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Metapoem

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 self-reflexive poem that examines the nature, process, or challenges of poetic creation, often questioning language, form, or the poet’s role.

Detailed Definition
A Metapoem is a self-referential poem that interrogates its own making—language, form, or the act of writing—often blurring the line between creation and commentary; it may address the reader directly, deconstruct poetic conventions, or dramatize the poet’s struggle, as in Paul Valéry’s “The Graveyard by the Sea.”
Example
Example in poetry:
A metapoem by William Carlos Williams: “This is just to say / I have eaten...”; In “Ars Poetica,” Archibald MacLeish defines poetry through poem; Contemporary metapoem: “This poem is a cage / for your attention”; Metapoems reflect on their own making, language, or purpose; Ashbery’s “Paradoxes and Oxymorons” is a metapoem about reading
Additional Notes
Poem about poetry itself; self-reflexive verse. Related: ars poetica, meta-poetry. Tip: Analyze whether poem celebrates, questions, or theorizes poetic practice—and whether it performs or contradicts its own claims.
Also Known As
Poem about poetry Self-referential verse Ars poetica Poetry about poetry
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