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Natality

Philosophy
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

Natality is Arendt’s concept of human capacity for new beginnings through birth and action. It counters Heidegger’s focus on death with generative possibility.

Detailed Definition
Poetry celebrates natality through images of dawn, spring, or childbirth. Philosophically, it frames creation as political and existential act—each poem a “newness” that interrupts cycles of violence or despair, affirming hope and the power to initiate unforeseen futures.
Example
Example in poetry:
Louise Glück’s “The Wild Iris” begins with rebirth from earth; Seamus Heaney’s “Birth” describes newborn emergence with awe; Adrienne Rich’s “Planetarium” frames female genius as natality against oppression; W.H. Auden’s “In Memory of W.B. Yeats” claims “poetry makes nothing happen” yet births new understanding; Mary Oliver’s “The Summer Day” ends with life-affirming question as new beginning; Rainer Maria Rilke’s Sonnets to Orpheus celebrate birth as song’s origin.
Additional Notes
Natality (Arendt) is capacity for new beginnings through birth/action. In poetry, it appears as hope, renewal: Glück’s “Wild Iris,” Auden’s “In Memory of W.B. Yeats.” Students should contrast it with Heidegger’s death-focus. Related to poiesis, kairos, and futurity. Professors can use it to discuss poetry as political act.
Also Known As
Birth Nativeness Condition of being born
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