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Textual diffusion

Device
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

The distribution of meaning or imagery across separated sections of a poem

Detailed Definition
Textual diffusion describes the spreading of key elements throughout a work rather than concentrating them. Words, images, themes, or sounds appear in dispersed locations, creating networks of connection and significance that emerge through cumulative effect rather than obvious clustering.
Example
Example in poetry:
Textual diffusion appears in T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land,” where quotes from Dante, Shakespeare, and Upanishads fragment identity; in Susan Howe’s “Debths,” archival text scatters across pages; in M. NourbeSe Philip’s “Zong!,” legal documents dissolve into poetic shards; in Caroline Bergvall’s “Drift,” multiple translations of “The Seafarer” overlap; in contemporary poet Jen Bervin’s “Nets,” Shakespeare’s sonnets are erased and diffused into new forms.
Additional Notes
Distribution of meaning across textual space. Creates complex semantic networks. Related to concepts of dispersal and scattering.
Also Known As
Text scattering Word dispersal Textual spreading Distributed text Dissemination
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