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Ironizing volta

Structure
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 sonnet turn that introduces irony as contrast to preceding lines

Detailed Definition
Ironizing volta: A turn in a sonnet that undercuts or subverts the poem’s preceding argument or emotion through irony, revealing contradiction, disillusionment, or self-awareness rather than resolution or epiphany.
Example
Example in poetry:
Ironizing volta: Shakespearean sonnet ending: “Yet still I love you—foolish, blind, and weak”; Volta undercutting prior argument: “All this beauty? Just decay.”; “I thought I knew love—then I met you (and knew nothing)”; Contemporary sonnets using volta for self-mockery; Eco-volta: “We’ll save the planet—said the SUV ad”; Volta revealing speaker’s hypocrisy or delusion
Additional Notes
A volta (turn) in a sonnet that uses irony to reverse or undercut expectations. The turn creates distance or critique. Common in modern sonnets. Distinct from sincere voltas. See also ironic reversal.
Also Known As
Ironizing turn Sarcastic volta Satiric pivot Mocking shift
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