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shawl

Apparel
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 rectangular or square piece of fabric worn over the shoulders or head, often associated with femininity, comfort, and the gentle warmth of domestic or pastoral scenes.

Detailed Definition
The shawl enters poetry as a garment of intimate, often feminine, care—a thing draped over a mother's shoulders or a lover's gift carried on a chilly evening. Its soft, enveloping nature makes it a natural symbol for consolation, memory, and the tender defenses people erect against emotional or physical cold. In Victorian domestic poetry, the shawl appears in scenes of fireside reverie, sometimes embroidered or fringed as a mark of personal artistry. Poets of the Romantic era used the shawl to evoke Orientalist exoticism, particularly the Kashmir shawl, which became a trope for luxury and distant travel. More personally, the shawl's ability to hold a scent or a fold of the wearer's posture gives it a haunting presence in elegiac verse, where it remains after the beloved has departed.
Example
Example in poetry:
"Her shawl of paisley was a map of a country she had never seen"; "He wrapped his shawl around her shoulders, a gesture older than words"; "The shawl's fringe was the only thing that moved in the still room"; "She dropped her shawl and the cold entered the space between them"; "The shawl, knitted by her grandmother, was a web of memory"; "He wore his shawl to the evening, a garment of comfort and age"
Additional Notes
The shawl enters poetry as a garment of intimate, often feminine, care—a thing draped over a mother's shoulders or a lover's gift carried on a chilly evening. Its soft, enveloping nature makes it a natural symbol for consolation, memory, and the tender defenses people erect against emotional or physical cold. In Victorian domestic poetry, the shawl appears in scenes of fireside reverie, sometimes embroidered or fringed as a mark of personal artistry. Poets of the Romantic era used the shawl to evoke Orientalist exoticism, particularly the Kashmir shawl, which became a trope for luxury and distant travel. More personally, the shawl's ability to hold a scent or a fold of the wearer's posture gives it a haunting presence in elegiac verse. Related terms include stole, wrap, and mantilla. Students should note the shawl's associations with comfort, memory, and feminine care.
Also Known As
wrap shoulder covering fringed mantle
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