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mid-line break

Sound
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 caesura or syntactic break occurring near the center of a poetic line, dividing it into balanced or contrasting rhythmic halves.

Detailed Definition
Mid-line break is a deliberate lineation that splits a syntactic unit at an unexpected point within the line, creating visual and rhythmic surprise; this modernist technique disrupts reading pace and emphasizes isolated words or concepts.
Example
Example in poetry:
'I wander’d lonely as a cloud, // That floats on high o’er vales and hills,' (A caesura or line break effect occurring within the line, often marked by punctuation); 'And therefore am I still a lover, // Of all the mighty world is of great might'; 'To be, or not to be, // that is the question,' (In drama, a caesura is very similar to a mid-line break in its effect on rhythm); 'A snake slid on the wall // an emerald stain // and stopped.'
Additional Notes
A typographical or structural break placed intentionally in the middle of a line of verse, often without corresponding punctuation, to create an abrupt pause or visual separation; distinct from a caesura.
Also Known As
half-line division caesural break Caesural marking Caesural pause
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