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Picture shard

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 brief, imagistic poetic fragment that isolates a single vivid visual impression, functioning like a snapshot or cinematic close-up.

Detailed Definition
Picture shard is a brief, fragmented poetic image that captures a sliver of visual or sensory experience—like a broken mirror reflecting one sharp detail—suggesting a larger, unseen whole through its intense, isolated focus.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Fog / comes / on little cat feet.” – Carl Sandburg; “Old pond— / frog jumps in— / sound of water.” – Bashō; “so much depends / upon // a red wheel / barrow” – William Carlos Williams; “Autumn moonlight— / a worm digs silently / into the chestnut.” – Bashō
Additional Notes
Picture shard is a tiny, fragmented image-poem that captures a sliver of perception; akin to a poetic snapshot—ideal for journals or experimental forms—focus on one sharp, luminous detail.
Also Known As
Image fragment poetic splinter visual shard micro-scene Imagistic fragment
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