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Parenthesis

Rhetorical Devices
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

Parenthesis inserts an explanatory, qualifying, or interrupting remark into a sentence or line. The aside can add intimacy, irony, hesitation, or a second layer of meaning.

Detailed Definition
Parenthesis introduces a thought that stands slightly apart from the main grammatical movement of a sentence, often marked by parentheses, dashes, or commas. The inserted material may clarify, correct, confess, contradict, or quietly question the surrounding statement. In poetry, parenthesis can make a speaker seem intimate and self-aware, as though the poem is recording thought in motion. It also creates multiple voices or levels of attention within a line. By interrupting the main statement, parenthesis can reveal doubt, irony, suppressed feeling, or details that complicate an otherwise direct claim.
Example
Example in poetry:
“The moon, pale as a coin, hung above the field,” inserting extra descriptive material; “The traveler—exhausted and hungry—knelt beside the stream,” interrupting the sentence with a parenthetical phrase; “My brother, I should confess, never returned from sea,” adding the speaker’s aside; “The roses (those brief red flames) opened after rain,” enclosing an explanatory image in parentheses
Additional Notes
Parenthesis may appear in parentheses, dashes, commas, or an inserted clause. In poetry, an aside can complicate the main statement, create intimacy with the reader, or disrupt rhythm to represent hesitation.
Other Meanings of “Parenthesis”
Also Known As
Aside Parenthetical Remark Interjected Clause Digression
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