Home › Glossary › Letter S

suspension curve

Structure
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 visual or conceptual poetic line shaped like a hanging cable or catenary curve, suggesting tension, balance, or suspension between two anchoring points or ideas.

Detailed Definition
A suspension curve is a rhythmic or syntactic arc in a poem that delays resolution or climax through prolonged buildup, creating a sense of hovering or deferred closure; this technique uses enjambment, incremental repetition, or rising pitch to sustain tension before release, mirroring psychological states like anxiety or desire, and is common in dramatic monologues or lyric sequences where emotional payoff is carefully paced.
Example
Example in poetry:
A suspension curve describes rhythmic build-up before release: A line like “And then—after centuries— / it lifted—” (Dickinson) curves toward revelation; Whitman’s catalogues build tension before climactic line; In sonnets, the octave often creates a suspension curve resolved in sestet; Free verse uses line breaks and repetition to create rising/falling curves of attention.
Additional Notes
suspension curve|A formal pattern in a poem where tension or thought builds gradually (the curve) and then is left unresolved or hanging (suspension) at the poem's end or a major structural point.
Also Known As
Suspension arc Curve of delay Swing of pause Catenary curve
Skip to main content