Search the Dictionary

A canto or division of a poem [Obs.] Spenser.

One of the chief divisions of a long poem; a book.

; air; style; as, a pecullar cast of countenance. "A neat cast of verse." Pope. An heroic poem, but in another cast and figure. Prior. And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought. Shak.

Any Old French epic poem having for its subject events or exploits of early French history, real or legendary, and written originally in assonant verse of ten or twelve syllables. The most famous one is the Chanson de Roland.

ay. Ambrosian chant, See under Ambrosian. Chant royal Etym: [F.], in old French poetry, a poem containing five strophes of eleven lines each, and a concluding stanza. -- each of these six parts ending with a common refrain. -- Gregorian chant. See under Gregorian.

An epic poem, which celebrates the exploits of the Spanish national hero, Ruy Diaz.

rse by exercises conducted by the members, such as the reading of the class histories and poem, the delivery of the class oration, the planting of the class ivy, etc.

ted to a particular day, occasion, or condition, and forming part of a liturgy. The noble poem on the massacres of Piedmont is strictly a collect in verse. Macaulay.

erfect; to consummate; to accomplish; to fulfill; to finish; as, to complete a task, or a poem; to complete a course of education. Bred only and completed to the taste Of lustful appetence. Milton. And, to complete her bliss, a fool for mate. Pope.

he parts of any literary work or discourse, or of a work of art; as, the composition of a poem or a piece of music. "The constant habit of elaborate composition." Macaulay.

Such an arrangement of accessories, as in a picture, statue, poem, or play, as is appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances represented or described. I began last night to read Walter Scott's Lay of the Last Minstrel . . . .I was extremely delighted with the poetical beauty of some parts . . . .The costume…

self; manual art; a trade. Ye know that by this craft we have our wealth. Acts xix. 25. A poem is the work of the poet; poesy is his skill or craft of making. B. Jonson. Since the birth of time, throughout all ages and nations, Has the craft of the smith been held in repute. Longfellow.

A poem consisting of ten lines.

cally; to make a formal speech or oration; to harangue; specifically, to recite a speech, poem, etc., in public as a rhetorical exercise; to practice public speaking; as, the students declaim twice a week.

Illustrious act; achievement; exploit. "Knightly deeds." Spenser. Whose deeds some nobler poem shall adorn. Dryden.

orm in idea; to invent; to project; to lay out in the mind; as, a man designs an essay, a poem, a statue, or a cathedral.

ness, accuracy, variety, etc.; mode of expression; language; as, the diction of Chaucer's poems. His diction blazes up into a sudden explosion of prophetic grandeur. De Quincey.

oral lesson; as, didactic essays. "Didactical writings." Jer. Taylor. The finest didactic poem in any language. Macaulay.

acchus, usually sung by a band of revelers to a flute accompaniment; hence, in general, a poem written in a wild irregular strain. Bentley.

A dithyrambic poem; a dithyramb.