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Web verse

Form
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 poem structured to resemble a network or web, often nonlinear and interconnected

Detailed Definition
Web verse describes a nonlinear, hypertextual poetic structure where meaning emerges from interconnected nodes—images, phrases, or stanzas—rather than sequential progression; it invites reader navigation and multiple interpretations, reflecting digital-age fragmentation and the associative logic of memory or consciousness.
Example
Example in poetry:
Juliana Spahr’s “This Connection of Everyone with Lungs” uses web verse to link global breath and politics; Claudia Rankine’s “Citizen” connects microaggressions through web-like prose-poetry; Ocean Vuong’s “Time Is a Mother” weaves memory, loss, and language into web verse; Anne Carson’s “Decreation” uses fragmented, interlinked texts as web verse.
Additional Notes
Web verse uses nonlinear, hyperlinked, or networked structures—often in digital poetry—to reflect interconnectedness; in print, may use fragmentation and cross-reference; emphasizes reader participation in meaning-making.
Also Known As
Networked verse hypertext poetry digital lyric interconnected text Net poetry Reticular verse
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