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Second thought

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 moment of revision or reconsideration within a poem’s voice or structure

Detailed Definition
Second thought is a poetic moment where the speaker revises, qualifies, or undercuts an initial statement within the same line or stanza, often using em-dashes, parentheses, or concessive clauses; this technique—central to the ironies of Donne or the hesitations of Bishop—enacts the mind in motion, revealing complexity through self-interruption and the refusal of singular certainty.
Example
Example in poetry:
Frost’s "The Road Not Taken" undercuts its own certainty: "I shall be telling this with a sigh"; Plath’s "Daddy" shifts from victim to victor: "Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I’m through"; Keats’s "Ode to a Nightingale" questions its own escape: "Was it a vision, or a waking dream?"; Bishop’s "One Art" admits loss isn’t mastered: "—Even losing you..."; Auden’s "Funeral Blues" moves from command to collapse: "For nothing now can ever come to any good".
Additional Notes
Second thought indicates a revision within the poem—often marked by “but” or “yet”—showing the speaker’s changing mind. It adds psychological depth. Students should trace the thought process: what causes the shift? Is it resolved? Related to “reconsideration device.”
Also Known As
Afterthought Revisory line Reflective turn Second-guess stanza Reconsideration Thought revision
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