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Indexical pattern

Device
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 recurring use of indexical language that points to context-dependent elements like time, place, or speaker

Detailed Definition
An indexical pattern is a recurring structural or linguistic feature in a poem—such as repeated deictic terms, spatial markers, or temporal shifts—that points directly to the context of utterance, grounding abstract themes in the embodied, situated experience of the speaking voice.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Frank O’Hara’s “A Step Away from Them,” “It’s my lunch hour… / and I go… / and I buy…” uses indexical pattern of time and place; In Claudia Rankine’s “Citizen,” repeated “you” creates an indexical pattern of address; In William Carlos Williams’s “This Is Just To Say,” “I have eaten / the plums / that were in / the icebox” relies on indexical pattern of possession and location; In Ocean Vuong’s “Someday I’ll Love Ocean Vuong,” “Ocean, don’t be afraid” uses indexical naming pattern.
Additional Notes
An indexical pattern uses signs that point directly to their context (e.g., “this hand,” “today”) to create immediacy; differs from symbolic or iconic language by its reliance on situational reference.
Also Known As
Deictic pattern contextual marker sequence situational sign array referential design Indexical correspondence Pointing rhyme
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