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quarry-slave

Historical And Literary Periods
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 captive forced to toil in a stone quarry; famously used in Bryant's "Thanatopsis" to contrast forced labor with peaceful death.

Detailed Definition
This is an old social-historical term for an enslaved laborer in a quarry. The poem uses it in a simile about death, and the word may need explanation because it is not common modern usage.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night” invokes a laborer forced to work in a stone quarry; “The quarry-slave lifts dust and daylight on his back” emphasizes harsh labor; “Not like a quarry-slave, but freely, let the traveler depart” contrasts compulsion and freedom; “The term carries historical associations of punishment, bondage, and exhausting work”
Additional Notes
The compound "quarry-slave" names an unfamiliar historical labor condition and is not ordinary modern vocabulary.; Found in the poem, Thanatopsis by William Cullen Bryant
Also Known As
laborer worker toiler
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