A Litany in poetry is a repetitive, incantatory form derived from religious prayer, typically structured as a series of invocations, petitions, or attributes followed by a recurring refrain (e.g., “Lord, have mercy”); secularized litanies retain this rhythmic accumulation but apply it to secular themes—praise, lament, or cataloging—using anaphora and parallel syntax to build emotional or rhetorical intensity, as in Walt Whitman’s enumerative catalogs or contemporary poems that list names of the disappeared, transforming liturgical form into a vehicle for collective memory, protest, or affirmation through relentless, mantra-like repetition.

Form using repetitive invocations or supplications. Related to liturgical poetry and prayer forms. Often features anaphora. Study tip: Notice how repetition creates ritual or meditative quality.