Home › Glossary › Letter N

Narrative drift

Structure
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

A gradual shift away from central story toward tangents in a narrative poem

Detailed Definition
Narrative drift describes a poem’s subtle deviation from linear storytelling into associative, digressive, or lyrical passages that prioritize mood, image, or reflection over plot; it creates a dreamlike or contemplative pace, common in modernist and postmodern long poems.
Example
Example in poetry:
Narrative drift appears in T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” where the speaker’s thoughts meander from streets to mermaids without linear progression; In Claudia Rankine’s “Citizen,” anecdotes drift between personal and collective racial experiences; Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” shifts fluidly from cataloging bodies to cosmic contemplation; In Ocean Vuong’s “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous,” letters drift between memory, desire, and history; Anne Carson’s “The Beauty of the Husband” uses narrative drift to explore betrayal through fragmented chronology.
Additional Notes
Narrative drift occurs when story gradually shifts focus or dissolves into lyric meditation. Technique in hybrid forms. Contrasts with tight plot structure. Related to associative verse. Study prose poetry for examples.
Also Known As
Story drift Narrative wander Plot meander Tale shift
Skip to main content