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Stopped verse

Structure
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

Poetry characterized by abrupt pauses or halts, often through punctuation or lineation

Detailed Definition
Stopped verse employs frequent caesuras, end-stopped lines, or abrupt pauses to create halting, deliberate rhythm that emphasizes each phrase or image; this technique slows reading pace and heightens attention, often conveying solemnity, control, or emotional restraint, as in the measured lines of Wallace Stevens or Marianne Moore.
Example
Example in poetry:
A poem ending mid-sentence with an em dash; A verse where the final line is a single word: “Alone.”; A poem cutting off abruptly: “I was going to say—”; A lyric with white space replacing the expected conclusion.
Additional Notes
Stopped verse ends abruptly, often mid-thought; it conveys shock, silence, or incompleteness—use white space or punctuation (dash, ellipsis) effectively.
Also Known As
Abrupt verse Cut-off line Halted stanza Truncated close Closed line Pause-ending line
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