Home › Glossary › Letter U

Utterance poetry

Concept
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

Verse centered on the act of speaking or declaring as its primary function

Detailed Definition
Utterance poetry is verse that foregrounds the act of speaking itself—capturing the spontaneity, fragmentation, and immediacy of real-time thought or dialogue—rather than polished, retrospective composition; influenced by speech-act theory and oral traditions, it treats the poem as a performed event where voice, timing, and presence are central to meaning.
Example
Example in poetry:
Shakespeare’s soliloquies (“To be or not to be”) function as utterance poetry; Plath’s “Daddy” performs cathartic address; Hughes’ “Theme for English B” voices student’s self-reflection as utterance; Ginsberg’s “Howl” enacts prophetic outcry through spoken form.
Additional Notes
Utterance poetry centers on the act of speaking itself—its power, limitations, or consequences—often exploring how language shapes reality or identity.
Also Known As
Speech-act verse performative utterance linguistic enactment functional declaration poetry Illocutionary poem
Skip to main content