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Within-verse pause

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 break in delivery or thought occurring inside a single line of verse

Detailed Definition
Within-verse pause is a deliberate break or caesura occurring inside a stanza, often marked by punctuation or lineation, that interrupts syntactic flow to create emphasis, suspense, or breath; such pauses allow individual lines to contain multiple rhythmic units, enhancing the poem’s capacity for nuance and dramatic timing.
Example
Example in poetry:
Emily Dickinson’s dashes create within-verse pause; T.S. Eliot’s commas in “Prufrock” create hesitation; Alexander Pope’s caesuras create balance; Old English caesura enforces within-verse pause.
Additional Notes
Within-verse pause uses caesura, punctuation, or lineation to create breaks inside a stanza; students should read aloud to feel how pauses shape rhythm and meaning.
Also Known As
Intrastanzaic pause Internal caesura Mid-verse break Rhythmic suspension Interpunction
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