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Periphrasis

Device
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 use of a longer phrase in place of a simpler expression; circumlocution used for effect.

Detailed Definition
Periphrasis is a rhetorical device using circumlocution—roundabout or indirect expression—to describe something instead of naming it directly (e.g., “the crowned head” for “the king”); in poetry, it can create dignity, mystery, or ironic distance, and is common in epic and allegorical traditions where abstraction enhances thematic resonance.
Example
Example in poetry:
“The Bard of Avon” is periphrasis for Shakespeare; “The City That Never Sleeps” = New York in poetic diction; Periphrasis in Milton: “the Heavenly Muse” for divine inspiration; Contemporary: “the needle’s eye” for a difficult passage in Ocean Vuong
Additional Notes
Roundabout expression substituting for direct statement. "The final sleep" for death. Contrast with kenning and euphemism. Can elevate or obscure. Use deliberately for specific effect, not as evasion.
Other Meanings of “Periphrasis”
Also Known As
circumlocution roundabout phrasing Circonlocution
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