Cacozelia describes language that strives too hard for elegance, grandeur, or learnedness and thereby becomes artificial or ridiculous. In poetry, it may appear through excessive archaism, ornate diction, strained metaphors, or imitation of an admired writer’s manner. A poet can use the device deliberately to mock vanity, bad taste, or social aspiration. When presented in a speaker’s voice, cacozelia may reveal that speaker’s insecurity or desire to seem more impressive than they are.

Cacozelia imitates an admired style badly or excessively, producing affected language. A poet may use it to parody false grandeur, social pretension, or empty ornament. Its effect depends on a noticeable mismatch between style and subject.