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mirror poem

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

A poem structured symmetrically so that its second half mirrors the first, often reading identically backward and forward.

Detailed Definition
A mirror poem is a composition explicitly designed so that its textual, visual, or sonic elements reflect symmetrically around a central axis, sometimes readable identically forwards and backwards (palindromic), or structured to echo its own form, thereby embodying concepts of duality, self-reflection, or equilibrium.
Example
Example in poetry:
A type of poem where the stanzas or lines read the same forwards and backwards (a poetic palindrome); A poem whose theme is literally about a mirror or reflection, where the structure visually or thematically represents the idea of mirroring; A poem where the first and last lines are identical, and the second and second-to-last lines are identical, and so on; A poem that can be read from bottom to top and still maintain a coherent, related message.
Additional Notes
mirror poem: A poem whose entire structure or theme is based on reflection, reversal, or symmetry; the term can refer to both content and form, like a poem reading the same backwards.
Also Known As
Reflective poem twin poem echo poem Catoptric poem Inverted calligram
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