what is poetic justice?

Answer 1

It is a concept in literature which gives justice to the deeds of the characters protagonists and antagonists.The former gets reward at the end and the villain gets punished.

Answer 2

Poetic justice is a literary device in which virtue is ultimately rewarded or vice punished, often in modern literature by an ironic twist of fate intimately related to the character's own conduct. The stricture of poetry, prose, and drama to have justice originates in Aristotle's Poetics. Aristotle says that poetry is superior to history in that it shows what should or must occur, rather than merely what does occur.

Answer 3

poetic justice is a device in which virtue is
ultimately rewarded or served... like ironic
simple twist of fate.... Kharma......Sweet
poetic justice is when things are set straight
by fate check Aristole..... More detailed
information. Or literary device in literature
so easy to find Good luck

Answer 4

The sweet taste of revenge! Or you could say that poetic Justice is the punishment for being a mean, scandelous,insecureperson! It is the legal system running smoothly and swiftely smoothly and just.

Answer 5

In literature (and in real life), it's where the "punishment" so aptly fits the "crime."

"An outcome in which virtue is rewarded and evil punished, often in an especially appropriate or ironic manner. For example, It was poetic justice for the known thief to go to jail for the one crime he didn't commit. [Early 1700s]"

"An outcome in a literary work, not necessarily a poem, in which the good are rewarded and the evil are punished, especially in ways that particularly fit their virtues or crimes. For example, a murderer may himself be murdered, or a thief will find himself penniless.."

"Poetic justice is a literary device in which virtue is ultimately rewarded or vice punished, often in modern literature by an ironic twist of fate intimately related to the character's own conduct. The stricture of poetry, prose, and drama to have justice originates in Aristotle's Poetics. Aristotle says that poetry is superior to history in that it shows what should or must occur, rather than merely what does occur.


Origin of the term

English drama critic Thomas Rymer coined the phrase in The Tragedies of the Last Age Considered (1678) to describe how a work should inspire proper moral behavior in its audience by illustrating the triumph of good over evil. The demand for poetic justice is consistent in Classical authorities and shows up in Horace, Plutarch, and Quintillian, so Rymer's phrasing is a reflection of a commonplace. Philip Sidney, in Defense of Poetry, argued, like Aristotle, that poetic justice was, in fact, the reason that fiction should be allowed in a civilized nation.

In Hamlet: As a Renaissance hero, Hamlet's greatest combative skill is his use of poetic justice.


History of the notion

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, he cannot become generous. The action of a play, poem, or fiction must obey the rules of Aristotelian logic as well as morality, and when the humour theory was dominant poetic justice was part of the justification for humor plays. During the late 17th century, critics pursuing a neo-classical standard would criticize William Shakespeare in favor of Ben Jonson precisely on the grounds that Shakespeare's characters change during the course of the play. (See Shakespeare's reputation for more on the Shakespeare/Jonson dichotomy.) 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.


Literary examples

"For 'tis the sport to have the enginer / Hoist with his own petard." (Shakespeare, Hamlet (III.iv.207).)

The "Inferno" portion of Dante's Divine Comedy reads like a compendium of examples of poetic justice.


Examples in television and film

Poetic justice is referred to in "The Simpsons" episode "Boy Scoutz N the Hood." When Bart returns home from a Junior Campers meeting Homer asks "How was jerk practice boy? Did they teach you how to sing to trees and build crappy funiture out of useless wooden logs?" The chair that Homer is sitting on then breaks and he declares "D'oh! Stupid poetic justice."

In the film Batman Returns, The Penguin informs his traitorous cohort Max Shreck, that he will be killed in a pool of the toxic byproducts from his "clean" textile plant. The Penguin goes on to wonder if this is tragic irony or poetic justice."