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Plosive

Prosody
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 consonant sound produced by briefly blocking and then releasing airflow from the vocal tract

Detailed Definition
Plosives include "p," "b," "t," "d," "k," and "g," characterized by their sharp, percussive quality created by complete momentary closure of the vocal tract. In poetry, plosives create rhythmic dynamism and percussive effects; frequent plosives add hardness, urgency, or aggression to verse, while sparse plosives create gentleness, as exemplified in how Gerard Manley Hopkins uses plosives to achieve his characteristic "sprung rhythm" and densely textured sound.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Hughes’s “The Weary Blues,” the plosives /b/ and /d/ in “Droning a drowsy syncopated tune” mimic piano bass notes; In Plath’s “Lady Lazarus,” “I am your opus, / I am your valuable” uses /p/ and /b/ plosives to convey violence; In Anglo-Saxon poetry, plosive alliteration abounds: “Beowulf bēot wordum” (Beowulf boasted with words); In Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” “And indeed there will be time / To wonder, ‘Do I dare?’” uses /d/ plosives for hesitant rhythm; In Blake’s “London,” “And mark in every face I meet / Marks of weakness, marks of woe” repeats /m/ and /k/ plosives for oppressive effect; In Dylan Thomas’s “Do not go gentle into that good night,” /g/ and /t/ plosives drive the imperative force.
Additional Notes
A plosive (or stop) is a consonant sound formed by completely blocking airflow and then releasing it abruptly (e.g., /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/). In prosody, plosives contribute percussive, emphatic effects and are frequently used in alliteration for dramatic impact (e.g., "brick and blood"). Their sharp articulation can mark metrical stresses or create rhythmic punch. Contrast with fricatives (continuous friction sounds) and nasals (airflow through the nose). Poets may juxtapose plosives with softer sounds to heighten contrast or tension within a line.
Also Known As
stop stop consonant
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