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Opening line

Structure
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

The first line of a poem, often carrying thematic weight or mood.

Detailed Definition
The opening line of a poem serves as its initial gesture—establishing tone, voice, theme, or tension—and often functions as a hook, threshold, or incantation that invites the reader into the poem’s world through striking imagery, paradox, or direct address.
Example
Example in poetry:
"Tell me, O muse, of that ingenious hero..." (Homer's Odyssey), establishing the theme and inviting the muse; "Because I could not stop for Death –" (Dickinson), immediately introducing the central abstract conceit; "A sudden blow: the great wings beating still" (Yeats's "Leda and the Swan"), launching directly into the action; "My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains / My sense" (Keats's "Ode to a Nightingale"), setting the mood;
Additional Notes
Opening line: The first line of a poem; it is crucial as it sets the tone, voice, subject, and often the meter and form for the rest of the work; a strong opening line immediately hooks the reader.
Also Known As
first line incipit opening verse line Aperture line Leading line Window line
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