poetic license

noun

1. license or liberty taken by a poet, prose writer, or other artist in deviating from rule, conventional form, logic, or fact, in order to produce a desired effect.

Word History and Origins

Origin of poetic license¹

First recorded in 1780–90

Idioms and Phrases

Also, artistic license. The liberty taken by a writer or artist in deviating from conventional form or fact to achieve an effect. For example, I've never seen grass or a tree of that color; but that's artistic license. [Late 1700s]

Example Sentences

Rachel Syme’s foreword to the musical book says that this version of “Ironic” turns it into “an inside joke about poetic license and grammatical errors.”

From Salon

Such poetic license might be more forgivable for the sake of clever cadence, but this is a song that tries to rhyme “Brexit’‘ with “Taylor Swift.”

From New York Times

But, Pardoll said, it’s tolerable as a form of “poetic license,” because the task he’s taken on is so important.

From New York Times

Liotta was hopeless as a left-handed hitter, so the filmmakers allowed him some poetic license in the batting scene.

From Seattle Times

And it’s very recent history, so it’s well documented and part of the collective consciousness, meaning there’s not a lot of wiggle room” to take poetic license, she added.

From Los Angeles Times