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Envoi

Structure
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A short, concluding stanza in forms like the ballade or sestina, often addressing a patron or summarizing the poem.

Detailed Definition
Envoi is a brief concluding stanza in a poem—especially in medieval forms like the ballade or sestina—that often addresses the poem’s audience, summarizes its theme, or sends the work into the world; it functions as a farewell, dedication, or meta-poetic commentary on the act of writing itself.
Example
Example in poetry:
Chaucer’s “The Clerk’s Tale” ends with an envoi addressing wives: “But now, to purpose…”; Villon’s “Ballade des dames du temps jadis” closes with “Mais où sont les neiges d’antan?” as envoi; Ezra Pound’s “Hugh Selwyn Mauberley” uses an envoi to critique postwar culture; Elizabeth Bishop’s “Sestina” ends with an envoi-like tercet resolving the pattern; Terrance Hayes’s “Golden Shovel” poems often conclude with envoi-like lines honoring Gwendolyn Brooks; Marilyn Hacker’s sestinas close with envois that reframe the preceding stanzas.
Additional Notes
Envoi (or envoy) is a concluding stanza that comments on or addresses the poem’s audience, often summarizing its message; common in ballades and sestinas, it can serve as a dedication, plea, or final twist.
Also Known As
Closing stanza Farewell verse Sending-off Concluding address After-song Ballade conclusion Send-off Sending stanza Tornada
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