poetic justice

From poetic +‎ justice,[1] a variant of poetical justice, coined by the English literary critic Thomas Rymer (c. 1643 – 1713) in the work The Tragedies of the Last Age Consider’d and Examin’d (1678):[2] see the quotation.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /pəʊˌɛtɪk ˈd͡ʒʌstɪs/

• Audio (Southern England)

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• (General American) IPA^(key): /poʊˌɛtɪk ˈd͡ʒʌstɪs/, [-ɾɪk-]

• Audio (US)

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• Hyphenation: po‧et‧ic jus‧tice

poetic justice (uncountable)

1. (narratology) Synonym of poetical justice (“the idea that in a literary work such as a poem, virtue should be rewarded and vice punished”)
   • [1678, Thomas Rymer, “The Tragedy of Rollo Duke of Normandy”, in The Tragedies of the Last Age Consider’d and Examin‘d […], London: […] Richard Tonson […], →OCLC, page 26:

     For though historical Juſtice might reſt there; yet poetical Juſtice could not be ſo content. It vvould require that the ſatisfaction be compleat and full, e're the Malefactor goes off the Stage, and nothing left to God Almighty, and another VVorld.]

   • 1728, [Alexander Pope], “Book the First”, in The Dunciad. An Heroic Poem. […], Dublin, London: […] A. Dodd, →OCLC, page 3, lines 40–42:

     Poetic Juſtice, vvith her lifted ſcale; / VVhere in nice balance, truth vvith gold ſhe vveighs, / And ſolid pudding againſt empty praiſe.

     Used as a personification.

   • 1798 December, “Theatre. [Review of Laugh When You Can by Frederic Reynolds.]”, in The Universal Magazine of Knowledge and Pleasure: […], volume CIII, London: […] W. Bent, […], →OCLC, page 424:

     [T]he great object [of a comedy] is to cauſe a hearty laugh, in the accompliſhment of vvhich, the rules of the drama and the exerciſe of reaſon are often held in defiance; at the ſame time that poetic juſtice is carefully adminiſtered, and the vices of human nature are held up to merited execration.

   • 1894, Charles W. Hodell, “Shakespeare’s Opening Scenes as Striking the Key-note of Dramatic Action and Motive”, in Charlotte Porter, Helen A[rchibald] Clarke, editors, Poet Lore: A Magazine of Letters, volume VI, numbers 6–7, [Philadelphia, Pa.: Poet-Lore Co.]; New York, N.Y.: AMS Reprint Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 345:

     [W]e cannot expect, nor does poetic justice allow, that a man shall act contary to his own nature through any force of will.

   • 1969, O[sborne] B[ennett] Hardison [Jr.], “Three Types of Renaissance Catharsis”, in Renaissance Drama, volume 2 (New Series), Evanston, Ill.: Northwestern University Press, →ISSN, →JSTOR, →OCLC, section II, page 9; republished in Arthur F. Kinney, editor, Poetics and Praxis, Understanding and Imagination: The Collected Essays of O. B. Hardison Jr., Athens, Ga., London: University of Georgia Press, 1997, →ISBN, part 2 (Poetics), page 83:

     Literary history, not to mention countless Grade B movies and television serials, teaches us that poetic justice is a standard formula for popular entertainment. […] Since very few people learn their morality from the theater, the enduring appeal of poetic justice must come from the fact that it satisfies needs that go much deeper than simple moral improvement. We can begin to get an insight into these needs by recognizing that poetic justice is a conscious or unconscious imitation of ideal justice.

2. (by extension, generally) The fact of someone experiencing what they deserve for their actions, especially when this happens in an ironic manner.

   Synonym: (generally) poetical justice

   • 1997 September–October, “Poetic Justice”, in Aaron R. Fodiman, editor, Tampa Bay Magazine, volume 12, number 5, Clearwater, Fla.: Tampa Bay Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 20, column 3:

     Operation PAR is the largest provider of addiction and mental health services in the Tampa Bay area. […] Now PAR is going to get poetic justice through an innovative concept which takes seized assets from drug kingpins and gives back to the community in the form of prevention and treatment programs.

   • 2001, Peter A. French, “The Western Vengeance Films”, in The Virtues of Vengeance, Lawrence, Kan.: University Press of Kansas, →ISBN, part 1 (Vengeance in Literature and Popular Culture), page 40:

     It might, of course, be argued that the cowboy who mutilated the face of the prostitute was the one ingloriously killed while defecating, and there is something of poetic justice, at least, in that outcome. Poetic justice, however, does not make for virtuous vengeance.

   • 2004, Margot Vesel Rising, chapter 13, in Poetic Justice, Lincoln, Neb.: iUniverse, →ISBN, page 159:

     "To poetic justice." He clinked the can with her glass. / "Poetic justice?" / "If it hadn't been for your grandmother's poems, I would never have looked for her. It is truly just that Edgar and Vera are once again together. At least I believe it's justice."

• contrapasso
• have it coming
• just deserts
• karma
• payback

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