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opportune moment

Concept
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

A fleeting, decisive instant in a poem—often the kairos—where meaning or action crystallizes

Detailed Definition
Opportune moment (kairos) in poetry denotes a fleeting, decisive instant charged with significance—often a threshold between choices, revelations, or transformations; unlike chronological time (chronos), kairos is qualitative, and poets heighten its urgency through suspended syntax, vivid imagery, or abrupt tonal shifts that crystallize its existential weight.
Example
Example in poetry:
In “Ulysses,” Tennyson’s resolve comes at life’s midpoint; In “The Road Not Taken,” the fork represents life’s decisive juncture; Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 turns at “But thy eternal summer”; In “Ode to a Nightingale,” Keats’ vision breaks at “Adieu! the fancy cannot cheat so well”
Additional Notes
Opportune moment (kairos) is the decisive instant in a poem; differs from chronological time (chronos); often marked by a shift in tone or imagery; key to understanding narrative or emotional climax
Also Known As
Kairos golden moment decisive juncture fated instant Kairotic moment
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