Poetic justice
Poetic justice, also called poetic irony, is a
literary device with which ultimately virtue is rewarded and misdeeds are punished. In modern literature,[1] it is often accompanied by an ironic twist of fate related to the character's own action, hence the name poetic irony.[2]
Etymology
English drama critic
Quintillian, so Rymer's phrasing is a reflection of a commonplace. Philip Sidney, in The Defence of Poesy
(1595) argued that poetic justice was, in fact, the reason that fiction should be allowed in a civilized nation.
History
Notably, poetic justice does not merely require that vice be punished and virtue rewarded, but also that logic triumph. If, for example, a character is dominated by greed for most of a romance or drama, they cannot become generous. The action of a play, poem, or fiction must obey the rules of logic as well as morality. During the late 17th century, critics pursuing a
neo-classical standard criticized William Shakespeare in favor of Ben Jonson precisely on the grounds that Shakespeare's characters change during the course of the play.[3] When Restoration comedy
, in particular, flouted poetic justice by rewarding libertines and punishing dull-witted moralists, there was a backlash in favor of drama, in particular, of more strict moral correspondence.
See also
References
- ^ "Poetic Justice - Examples of Poetic Justice in Literature". 19 December 2018.
- ISBN 978-3-640-66116-9. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- Shakespeare's reputationfor more on the Shakespeare/Jonson dichotomy.)
External links
The dictionary definition of poetic justice at Wiktionary
