lines, or rhetorical questions; students should consider whether impatience is productive or destructive; note its historical context: impatience with injustice fuels protest poetry.
Also Known As
Restlessness Irritability Frustration Edginess
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