Envoi

For other uses, see Envoi (disambiguation).

Envoi or envoy in poetry is used to describe:

  • A short stanza at the end of a poem such as a ballad, used either to address an imagined or actual person or to comment on the preceding body of the poem.[1][2]
  • A dedicatory poem about sending the book out to readers, a postscript.[3]
  • Any poem of farewell, including a farewell to life.

The word envoy or l'envoy comes from the Old French, where it means '[the] sending forth'.[3] Originally it was a stanza at the end of a longer poem, which included a dedication to a patron or individual, similar to a tornada. More recent examples are dedicatory poems as part of a collection, or an individual poem about farewell or moving on. Envoi is both a type of poem, and is often used as a title.

  1. ^ "Envoi (or Envoy)". Poetry Foundation. 2019-10-31. Retrieved 2019-11-01.
  2. ^ Sfetcu, Nicolae. Poetry Kaleidoscope. Lulu.com. ISBN 9781312780200.
  3. ^ a b "envoy, n.1". OED Online. September 2019. Oxford University Press. https://www-oed-com.ezp.lib.unimelb.edu.au/view/Entry/63102?redirectedFrom=envoi (accessed October 31, 2019).