poetics

[ poh-et-iks ]

/ poʊˈɛt ɪks /

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noun (used with a singular verb)

literary criticism treating of the nature and laws of poetry.

the study of prosody.

a treatise on poetry.

(initial capital letter, italics) a treatise or collection of notes on aesthetics (4th century b.c.) by Aristotle.

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Origin of poetics

First recorded in 1720–30; see origin at poetic, -ics

Words nearby poetics

poeticism, poeticize, poetic justice, poetic licence, poetic license, poetics, poetize, poet laureate, poetry, Poets are born, not made, po-faced

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use poetics in a sentence

Full disclosure: I briefly worked for Torres at his current magazine, Wax Poetics.
It Was All a Dream: Drama, Bullshit, and the Rebirth of The Source Magazine|Alex Suskind|October 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
With “Poetics of the Gesture,” Nahmad Contemporary proves it is a fresh face at the table.
The Art World’s New Gang War|Anthony Haden-Guest|May 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Fortunately, while perusing a bookstore in North Carolina, he stumbled across a magazine called Wax Poetics.
‘Telegraph Avenue’: Michael Chabon on His Obsessive Novel of Fandom|Josh Dzieza|September 11, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Without question, the combination of visual moment with written memory reaches to the core of “Beat, Buddhist poetics” itself.
Allen Ginsberg's Beat Memories|Philip Gefter|April 29, 2010|DAILY BEAST

Aristotle wrote two treatises on literary criticism: the Rhetoric and the Poetics.
Rhetoric and Poetry in the Renaissance|Donald Lemen Clark
Consequently in the Rhetoric he refers to the Poetics for a fuller discussion of metaphor.
Rhetoric and Poetry in the Renaissance|Donald Lemen Clark
Come along, invited Marjorie, but first give me a subject for a theme for poetics.
Marjorie Dean College Freshman|Pauline Lester
One of this family was a Colchester rector, and a translator of Aristotles Poetics.
Haunted London|Walter Thornbury
I have to write a theme for poetics to be handed in tomorrow morning.
Marjorie Dean College Freshman|Pauline Lester

British Dictionary definitions for poetics

poetics

/ (pəʊˈɛtɪks) /

noun (usually functioning as singular)

the principles and forms of poetry or the study of these, esp as a form of literary criticism

a treatise on poetry

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012