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Satisfaction

Psychology
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

Contentment arising from the fulfillment of a desire or need—in poetry, satisfaction is rendered through full-throated vowels, closing imagery, and completed narrative arcs, yet it is often earned and fleeting, carrying a note of loss as fulfillment signals the end of striving, appearing in pastoral peace, achievement odes, and reconciliation scenes.

Detailed Definition
Satisfaction in poetry rests through full-throated vowels, closing images, and fulfilled arcs—a meal eaten, a journey ended, a love returned. Poets contrast it with longing, making satisfaction earned and fleeting. It appears in pastoral peace, achievement odes, or reconciliation scenes. Satisfaction invites readers to appreciate the present, yet often carries a note of loss, as fulfillment signals an end to striving.
Example
Example in poetry:
Satisfaction in Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" where satisfaction is found in nature; In Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken," satisfaction is ambiguous; In contemporary poetry, satisfaction is often fleeting; In "The Waste Land," satisfaction is absent; In confessional poetry, satisfaction is often temporary; In romantic poetry, satisfaction is a goal.
Additional Notes
Satisfaction in poetry rests through full-throated vowels, closing images, and fulfilled arcs—a meal eaten, a journey ended, a love returned—contrasting with longing. In teaching, distinguish satisfaction from contentment: satisfaction is fulfillment of desire, while contentment is a settled state. Poets make satisfaction earned and fleeting, often carrying a note of loss. It appears in pastoral peace, achievement odes, or reconciliation scenes. Students should examine how poets use imagery of fullness, completion, and rest to convey satisfaction's earned, bittersweet respite.
Also Known As
Contentment fulfillment gratification pleasure ease
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