poetically
With artistic language
Poetically describes doing something in the manner of poetry—with heightened language, imagery, or emotional resonance.
Someone who speaks poetically uses vivid metaphors or lyrical phrasing: She described the sunset poetically, calling it "the sky's last breath".
The word can also mean in terms of poetry: Poetically, the sonnet form demands fourteen lines.
Sometimes poetically suggests appropriate irony or justice: Poetically, the con man was swindled by his own partner.
Fourteen-line metered poem
- haikuJapanese seventeen-syllable verse
- odeLaudatory verse form
- elegyPoem lamenting the departed
- balladNarrative poem or song
limerick · villanelle · quatrain · couplet · stanza · verse · sestina · tanka
Implied identity comparison
- simileComparison via "as"
- imageryVivid descriptive language
- symbolismRepresenting concepts through images
- allegorySymbolic tale with deeper meaning
personification · evocation · motif · dreamlike · luminous · ethereal · vivid · sensory
Metered poetic passage
- dictionChoice of words
- phrasingManner of expressing something
- archaicBelonging to earlier times
- elevatedRaised above usual level
ornate · sparse · compressed · distilled · resonant · nuanced · literary · crafted
Musically expressive
- eloquentFluent and persuasive
- evocativeTending to summon memories
- sublimeAwe-inspiring greatness
- gracefulElegant in movement
expressive · melodious · wistful · contemplative · tender · haunting · romantic · melancholic
Device that measures usage
- cadenceRhythmic pulse or pattern
- rhythmPatterned stress and silence
- alliterationMatching initial consonants
- assonanceVowel sound repetition
consonance · rhyme · iambic · trochaic · dactylic · anapestic · pentameter · scansion
sonnet
Fourteen-line metered poem
ballad · limerick · villanelle · quatrain · couplet · stanza · verse · sestina · tanka · rondeau
metaphor
Implied identity comparison
- simileComparison via "as"
- imageryVivid descriptive language
- symbolismRepresenting concepts through images
allegory · personification · evocation · motif · dreamlike · luminous · ethereal · vivid · sensory · figurative
verse
Metered poetic passage
elevated · ornate · sparse · compressed · distilled · resonant · nuanced · literary · crafted · measured
lyrical
Musically expressive
graceful · expressive · melodious · wistful · contemplative · tender · haunting · romantic · melancholic · reverent
meter
Device that measures usage
- cadenceRhythmic pulse or pattern
- rhythmPatterned stress and silence
- alliterationMatching initial consonants
assonance · consonance · rhyme · iambic · trochaic · dactylic · anapestic · pentameter · scansion · prosody
- adverbsquickly, slowly, very, really, now
- artistic adverbsartistically, stylistically, expressively, evocatively, lyrically
poeticallyprosaically
In an unexciting manner
literally · plainly · matter-of-factly · flatly · dryly
poeticallyunromantically
Without affection or sentiment
pragmatically · mechanically · materialistically · functionally · coldly