- A poem in which the author retracts something said in a previous poem.
- A formal statement of retraction.
[From Late Latin palinōdia, from Greek palinōidiā : palin, again + ōidē, song; see parody.]
Dictionary:
pal·i·node (păl'ə-nōd') ![]() |
[From Late Latin palinōdia, from Greek palinōidiā : palin, again + ōidē, song; see parody.]
| Wordsmith Words: palinode |
(PAL-uh-noad) 
noun
A poem in which the author retracts something said in an earlier poem.
Etymology
From Greek palinoidia, from palin (again) + oide (song). It's the same palin that shows up in the word palindrome. Here's a palindromic web address: wordsmith.org/words/sdrow/gro.htimsdrow//:ptth ]
The illustrator and humorist Gelett Burgess (1866-1951) once wrote a poem called The Purple Cow:
I never saw a purple cow, I never hope to see one; But I can tell you, anyhow, I'd rather see than be one.
The poem became so popular and he became so closely linked with this single quatrain that he later wrote a palinode:
Confession: and a Portrait, Too, Upon a Background that I Rue!
Oh, yes, I wrote 'The Purple Cow,' I'm sorry now I wrote it! But I can tell you anyhow, I'll kill you if you quote it.
It was the same Burgess who coined the word, blurb.
| Thesaurus: palinode |
noun
| Literary Dictionary: palinode |
palinode, a poem or song retracting some earlier statement by the poet. A notable example in English is Chaucer's The Legend of Good Women, written to recant his earlier defamation of women in Troilus and Criseyde.
| Obscure Words: palinode |
| Poetry Glossary: Palinode or Palinody |
A poem in which the poet contradicts or retracts something in an earlier poem.
| Wikipedia: Palinode |
| This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2009) |
A palinode or palinody is an ode in which the writer retracts a view or sentiment expressed in an earlier poem. The first recorded use of a palinode is in a poem by Stesichorus in the 7th century BC. Here he retracts his earlier statement that the Trojan War was all the fault of Helen.[citation needed]
The word comes from the Greek παλιν ("palin", meaning 'again') and ωδη ("song"); the Latin equivalent "recantation" is an exact calque ("re-" meaning 'again' and "cant-" meaning 'sing').
It can also be a recantation of a defamatory statement in Scots Law.
Chaucer's Retraction is one example of a palinode.
Late in his life, Gelett Burgess wrote this of his famous "Purple Cow":
Ogden Nash wrote a palinode in retaliation to his most famous poem about the dandiness of candy, and quickness of liquor:
Palinodes have also been created by many medieval writers such as Augustine, Bede, Giraldus Cambrensis, Jean de Meun and others.
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
| palinodial | |
| palinody | |
| Charles Dodge |
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![]() | Literary Dictionary. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Copyright © Chris Baldick 2001, 2004. All rights reserved. Read more | |
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