Home › Glossary › Letter L

Lexical echo

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

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

The recurrence of a word or phrase to create resonance or emphasis

Detailed Definition
Lexical echo occurs when a word or morpheme reappears at strategic intervals within a poem, not as mere repetition but as a resonant motif that accrues new meaning with each recurrence; this technique creates sonic cohesion and thematic depth, allowing a single term to evolve contextually—shifting from literal to metaphorical, or personal to universal—thereby structuring the poem’s emotional or intellectual trajectory.
Example
Example in poetry:
Repetition of key words for sonic or thematic effect: “Never, never, never” in Churchill’s speech adapted poetically; “Remember, remember” in nursery rhymes; Dickinson’s repeated “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain” using “treading” and “beating”; Whitman’s catalog poems echoing “I sing” or “I celebrate”
Additional Notes
Lexical echo gains power through spacing—place recurrences at structural turning points to show how a word’s meaning evolves with the speaker’s emotional journey.
Also Known As
Verbal echo Lexical recurrence Word resonance Echoic motif Lexical repetition reduplication Word-root play stem rhyme
Skip to main content