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Rhetorical revision

Device
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 deliberate self-correction within a poem where the speaker revises or refines a previously stated idea, often mid-thought or mid-line.

Detailed Definition
The deliberate correction or modification of earlier rhetorical statements within a poem, creating appearance of thinking through problems in real time. This device adds conversational quality by showing revision rather than presenting only polished thoughts. The rhetorical revision may emphasize through contrast, demonstrate thinking process, or create ironic distance from initial statement, using correction as strategic device for various effects beyond simple emendation.
Example
Example in poetry:
Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” ends with rhetorical revision: “I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference”—undercutting earlier ambiguity; W.H. Auden’s “September 1, 1939” revises its own idealism: “We must love one another or die” becomes “We must love one another and die” in later versions; Adrienne Rich’s “Diving into the Wreck” shifts from “I came to explore the wreck” to collective “we are, I am, you are”; Claudia Rankine revises public language in “Citizen”: “You are not the guy but still you are the guy”; Terrance Hayes revises sonnet tradition in “American Sonnets” by questioning form itself; Anne Carson’s “The Glass Essay” revises Brontëan narrative through personal lens.
Additional Notes
Deliberate correction or modification of earlier rhetorical statement. Shows thought process or creates emphasis through contrast. Common in metaphysical poetry's complex arguments.
Also Known As
Corrective rhetoric Amended statement Revision device Self-correction Epanorthotic correction Epanorthosis
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