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Whit

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 concise, clever poetic device showcasing intellectual ingenuity through a surprising metaphor, paradox, or witty turn of phrase.

Detailed Definition
A whit is an ingenious, often paradoxical metaphor that yokes disparate ideas through intellectual surprise and verbal dexterity; rooted in Metaphysical poetry, it delights in logical acrobatics and unexpected analogies to reveal hidden connections.
Example
Example in poetry:
John Donne: “Our two souls therefore, which are one, / Though I must go, endure not yet / A breach, but an expansion, / Like gold to airy thinness beat”; metaphysical conceit comparing lovers to compass legs; witty blend of logic and emotion; unexpected analogies that surprise and persuade.
Additional Notes
Brief, ingenious comparison or metaphor in metaphysical poetry. Related to conceit. Elizabethan/Jacobean term. Distinguished from extended conceits by brevity and surprise. Study Donne's epigrams for examples.
Also Known As
Metaphysical conceit witty conceit witty comparison ingenious metaphor clever analogy
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