Home › Glossary › Letter S

Syntactic enjambment

Device
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

Enjambment that creates a grammatical continuity across line breaks, producing sustained syntax beyond the line’s end.

Detailed Definition
Unlike enjambment that merely carries meaning over, syntactic enjambment emphasises the syntactic dependency between lines, often creating suspense or prolonged phrases.
Example
Example in poetry:
Syntactic enjambment: “I wonder if / the stars…” breaks at clause boundary; Enjambment creates suspense or natural speech flow; Whitman’s catalogs use syntactic enjambment for expansiveness; Avoids end-stopped rigidity in narrative verse
Additional Notes
Line break mid-phrase/clause, carrying syntax forward. Most common enjambment type. Creates momentum, suspense. Contrast with end-stopped lines; essential for natural speech rhythms.
Also Known As
syntactic run-on line-continuing enjambment Bridging enjambment
Skip to main content