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ire

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

Intense anger or wrath—often personified or elevated in heroic, tragic, or biblical poetic contexts.

Detailed Definition
“Ire” elevates “anger” to classical register, common in epic and tragic poetry. It implies divine or heroic fury—Juno’s ire. The term’s brevity suits metrical intensity. Poets use it to mark moments of cosmic or personal rupture, where wrath drives plot or reveals character, reinforcing themes of justice, pride, and retribution.
Example
Example in poetry:
“The ire of heaven struck the city,” in a prophetic poem; In Milton: “Divine ire, which in his face / Blazed forth”; “Her ire was swift, but just,” a character defense; Shakespeare’s King Lear: “Thou art a soul in bliss; but I am bound / Upon a wheel of fire, that mine own tears / Do scald like molten lead”—expressing ire turned inward; “Ire unspoken poisons the heart”; The dragon’s ire lit the sky with flame.
Additional Notes
“Ire” elevates anger to mythic scale—think Homeric wrath; in heroic or prophetic poetry, divine or kingly “ire” triggers plagues or wars, framing rage as a cosmic force rather than personal emotion.
Also Known As
anger wrath fury Rage
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