Home › Glossary › Letter P

Prudentius

Literary Character
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

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

Late antique Christian poet known for allegorical, doctrinal verse that fused classical form with theological meditation and moral instruction.

Detailed Definition
Prudentius’s "Psychomachia" allegorizes the soul’s battle between virtues and vices, pioneering medieval allegory. In poetry, he appears as a bridge between classical form and Christian content, symbolizing the poet as spiritual warrior and the adaptation of pagan aesthetics to doctrinal ends.
Example
Example in poetry:
Prudentius’ "Psychomachia" personifies virtues and vices (e.g., Faith vs. Idolatry) as allegorical warrior characters in epic verse; His "Cathemerinon" hymns construct the Christian soul as a lyrical persona seeking divine light; In "Peristephanon," martyrs become poetic heroes whose deaths glorify faith; Prudentius’ fusion of classical meter and Christian content creates a new model for devotional character in late antique poetry.
Additional Notes
Prudentius, a late antique Christian poet, used allegorical figures like Virtues and Vices in "Psychomachia," the first full-scale personification allegory in Western literature; his literary characters laid groundwork for medieval dream visions and moral drama, essential for tracing the evolution of abstract concepts into dramatic agents.
Also Known As
Aurelius Prudentius Clemens
Skip to main content