Home › Glossary › Letter M

message verse

Form
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

Poetry composed or presented as a written communication or dispatch.

Detailed Definition
Poetry structured as letters, messages, or written correspondence, allowing intimate address while maintaining formal verse structure. Horace's verse epistles established this tradition combining poetic craft with letter-writing conventions. Can address specific recipients or general readers, maintain conversational tone while deploying sophisticated poetic techniques. Related to verse epistles and epistolary poems but emphasizes message-delivery function. Allows personal voice and direct address within formal constraints, creating productive tension between casual correspondence and deliberate artistry.
Example
Example in poetry:
John Milton’s “On His Blindness” serves as message verse on patience; Alexander Pope’s “An Essay on Man” delivers philosophical message verse; Contemporary poet Tracy K. Smith’s “The United States Welcomes You” functions as message verse on immigration; W.H. Auden’s “September 1, 1939” delivers message verse: “We must love one another or die”; Langston Hughes’ “Let America Be America Again” is message verse on equality; June Jordan’s “Poem for South African Women” delivers message verse on resistance.
Additional Notes
Poetry structured as letters, messages, or correspondence. Horace's verse epistles established this tradition. Can address specific recipients or general readers. Allows intimate, conversational tone while maintaining formal verse structure. Alexander Pope's verse epistles to friends exemplify this form.
Also Known As
verse letter epistolary poem poetic correspondence written verse message Epistolary couplet
Skip to main content