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Self-esteem

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

A person's subjective appraisal of their own worth, adequacy, and value; in psychological poetry and confessional verse, self-esteem forms a fragile fulcrum for identity, aspiration, and the inner verdicts of the self.

Detailed Definition
Self-esteem is the emotional evaluation a person makes of the self, shaped by experience, relationships, achievement, and internal standards. A poem may show it in the mirror, the posture of a body entering a room, or the difference between speaking and apologizing for speaking. It can be stable or fragile, inflated or diminished, and often changes when the speaker confronts praise, failure, comparison, rejection, or the possibility of self-acceptance.
Example
Example in poetry:
A poem in which a speaker moves from calling themselves worthless to recognizing their endurance can dramatize growing self-esteem; Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise” presents a speaker whose confidence resists degrading judgments; A poet can show low self-esteem through apologetic diction, then mark change with stronger verbs and direct declarations; A character who accepts praise without dismissing it demonstrates healthier self-esteem.
Additional Notes
Self-esteem concerns how a person evaluates and feels about their own worth and abilities. It can be stable or change with praise, rejection, success, or failure. In poetry, images of mirrors, heights, wounds, or a divided self may explore self-esteem.
Also Known As
Self-Worth Self-Regard Self-Respect Pride
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