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Meta-poem

Concept
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 poem that self-consciously reflects on its own form, creation, or nature as poetry

Detailed Definition
A meta-poem is a self-referential work that reflects on the nature, process, or limitations of poetry itself, often questioning authorship, language, or form; it blurs the line between creation and commentary, as in sonnets about sonnet-writing or postmodern poems that deconstruct their own making.
Example
Example in poetry:
John Donne’s “A Valediction: Of Weeping” reflects on its own tears as poetic material; Elizabeth Bishop’s “One Art” is a meta-poem about writing villanelles; Billy Collins’s “Introduction to Poetry” instructs how to read poems, making it a meta-poem; W.H. Auden’s “The Poet” examines the role of the poet within the poem itself.
Additional Notes
A meta-poem reflects on its own creation, language, or status as poetry; self-referential and often playful—related to literary borrowing and conversational theory.
Also Known As
Self-reflexive poem poem-about-poetry reflexive lyric autopoetic verse Commentary poem Critical poem Self-referential verse
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