Poetic closure is the sense of conclusion given at the end of a
poem
Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings ...
.
Barbara Herrnstein Smith's detailed study—''
Poetic Closure: A Study of How Poems End''—explores various techniques for achieving closure. One of the most common techniques is setting up a regular pattern and then breaking it to mark the end of a poem. Another technique is to refer to subject matter that in itself provides a sense of closure: death is the clearest example of this.
Further reading
* Barbara Herrnstein Smith: ''Poetic Closure: A Study of How Poems End'', University of Chicago Press 1968.
* D.H. Roberts, F.M. Dunn,
D. P. Fowler: ''Classical Closure: Reading the End in Greek and Latin Literature''. Princeton 1997.
* Vincent, John Emil. ''Queer Lyrics: Difficulty and Closure in American Poetry.'' Palgrave 2002.
Poetic forms
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