Meanings
- uncountablehuman sciencesThe idea that in a literary work such as a poem, virtue should be rewarded and vice punished.
For though historical Juſtice might reſt there; yet poetical Juſtice could not be ſo content. It vvould require that the ſatisfaction be compleat and full, e're the Malefactor goes off the Stage, and nothing left to God Almighty, and another VVorld.
1678, Thomas Rymer, “The Tragedy of Rollo Duke of Normandy”, in The Tragedies of the Last Age Consider’d and Examin‘d […], London: […] Richard Tonson […], →OCLC, page 26Synonyms: poetic justice
- broadlyuncountablegenerallySynonym of poetic justice (“the fact of someone experiencing what they deserve for their actions, especially when this happens in an ironic manner”).
Synonyms: poetic justice
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe idea that in a literary work such as a poem, virtue should be rewarded and vice punished.
nounSynonym of poetic justice (“the fact of someone experiencing what they deserve for their actions, especially when this happens in an ironic manner”).
Origin
From poetical + justice, coined by the English literary critic Thomas Rymer (c. 1643 – 1713) in the work The Tragedies of the Last Age Consider’d and Examin’d (1678): see the quotation.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish runollinen oikeudenmukaisuus
- runollinen oikeudenmukaisuusidea that in a literary work such as a poem, virtue should be rewarded and vice punished
Polish poetycka sprawiedliwość
- poetycka sprawiedliwośćidea that in a literary work such as a poem, virtue should be rewarded and vice punished
Cite this entry
poetical justice. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poetical%20justice
“poetical justice.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poetical%20justice. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “poetical justice,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/poetical%20justice.
Source: poetical justice on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.