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Send-off

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 concluding stanza that formally dedicates the poem to a person, cause, or future reader, acting as a poetic envoy.

Detailed Definition
A final stanza that sends the poem forth to its recipient, addressing a patron, beloved, or honored figure and formally dispatching the work. Medieval and Renaissance convention of ending with dedicatory gesture that creates specific relationship between poem and addressee. The send-off combines dedication with farewell, acknowledging the poem as object sent from maker to receiver and establishing connection beyond general readership.
Example
Example in poetry:
Walt Whitman’s “So Long!” serves as a send-off to readers and his poetic persona; Emily Dickinson’s “Parting” (“Parting is all we know of heaven”) functions as a metaphysical send-off; Langston Hughes’ “Goodbye” (“Listen, baby, / I’m going away”) uses blues inflection as send-off; Seamus Heaney’s “Postscript” (“And some time make the time to drive out west…”) is a lyrical send-off to the reader; Ocean Vuong’s “Someday I’ll love Ocean Vuong” ends with “Ocean, run. Run until you’re wet with morning” — a self-directed send-off; Lucille Clifton’s “blessing the boats” concludes with “may you kiss / the wind and be on your way” — a ritualistic send-off.
Additional Notes
Final stanza sending poem forth to recipient. Medieval and Renaissance convention of dedicating or dispatching poem. Creates relationship between poem and specific addressee.
Also Known As
Envoy Envoi Dispatch stanza Farewell verse After-song Envoi (ballade)
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