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Shock

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

Sudden emotional or physiological reaction to unexpected trauma.

Detailed Definition
Shock numbs and disorients. Poetry renders it through abrupt syntax, sensory fragmentation, or white space, capturing the mind’s temporary shutdown in the face of unbearable reality.
Example
Example in poetry:
In W.H. Auden’s “Musée des Beaux Arts,” shock is ignored in the background of suffering; In Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy,” shock erupts in the daughter’s confrontation; In Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est,” shock chokes soldiers in gas masks; In Emily Dickinson’s “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,” shock collapses sensory boundaries; In Warsan Shire’s “Home,” shock drives displacement; In Ocean Vuong’s “Aubade with Burning City,” shock echoes in war’s aftermath.
Additional Notes
Shock—sudden disruption—often appears in trauma or war poetry (Owen, Shire); differs from surprise by its traumatic quality; poetic techniques include abrupt syntax, sensory overload, or fragmented form; students should consider physiological markers: numbness, dissociation; note its link to memory—shock fractures narrative.
Also Known As
Stupefaction Daze Trauma response Numbness stook Fright
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