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Sorrow

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 profound, persistent sadness, typically resulting from loss, disappointment, or existential grief; a deep emotional ache that pervades thought and mood.

Detailed Definition
Sorrow is poetry's most expansive emotional register, filling elegy, lament, and lyric. It flows through slow rhythms, minor keys, and images of rain, shadow, or fading. Poets give sorrow shape and dignity, making it universal. Sorrow invites readers into shared humanity, offering catharsis without easy consolation. It can be personal or collective, and its expression often becomes a bridge to resilience, memory, and hope.
Example
Example in poetry:
Sorrow in Thomas Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" where sorrow pervades; In John Milton's "Lycidas," sorrow is a theme; In W.H. Auden's "Funeral Blues," sorrow is personal; In contemporary poetry, sorrow is a universal emotion; In "The Waste Land," sorrow is a theme; In confessional poetry, sorrow is often expressed.
Additional Notes
Sorrow is poetry's most expansive emotional register, filling elegy, lament, and lyric through slow rhythms, minor keys, and images of rain, shadow, or fading. In teaching, distinguish sorrow from grief: sorrow is deep sadness, while grief is response to loss. Sorrow invites readers into shared humanity, offering catharsis without easy consolation. It can be personal or collective. Students should examine how poets use elegiac tone, imagery of decay, and slow, heavy rhythm to convey sorrow's universal, enduring weight.
Also Known As
Grief anguish heartache lament sadness Aching heart dole dolor Melancholy Mourning Pathos Regret woe bale ruth
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