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Lust

Psychology
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 intense, often uncontrolled sexual desire; in poetry, a powerful, potentially destructive drive that conflicts with reason, morality, or social norms.

Detailed Definition
Lust in poetry burns through sensory excess, urgency, and bodily imagery—heat, sweat, bite. It appears in erotic verse, from Sappho to contemporary queer poetry, celebrating physicality. Poets contrast lust with love, or blur them, exploring desire's rawness and its consequences. Lust can be empowering or demeaning, liberating or obsessive. It challenges decorum, inviting readers to confront primal appetite and its role in human connection and conflict.
Example
Example in poetry:
Lust in John Donne's erotic poetry where lust is celebrated; In Pablo Neruda's "Love Sonnet XI," lust is intertwined with love; In Charles Baudelaire's "The Monster," lust and disgust are juxtaposed; In contemporary queer poetry, lust is often explored openly; In Sappho's fragments, lust is a powerful force; In Ovid's "Amores," lust is a central theme.
Additional Notes
Lust in poetry burns through sensory excess, urgency, and bodily imagery—heat, sweat, bite—celebrating physicality in erotic verse. In teaching, distinguish lust from desire: lust is specifically sexual craving, while desire is broader. Poets contrast lust with love, or blur them, exploring desire's rawness and consequences. Lust can be empowering or demeaning, liberating or obsessive. Students should examine how poets use tactile, thermal, and kinetic imagery, along with urgent rhythm and imperative mood, to convey lust's primal, consuming force.
Also Known As
Desire passion carnality sensuality eroticism
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