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Volta subita

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

A sudden, sharp turn in a poem’s logic, tone, or perspective, often occurring without transitional phrasing to create surprise or revelation.

Detailed Definition
Volta subita is an abrupt, unexpected turn or shift in a poem—often occurring mid-line or without transitional markers—that radically reorients the reader’s understanding of theme, tone, or argument; unlike the gradual volta of the Petrarchan sonnet, the volta subita (Italian for “sudden turn”) relies on shock or disjunction to achieve epiphany or irony, as in the jarring conclusions of some Emily Dickinson poems.
Example
Example in poetry:
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 129: “All this the world well knows; yet none knows well / To shun the heaven that leads men to this hell.”; sudden turn from lust to loathing; Dickinson’s “My Life had stood—a Loaded Gun—” shifts abruptly to mortality; volta subita delivers emotional whiplash in one line.
Additional Notes
Sudden, dramatic turn in a poem. Italian for "sudden volta." More abrupt than traditional sonnet volta. Creates shock or surprise through unexpected reversal or revelation.
Also Known As
sudden turn abrupt shift
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