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low-life verse

Genre
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

Poetry depicting tavern life, peasants, and common folk in a rustic or humorous tone.

Detailed Definition
Low-life verse depicts the experiences, language, and environments of marginalized, impoverished, or socially disreputable characters, often using gritty realism, vernacular speech, and satirical or empathetic tones; this tradition includes works by John Gay, Charles Bukowski, and early 20th-century urban poets critiquing class and morality.
Example
Example in poetry:
low-life verse (Poetry that focuses on the experiences, language, and settings of the poor, criminal, or socially marginalized); Poems describing the harsh realities of slums or prisons; Verse that deliberately uses non-standard or 'street' dialect
Additional Notes
Verse that depicts the lives, language, and often harsh realities of the poor, marginalized, or common people; a rejection of high-brow subject matter; related to grub street poetry or naturalism.
Also Known As
Lowly verse Street poetry Common-life poetry Bambocciata
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