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Irregular enjambment

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

An uneven overflow of syntax across lines, disrupting natural patterns

Detailed Definition
Irregular enjambment occurs when line breaks disrupt syntactic or grammatical units in unexpected or jarring ways—mid-phrase, mid-clause, or even mid-word—creating tension, surprise, or cognitive dissonance; this technique challenges passive reading and emphasizes the materiality of the line.
Example
Example in poetry:
Sentence cuts across enjambment irregularly: “The stars / fall—”; Punctuation disrupting enjambment; Line break in awkward place; Forced enjambment producing jarring music
Additional Notes
Irregular enjambment: The poetic technique of running a line of verse over into the next without a pause (enjambment), but doing so inconsistently or unpredictably across the poem, contrasting with a consistent or highly end-stopped structure.
Also Known As
broken enjambment uneven enjambment disrupted carryover Asymmetrical enjambment
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