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Pantoum

Form
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 Malayan-derived form with interlocking repeated lines in quatrains.

Detailed Definition
A pantoum is a form of poetry derived from Malay verse, consisting of interlocking quatrains where the second and fourth lines of each stanza become the first and third lines of the next, creating a recursive, echoing effect that builds emotional intensity through repetition with variation, as in John Ashbery’s “Pantoum.”
Example
Example in poetry:
Pantoum repeats lines in an interlocking pattern (ABAB → BCBC → CDCD, etc.), as in John Ashbery’s “Pantoum”: “I thought I’d never see you again. / The sky was overcast and cold.”
Additional Notes
Pantoum: A form of interlocking quatrains where lines 2 and 4 of each stanza become lines 1 and 3 of the next; creates a recursive, dreamlike effect; adapted from Malay poetry.
Also Known As
Interlocking quatrain form Malay verse Repeating-line poem Pantoum form
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