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Ironist's turn

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 pivotal moment in a poem where irony emerges through reversal of expectation, tone, or meaning, often signaling deeper critique.

Detailed Definition
Ironist's turn is a pivotal moment in a poem where the speaker reveals a gap between stated meaning and implied critique, often through understatement, hyperbole, or feigned naivety; this rhetorical swerve exposes hypocrisy, folly, or contradiction, functioning as the poem’s ethical or intellectual hinge, as in the closing lines of many satirical or postmodern lyrics where sincerity is undercut by knowing distance.
Example
Example in poetry:
Ironist's turn: "And so, my ‘friends,’ you stabbed me well"; "What a ‘blessing’ this curse has been"; "Your ‘help’ drowned me faster than despair"; "Ah, ‘progress’—you burn what you claim to build"
Additional Notes
Ironist's turn undercuts expectation with wry or subversive perspective; hallmark of satirical or postmodern verse—signal with tonal shift or juxtaposition of high/low diction.
Also Known As
Ironist's pivot Sarcastic turn Satiric shift Mocking reversal
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