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Webster 1913 Edition


Poetry

Po′et-ry

,
Noun.
[OF.
poeterie
. See
Poet
.]
1.
The art of apprehending and interpreting ideas by the faculty of imagination; the art of idealizing in thought and in expression.
For
poetry
is the blossom and the fragrance of all human knowledge, human thoughts, human passions, emotions, language.
Coleridge.
2.
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
.
“The planetlike music of poetry.”
Sir P. Sidney.
She taketh most delight
In music, instruments, and
poetry
.
Shakespeare

Webster 1828 Edition


Poetry

PO'ETRY

,
Noun.
[Gr.] Metrical composition; verse; as heroic poetry; dramatic poetry; lyric or Pindaric poetry.
1.
The art or practice of composing in verse. He excels in poetry.
2.
Poems; poetical composition. We take pleasure in reading poetry.
3.
This term is also applied to the language of excited imagination and feeling.

Definition 2024


poetry

poetry

See also: poëtry

English

Alternative forms

Noun

poetry (usually uncountable, plural poetries)

  1. The class of literature comprising poems.
  2. Composition in verse or language exhibiting conscious attention to patterns.
  3. A poet's literary production
  4. 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

Quotations

  • For usage examples of this term, see Citations:poetry.

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