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Stool

Furnishings
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 simple seat without arms or a back. It can suggest work, humility, instability, or an informal domestic setting.

Detailed Definition
A stool is among the simplest furnishings, and its plainness gives it strong symbolic range in poetry. A kitchen stool may evoke daily labor, while a milking stool can place a poem in a rural world of animals, weather, and routine. Because it lacks arms and a back, it can suggest temporary rest rather than settled comfort. Poets may also use its small height to portray childhood, service, or modest circumstances, making an ordinary seat quietly expressive of social position.
Example
Example in poetry:
“I stood on a stool to reach the jar of stars, or what I called the sugar” uses a stool to create a childlike perspective; A three-legged stool can symbolize instability in a poem about uncertainty; “The empty stool beside the bed kept the shape of his last visit” turns a simple object into an emblem of absence; A poet may use a kitchen stool to suggest humble work, waiting, or conversation at the edge of a room
Additional Notes
A stool’s plain, backless design makes it a flexible image of labor, simplicity, and precarious balance. In a poem, a milking stool, bar stool, or kitchen stool can quickly establish setting, class, and bodily posture.
Also Known As
Backless Chair
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