What does poetry mean?

Definitions for poetry
ˈpoʊ ɪ tripo·et·ry

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word poetry.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. poetry, poesy, versenoun

    literature in metrical form

  2. poetrynoun

    any communication resembling poetry in beauty or the evocation of feeling

Wiktionary

  1. poetrynoun

    The class of literature comprising poems.

  2. poetrynoun

    Composition in verse or language exhibiting conscious attention to patterns.

  3. poetrynoun

    A poet's literary production

  4. poetrynoun

    A 'poetical' quality, artistic and/or artfull, which appeals or stirs the imagination, in any medium

    That 'Swan Lake' choreography is poetry in motion, fitting the musical poetry of Tchaikovski's divine score well beyond the literary inspiration

  5. Etymology: From ποίησις, from ποιέω.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Poetrynoun

    Etymology: ποιήτϱια; from poet.

    Strike the best invention dead,
    Till baffled poetry hangs down the head. John Cleveland.

    Although in poetry it be necessary that the unities of time, place and action should be explained, there is still something that gives a greatness of mind to the reader, which few of the criticks have considered. Joseph Addison, Spectator, №. 409.

    She taketh most delight
    In musick, instruments and poetry. William Shakespeare.

Wikipedia

  1. Poetry

    Poetry (derived from the Greek poiesis, "making") is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and rhythmic qualities of language—such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre—to evoke meanings in addition to, or in place of, the prosaic ostensible meaning. Poetry has a long history dating back to prehistoric times with hunting poetry in Africa, and to panegyric and elegiac court poetry of the empires of the Nile, Niger, and Volta River valleys. Some of the earliest written poetry in Africa is found among the Pyramid Texts written during the 25th century BCE. The earliest Western Asian epic poetry, the Epic of Gilgamesh, was written in Sumerian. Early poems in the Eurasian continent evolved from folk songs such as the Chinese Shijing; or from a need to retell oral epics, as with the Sanskrit Vedas, the Zoroastrian Gathas, and the Homeric epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Ancient Greek attempts to define poetry, such as Aristotle's Poetics, focused on the uses of speech in rhetoric, drama, song, and comedy. Later attempts concentrated on features such as repetition, verse form, and rhyme, and emphasized the aesthetics which distinguish poetry from more objectively-informative prosaic writing. Poetry uses forms and conventions to suggest differential interpretation to words, or to evoke emotive responses. Devices such as assonance, alliteration, onomatopoeia, and rhythm are sometimes used to achieve musical or incantatory effects. The use of ambiguity, symbolism, irony, and other stylistic elements of poetic diction often leaves a poem open to multiple interpretations. Similarly, figures of speech such as metaphor, simile, and metonymy create a resonance between otherwise disparate images—a layering of meanings, forming connections previously not perceived. Kindred forms of resonance may exist, between individual verses, in their patterns of rhyme or rhythm. Some poetry types are specific to particular cultures and genres and respond to characteristics of the language in which the poet writes. Readers accustomed to identifying poetry with Dante, Goethe, Mickiewicz, or Rumi may think of it as written in lines based on rhyme and regular meter. There are, however, traditions, such as Biblical poetry, that use other means to create rhythm and euphony. Much modern poetry reflects a critique of poetic tradition, testing the principle of euphony itself or altogether forgoing rhyme or set rhythm. In today's increasingly globalized world, poets often adapt forms, styles, and techniques from diverse cultures and languages.

ChatGPT

  1. poetry

    Poetry is a form of artistic literature, typically characterized by rhythm, rhyme, metaphor, and thoughtful imagery. It uses aesthetically pleasing and evocative language to express complex ideas, emotions, concepts, or narratives. Poetry can take many forms including sonnets, haikus, limericks, free verse, and more, and may incorporate techniques like symbolism, alliteration, assonance, and onomatopoeia.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Poetrynoun

    the art of apprehending and interpreting ideas by the faculty of imagination; the art of idealizing in thought and in expression

  2. Poetrynoun

    imaginative language or composition, whether expressed rhythmically or in prose. Specifically: Metrical composition; verse; rhyme; poems collectively; as, heroic poetry; dramatic poetry; lyric or Pindaric poetry

  3. Etymology: [OF. poeterie. See Poet.]

Wikidata

  1. Poetry

    Poetry is a form of literary art which uses aesthetic and rhythmic qualities of language—such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre—to evoke meanings in addition to, or in place of, the prosaic ostensible meaning. Poetry has a long history, dating back to the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh. Early poems evolved from folk songs such as the Chinese Shijing, or from a need to retell oral epics, as with the Sanskrit Vedas, Zoroastrian Gathas, and the Homeric epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Ancient attempts to define poetry, such as Aristotle's Poetics, focused on the uses of speech in rhetoric, drama, song and comedy. Later attempts concentrated on features such as repetition, verse form and rhyme, and emphasized the aesthetics which distinguish poetry from more objectively-informative, prosaic forms of writing. From the mid-20th century, poetry has sometimes been more generally regarded as a fundamental creative act employing language. Poetry uses forms and conventions to suggest differential interpretation to words, or to evoke emotive responses. Devices such as assonance, alliteration, onomatopoeia and rhythm are sometimes used to achieve musical or incantatory effects. The use of ambiguity, symbolism, irony and other stylistic elements of poetic diction often leaves a poem open to multiple interpretations. Similarly, metaphor, simile and metonymy create a resonance between otherwise disparate images—a layering of meanings, forming connections previously not perceived. Kindred forms of resonance may exist, between individual verses, in their patterns of rhyme or rhythm.

The Nuttall Encyclopedia

  1. Poetry

    the gift of penetrating into the inner soul or secret of a thing, and bodying it forth rhythmically so as to captivate the imagination and the heart.

The Roycroft Dictionary

  1. poetry

    1. A substitute for the impossible. 2. The bill and coo of sex.

U.S. National Library of Medicine

  1. Poetry

    Works that consist of literary and oral genre expressing meaning via symbolism and following formal or informal patterns.

Suggested Resources

  1. poetry

    Poetry Forms -- Read about the various poetry forms and types including definitions and examples.

Matched Categories

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'poetry' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3294

  2. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'poetry' in Nouns Frequency: #1409

How to pronounce poetry?

How to say poetry in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of poetry in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of poetry in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of poetry in a Sentence

  1. Leonardo DiCaprio:

    It's epic poetry, an existential journey through nature, and this man finding a will to live against all odds, yet he changes, nature changes him and I think those elements changed him while we were doing the movie.

  2. Andrew Schneider:

    It's just human. We all have the jungle inside of us. We all have wants and needs and desires, strange as they may seem. If you stop to think about it, we're all pretty creative, cooking up all these fantasies. it's like a kind of poetry.

  3. Oscar Auliq-Ice:

    Poetry encourages readers to explore vocabulary, understand metaphors and symbolism, and appreciate the nuances of language.

  4. Danielle Ever Rose:

    Dreams are like poetry, they don’t have to make sense to be beautiful.

  5. Socrates, In "Apology," sct. 21, by Plato.:

    I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled [poets] to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such as you find in seers and prophets who deliver all their sublime messages without knowing in the least what they mean.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

poetry#1#3049#10000

Translations for poetry

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"poetry." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/poetry>.

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