Home › Glossary › Letter R

refrain verse

Form
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

A repeated line or stanza pattern functioning as a chorus in verse

Detailed Definition
Refrain verse is poetry that incorporates a regularly repeated line, phrase, or stanza to unify structure and reinforce key ideas; the refrain may remain identical or undergo subtle changes, allowing it to accumulate emotional weight or shift meaning with each recurrence in the poem’s progression.
Example
Example in poetry:
A line of verse, not necessarily at the end of a stanza, that is repeated consistently throughout a poem, serving as a unifying anchor; The regular reappearance of a line or couplet that underscores the poem's main theme or emotion; A line that is repeated, often with minor variation, in non-stanzaic verse; A persistent line that acts as a rhythmic and semantic beat
Additional Notes
A line or set of lines that is repeated regularly at the end of stanzas, functioning as a chorus or a burden; the most common form of refrain.
Also Known As
Chorus verse refrain line repeating verse Burden verse Radif verse
Skip to main content