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reversed shape poem

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 concrete poem written or read in backward or upside orientation

Detailed Definition
Reversed shape poem is a form of concrete poetry in which the visual layout of the text mirrors or inverts a conventional shape—such as an hourglass turned upside down—to reflect thematic content like inversion, decline, or rebirth; the spatial arrangement becomes integral to interpretation, guiding the reader’s perception of time, motion, or emotion.
Example
Example in poetry:
A poem written in a geometric shape (a shape poem) where the words that form the shape on the outside are repeated, in reverse order, on the inside to form a counter-shape.; A poem about an hourglass where the words are arranged to look like the shape, and the lines describing sand falling are reversed when reading from bottom to top.; A concrete poem shaped like a key, where the words in the head of the key are thematically and linguistically reversed in the teeth of the key.; A calligram where the message is read normally from the outline, but the internal words form a visually reversed pattern.
Additional Notes
Reversed shape poem is a concrete poem where the shape formed by the words is the opposite or inverse of the object being described (e.g., words about "light" are shaped like a "shadow"); it subverts the visual expectation of the carmen figuratum.
Also Known As
Shape poem reversal inverted visual poem reversed concrete poem Caligramme inversé
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