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Sublime expression

Concept
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

Elevated language that inspires awe, grandeur, or transcendence, often used to depict vastness, beauty, or the divine in poetic expression.

Detailed Definition
Language that evokes awe, transcendence, or elevation beyond ordinary experience, one of the major aesthetic categories from Longinus onward. Sublime expression creates sense of grandeur, power, or transcendent beauty through elevated diction, expansive imagery, and rhetoric of extremity, often addressing vast subjects like nature's power, divine presence, or human potential, attempting to use language itself to gesture toward what exceeds normal comprehension or articulation.
Example
Example in poetry:
Sublime expression appears in Wordsworth’s “Tintern Abbey”—nature evoking awe; modern example: Tracy K. Smith’s “Life on Mars” uses cosmic scale for existential wonder; sublime expression confronts vastness beyond human grasp; it’s common in Romantic and ecopoetry; this mode blends terror and beauty; it often uses elevated diction.
Additional Notes
Language that evokes awe, transcendence, or elevation. One of major aesthetic categories from Longinus onward. Creates sense of grandeur and power.
Also Known As
Elevated expression Transcendent language Awe-inspiring diction Longinian style Elevated Diction
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