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Scattered pauses

Structure
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

Pauses or caesurae distributed unevenly throughout a poem to disrupt regular rhythm, mimic thought patterns, or create expressive fragmentation.

Detailed Definition
Scattered pauses describes breaks, caesuras, or rests distributed irregularly throughout verse. Rather than falling at predictable points, these interruptions create varied rhythm and emphasis, preventing mechanical pattern while maintaining enough pause to guide reading and create dramatic effect.
Example
Example in poetry:
In “The Waste Land,” scattered pauses like “—” and “…” mimic fractured consciousness; In Claudia Rankine’s “Citizen,” white space creates scattered pauses between racial incidents; Emily Dickinson’s dashes function as scattered pauses suspending meaning; Contemporary poet uses line breaks mid-word (“be- / cause”) as scattered pauses; Student example: poem with pauses marked by ellipses, em-dashes, and stanza gaps.
Additional Notes
Caesurae distributed irregularly throughout verse. Creates unpredictable rhythm. May reflect natural speech or create dramatic emphasis.
Also Known As
Distributed pauses Scattered caesuras Multiple breaks Dispersed stops Distributive caesura
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