Home › Glossary › Letter S

Sonic caesura

Sound
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

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 caesura defined by a strong sonic break—created by pause, abrupt consonant cluster, or breath—rather than strict metrical position.

Detailed Definition
Sonic caesura is a deliberate pause or break within a metrical line, marked not by punctuation but by a sudden shift in sound texture—such as a cluster of plosives, a vowel hiatus, or abrupt silence—that creates rhythmic tension or mimetic effect; unlike syntactic caesura, sonic caesura operates at the phonemic level, using acoustic friction to mirror emotional or thematic rupture within the line’s flow.
Example
Example in poetry:
Sonic caesura: In "Break, break, break, / On thy cold gray stones, O Sea!" (Tennyson), the comma creates a sonic caesura—a audible pause within the line.
Additional Notes
Pause created by sound shift rather than syntax or breath. Subtle break through vowel or consonant change. Listen for sonic disruption creating implicit pause.
Also Known As
Sound pause Auditory break Sonic stop Acoustic caesura
Skip to main content