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Ironic concession

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 rhetorical strategy where the speaker appears to yield a point while actually undermining it

Detailed Definition
A sophisticated rhetorical strategy where the speaker appears to yield a point or concede ground while actually undermining the concession or strengthening their own position. Common in political or argumentative poetry, this technique requires careful handling to avoid appearing insincere. The "concession" should ultimately serve the speaker's larger argument, using tactical admission to gain strategic advantage in the poem's rhetorical development.
Example
Example in poetry:
Alexander Pope’s “An Essay on Man” uses ironic concession: “All nature is but art, unknown to thee”; Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” employs ironic concession throughout; Contemporary poet Tracy K. Smith’s “The United States Welcomes You” uses ironic concession: “We mean to be the people we mean to be”; W.H. Auden’s “The Unknown Citizen” uses ironic concession to critique bureaucracy; Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy” uses ironic concession: “I used to pray to recover you”; Ocean Vuong’s “Aubade with Burning City” uses ironic concession by setting war elegy to disco song.
Additional Notes
Sophisticated rhetorical technique requiring careful handling to avoid seeming insincere. Effective in political or argumentative poetry. The "concession" should ultimately strengthen the speaker's position.
Also Known As
Rhetorical concession Tactical yielding Strategic admission Concessio Epitrope
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