Home › Glossary › Letter M

Mime

Performance
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

Nonverbal action used to suggest objects, settings, or events without physical props. It can support a poem’s imagery through gesture and movement.

Detailed Definition
Mime in poetry performance uses imagined objects and silent actions to make a scene visible. A performer might indicate a door, a cup, a bus ride, or a repetitive labor through precise physical movement rather than bringing an actual object onstage. Used sparingly, mime can clarify narrative action and enrich sensory detail. Used too literally, it can compete with the poem’s imaginative language, so the strongest choices leave room for listeners to create their own images.
Example
Example in poetry:
A poet silently mimes opening an old letter before reading a poem addressed to a deceased relative; During a poem about hunger, the performer mimes setting a table and discovering that every plate is empty; A reader uses mime to suggest rowing a boat in a poem about crossing a river, avoiding actual props while clarifying the action; In a collaborative performance, one poet recites while another mimes the repeated tasks of factory work described in the lines
Additional Notes
Mime creates imagined objects and spaces through clear, consistent movement. Establish an object’s size, weight, and location before interacting with it, so the audience can follow the action.
Also Known As
Pantomime Silent Acting
Skip to main content