An envoi is a short stanza at the end of a poem, used to provide a conclusion. It has evolved over time and is less common in free verse poetry. Envois often address a specific listener, such as someone of high rank, and have a typical format of rhymes or couplets with a standard meter. They are common in specific forms of poetry, such as the sestina.
An envoi in poetry is a short line or stanza usually found at the end of the poem. This short piece, which some might call an echoing stanza, helps provide a conclusion for the poem. The word comes from French, but has been used in English to refer to this poetic construction.
As for its use, the envoi has been traced back to medieval times, where troubadours or bards used it to conclude their poetic songs. It has evolved over the centuries along with poetry in general. As free verse has replaced more traditional forms of poetry, the formal envoi has become less common, but is still a recognizable feature of many classical forms of poetry, with a definite function and structure.
A feature of many of these concluding parts is that they tend to address a specific listener. A good example of the beginning of an envoy would be “and so, my friend”, followed by a few short lines that summarize the scenario narrated in the previous poem. Other examples of this form are addressed to someone by name. A special type of address that has been common throughout several eras is its use to address someone of royalty or nobility, or in general, of high rank; this type of discourse reveals much about the relational aspects that formed the foundational framework for many types of classical poetry.
The envoi also has a typical format. In many cases, this poetic form is composed of rhymes or couplets. These lines generally have a standard meter, such as iambic pentameter, in which lines of ten syllables alternate between stressed and unstressed syllables. Poets may also use a variety of other meters, which are usually fixed sets of stressed and unstressed syllables.
Specific forms of poetry have been more likely to include an envoi. The sestina, a complex form popular among 12th-century troubadours, is one such format. Although according to experts, the sextuplet is not necessarily of a fixed length, it does have a fixed rhyme scheme, where three lines at the end of the poem constitute an envoi that used a specific trio of final rhymes. The envois that conclude these and other types of poetry are often three or four lines long, although some may be longer.
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