The concept of Poetic justice is found in the literature and life, where it means that the fate and morality are intertwined, ensuring that the virtuous receive rewards while the wicked face punishment. It is a resolution, wherein the poor characters tend to get what they deserve, often with an unexpected turn.
The idea of poetic justice resonates with the readers because it reassures them that, at least in the stories, the universe operates with an ethical framework, one that recalibrates itself in due time.
Definition of Poetic Justice
Poetic justice occurs when the characters receive just what they deserve from the narrative. This literary device is used to reinforce the idea that things have consequences, sometimes in an ironic or unexpected manner, highlighting moral balance.
In poetic justice, the readers find satisfaction that the good is rewarded and the evil is punished, aligning the story with ethical values, and often has an impactful ending.
Examples of Poetic Justice in Literature
Example#1
“Macbeth” by William Shakespeare
Shakespeare through Macbeth intertwines a tale of ambition, power and the downfall that comes from the unchecked desire. Macbeth, propelled by prophecy and ambition, murders King Duncan and grasp the throne for himself.
However, he is crippled by guilt and paranoia, so he commits more atrocities to maintain his rule. In the end, Macbeth meets poetic justice as he dies in the battle killed by Macduff, who was not “born of a woman” in the normal sense, which satisfies the prophecy in a reversed twist.
“Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill Shall come against him.”
— Act 4, Scene 1
This prophecy helps Macbeth feel invincible, and makes him to realize that he cannot fail. The forest, however, ‘moves’, when soldiers hide among the branches, and is killed by Macduff.
Here, poetic justice truly comes to bear for Macbeth, as the ultimate fulfilment of Macbeth’s choices, his ambition, his treachery and his violence lead to his inevitable demise.
Example#2
“The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde
In this novel, the desire of Dorian to forever remain young causes him to wish that a portrait bears the marks of his age and sins instead of his own body. With the passage of time, Dorian indulges in every vice, believing that he can get away with it, slowly, over time.
Although the portrait is grotesque, reflecting his inner corruption, he has poetic justice done to him. He tries to destroy the painting to get rid of guilt; he doesn’t know how to take it out of his body without destroying it.
“It would kill the past, and when that was dead he would be free. It would kill this monstrous soul-life, and without its hideous warnings, he would be at peace. He seized the thing, and stabbed the picture with it.”
— Chapter 20
The ultimate poetic justice to this act of destruction is, Dorian can’t escape his actions, and they’re just literally going to consume him. His desire to rid himself of guilt however, with one stroke, brings about his downfall, the perfect end to his existence of superficiality and excess.
See also: Literary Devices That Start With P
Example#3
“Animal Farm” by George Orwell
Another classic example is Orwell’s Animal Farm where poetic justice is so central throughout. An egalitarian society is created by the animals who revolt against their human farmer.
But when Napoleon, the pigs, become as oppressive as the humans they replaced. Napoleon and his cohort eventually become indistinguishable from humans, embodying the tyranny they had so desperately sought to overthrow.
“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.”
— Chapter 10
Here is Orwell’s poetic justice, for the animals as they realize that they have traded one form of tyranny for another. This ending emphasizes how hypocritical the pigs are, and the circular nature of corruption, a poetic justice that too often rings true in terms of tragedy.
Example#4
“Crime and Punishment” by Fyodor Dostoevsky
In this novel, Raskolnikov, the protagonist, rationalized that he was above moral laws and murdered an old pawnbroker to prove his theories about power and influence.
He starts to become paranoid with guilt and isolation. Poetic justice isn’t served by the law, though; it is realized by his conscience, which never lets him rest until he confesses and takes his punishment.
“But who had killed her? Why, I did! It was I who killed her!” he muttered to himself, hardly conscious of what he was doing. His head was in a whirl. He could not even think properly…
— Part 5, Chapter 4
The inner guilt of Raskolnikov becomes his punishment, which reflects that the mind itself can be a prison. Poetic justice is served by his confession and eventual imprisonment, which shows that one cannot avoid moral consequences, including murder as justification.
Example#5
“Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens
The author provides poetic justice in the novel by illustrating the character of Miss Havisham. She consumes herself in bitterness that she had been stood up at the altar, and raises Estella to be cold hearted, to manipulate and break down the hearts of men. Yet Miss Havisham’s hasty plan grows to be indifferent to her, leaving her heartbroken and alone.
“What have I done! What have I done! She wrung her hands, and crushed her white hair. ‘What have I done!’”
— Chapter 49
Miss Havisham’s poetic justice happens after she realizes the damage caused to her and Estella. Her cruelty brings her an understanding of the pain she has caused, helping her to understand and feel her heartbreak and her loneliness.
Example#6
“The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexandre Dumas
In this adventurer novel, Edmond Dantès is unjustly imprisoned by his friends. He escapes prison, amasses a fortune, returns to exact revenge on each betrayer in a meticulously planned formula for his downfall.
Poetic justice is ensured by Dantès, who ruins each of his enemies with the vices they themselves had, and each consequence a match to their crime.
“I am not proud, but I am happy; and happiness blinds me, I think, more than pride.”
— Chapter 89
Each traitor’s downfall is created to fit the crime they committed; Danglars, for example, loses his wealth due to his greed.
Dantès’ planning with such precision is evidence of poetic justice being able to be meted out in bytes, a principle that betrayal will be repaid in kind.
See also: Examples of Polyptoton In Literature
Related Literary devices
1- Irony
Poetic justice, as close a companion to irony, is often a situation where expectations clash with reality and the consequences are unexpected.
However, dramatic irony is wonderful for constructing poetic justice as the readers may expect the repercussions of a character’s action even when the character is oblivious.
For example, in “Romeo and Juliet”, the misinformed Romeo, who ends his life out of Romeo’s miscommunication about Juliet’s death sets up something for the poetic justice, something which is tragic about the impulsive actions and the miscommunication.
2- Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing is used to indicate that things are going to happen so that there can be poetic justice. Authors drop clues early in the narrative, setting up readers for the inevitable outcome and sustaining tension as they wait for poetic justice.
For example, in “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, he uses foreshadowing to hint at the tragic end. Gatsby’s romantic idealism leads to Myrtle’s death, each event builds toward the poetic justice that ultimately comes with his untimely death, which reflects that his dream was flawed from the beginning.
