Poetic closure

{{Short description|Linguistic device}} '''Poetic closure''' is the sense of conclusion given at the end of a poem. 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. {{ISBN|0-226-76343-9}} * 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. {{ISBN|978-0312294977}}

Category:Poetic forms

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