poetry means literature composed in verse or language exhibiting conscious attention to patterns and rhythm. It carries an Arena rating of 1817, earned across 37 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, poetry ranks #575 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #1,042 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #1,105 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #1,593 of 42,752 for Qualifying.
poetry is pronounced /ˈpəʊ.ɪ.tɹi/.
Why “poetry” is a great word
Literature composed in verse, characterized by conscious attention to patterns of sound, rhythm, and connotation. From Middle English *poetrye*, from Old French *pöeterie*, from Medieval Latin *poētria*, from Latin *poēta* ("poet"), from Ancient Greek ποιητής (*poiētḗs*, "maker, author, poet"), displacing Old English *lēoþðcræft*; first attested in English in the late 14th century. Unlike "prose" (which flows in the unbroken current of ordinary speech) or "verse" (which may adhere strictly to meter yet remain emotionally barren), poetry is the alchemy of breath and beat fused with meaning. It is the exact hammer-strike of a syllable that makes a buried memory ring, the shaped silence between two lines that holds more than the words themselves, the warmth of a single line repeated aloud until it hums in the bones—the stubborn human insistence that some things can only be said by being made.
Etymology
From Middle English poetrye, poetrie, a borrowing from Old French pöeterie, pöetrie, from Medieval Latin poētria, from poēta (“poet”), from Ancient Greek ποιητής (poiētḗs, “poet; author; maker”). Displaced native Old English lēoþcræft.
noun
- Literature composed in verse or language exhibiting conscious attention to patterns and rhythm.e.g.“More people write poetry than read it.” — 2004, George Carlin, When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?, New York: Hyperion Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 263:
- A poet's literary production.
- An artistic quality that appeals to or evokes the emotions, in any medium; something having such a quality.e.g.“That 'Swan Lake' choreography is poetry in motion, fitting the musical poetry of Tchaikovski's divine score well beyond the literary inspiration.”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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