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Merism

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

A figure of speech by which a whole is suggested by dividing it into two or more contrasting parts

Detailed Definition
Merism is a rhetorical figure that denotes a whole by enumerating its contrasting parts—such as “lock, stock, and barrel” or “high and low”—to imply totality through binary or multiple opposition; in poetry, merism creates comprehensive imagery or absolute statements, often used in biblical or legal diction to convey completeness, as in “the heavens and the earth” meaning the entire cosmos.
Example
Example in poetry:
Merism: "From head to toe, she trembled"; "He searched high and low for truth"; "Night and day, I wait for you"; "In sickness and in health, we vowed"
Additional Notes
Biblical/rhetorical device listing parts to represent whole, or whole to represent parts. Related: synecdoche, totum pro parte. Example: "body and soul" for complete person. Tip: Creates emphasis through comprehensive enumeration.
Other Meanings of “Merism”
Also Known As
Part-for-whole pair Two-part totality Dual representation Binary whole
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