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Obedience

Psychology
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

Obedience as a psychological concept in poetry denotes compliance with authority or societal rules, often explored through internal conflict, moral tension, or sacrifice of personal desire.

Detailed Definition
Obedience raises moral questions about autonomy. Poetry examines it through constrained form, passive voice, or internal conflict, contrasting dutiful submission with the yearning for freedom or truth.
Example
Example in poetry:
In W.H. Auden’s “The Unknown Citizen,” obedience is praised by bureaucracy; In Robert Frost’s “Mending Wall,” obedience to tradition is questioned; In Sylvia Plath’s “The Applicant,” obedience is demanded in marriage; In Langston Hughes’ “I, Too,” obedience is rejected: “I, too, am America”; In Emily Dickinson’s “Much Madness is divinest Sense,” obedience to majority is critiqued; In Ocean Vuong’s “Aubade with Burning City,” obedience is absent, highlighting resistance.
Additional Notes
Obedience—compliance with authority—is often critiqued in poetry (Auden’s “Unknown Citizen”); differs from consent by its passivity; poetic techniques include bureaucratic language, passive voice, or ironic tone; students should consider power dynamics: Who demands obedience? Who resists?; note its link to conformity—obedience as social control.
Also Known As
Compliance Conformity Submissiveness Acquiescence Submission
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