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narrative phrase

Phrase
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

narrative phrase|A segment of poetic discourse whose primary function is to advance the story, provide exposition, describe events, or develop characters, moving the poem's plot forward.

Detailed Definition
Narrative phrases provide continuity and context in verse storytelling, linking events, characters, and settings; even in lyric poetry, they embed personal experience within broader arcs of time, myth, or history through concise, evocative sequencing.
Example
Example in poetry:
Once there was a king who lost his crown; he wandered the earth, a beggar in silk; he spoke to trees, and the trees answered; the narrative phrase carried him from ruin to revelation.
Additional Notes
Narrative phrases advance story: “Once there was a king who lost his crown”; they provide plot, character, and sequence in lyric and epic poetry; use past tense, concrete verbs, and chronological markers; avoid exposition—show, don’t tell; related to ballad phrase and oral tradition phrase; ideal for poems blending story and lyric.
Also Known As
story phrase narrative line plot phrase
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