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metatextual verse

Form
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

Poetry that comments on or refers to its own textuality or other texts

Detailed Definition
Metatextual verse explicitly addresses its own status as text, referencing writing, reading, or literary conventions within its content; this self-conscious mode interrogates authorship, interpretation, and the materiality of language in postmodern and experimental poetry.
Example
Example in poetry:
A poem that overtly discusses the process of its own writing or the difficulties of language itself, as in: 'This line breaks here because my thought failed, not for meter.'; A self-referential poem that features a footnote by the poet discussing the meaning of the line above it; A poem structured as a set of rules for writing poetry, thus being about poetry while being a poem; Verse that comments directly on its own textual status: 'These twenty-three words are all I'll allow this metatextual verse.'
Additional Notes
Verse that is self-referential, commenting on itself, its creation, or the nature of poetry itself; related to autobiographical poetry or a poem about ars poetica (the art of poetry).
Also Known As
Self-referential verse reflexive verse commentary verse
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