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theft

Archaic Terms
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 act of stealing; also, something stolen—appearing in legal, moral, or narrative contexts within poetic discourse.

Detailed Definition
“Theft” frames violation of trust or property. In poetry, it symbolizes betrayal—time’s theft, love’s theft. The term’s simplicity suits universal themes. Poets use it to explore how loss occurs through stealth, where theft marks injustice or inevitability, reinforcing themes of possession, memory, and the fragility of what is held in narrative and meditative traditions.
Example
Example in poetry:
“The theft of her youth grieved her,” in a metaphorical lament; In Shakespeare’s Sonnet 2: “When forty winters shall besiege thy brow... / Thy youth’s proud livery, so gazed on now, / Will be a tattered weed, of small worth held”; “The theft of trust cannot be repaid”; “He mourned the theft of peace”; “Theft of time is the cruelest crime”; The poet accused silence of theft.
Additional Notes
“Theft” in archaic legal or moral contexts implies violation of divine and human law; in allegory, “theft of honor” or “stolen time” expands the term beyond property to intangible losses central to poetic justice.
Also Known As
stealing larceny pilfering
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