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Symbol caesura

Sound
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 mid-line break represented with a symbolic marker rather than punctuation.

Detailed Definition
A symbol caesura is a pause within a line that coincides with or emphasizes a symbolic rupture—such as a shift in perception, a moment of revelation, or an emotional threshold—making the break itself meaningful beyond its metrical function; the caesura becomes a site of transformation, as in a line where silence separates past ignorance from present insight, rendering the pause a charged, interpretive space.
Example
Example in poetry:
A symbol caesura uses pause to highlight symbolic meaning: In “The Waste Land,” “I will show you fear in a handful of dust.” [pause]—the period acts as symbol caesura; A line ending “Cross.” with pause emphasizes religious symbol; “Rose.” after description of flower creates symbolic break; Dickinson’s dashes often serve as symbol caesuras: “Hope is the thing with feathers—”.
Additional Notes
Symbol caesura|A strong metrical break or pause within a line that specifically occurs before or after a highly significant symbolic word or image, emphasizing the symbol's importance.
Also Known As
Symbolic pause Figurative caesura Emblematic break Ampersand caesura
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